Scientist wants to produce better antennas

Northeastern University Professor Hossein Mosallaei says antenna technology has been lagging in three wireless communication areas: greater energy efficiency, faster speed, and smaller components.

Mosallaei said he will address all three areas in a project that could lead to significant advances for a variety of applications. For example, he said smaller antennas that transmit information quickly and use less power can support development of tiny medical biosensors that transmit diagnostic data faster and provide doctors with more accurate, focused information about a patient's condition.

"Whether they will help doctors diagnose patients earlier, or help to monitor the world around us more efficiently, the technological capabilities of these tiny antennas will bring about a new era in improved wireless communications," Mosallaei said.

Mosallaei and his team want to create smaller antennas that also transmit information at high speed. The challenge is that smaller antennas require less power, but larger antennas are faster. Currently, all antennas function at optimum levels at an operating frequency of 1GHz and about 150 millimeters in length.

Mosallaei hopes to maintain that speed or better it, working with antennas just one millimeter in length.

He recently was awarded a three-year, $490,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research to support the project.

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