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Planar Antennas for Wireless Communications

Code: 45652
Credits: 5
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Telecommunication Engineering OP 2

Contact lecturer

Name :
Josep Parron Granados
Email :
josep.parron@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

It is recommended that students have successfully completed the course Phased Array Antenna Design and Applications.

Objectives

Once completed the course the student should be able to:

  • Understand and describe the structures that are commonly used in the design of planar antennas.
  • Apply different techniques to adjust the antennas to the requirements of a particular application.
  • Use simulation tools to analyze and design planar antennas.
  • Carry out measurements of different parameters of antennas.

Learning outcomes

  • CA30 (Create a flat antenna for a wireless communications system.) Create a flat antenna for a wireless communications system.
  • KA30 (Compare the different technological alternatives available for flat antenna design in wireless communications systems.) Compare the different technological alternatives available for flat antenna design in wireless communications systems.
  • SA42 (Analyse the behavior of a flat antenna.) Analyse the behavior of a flat antenna.
  • SA43 (Design a flat antenna that meets specific specifications using appropriate simulation tools.) Design a flat antenna that meets specific specifications using appropriate simulation tools.

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Fundamentals of radiation
  3. Dipole antennas
  4. Loop antennas
  5. Slot antennas
  6. Microstrip antennas
  7. Simulations Tools
  8. Measurement Techniques

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Lectures 25 1 CA30, KA30, SA42
Consultation sessions 8 0.32 CA30, KA30, SA42, SA43
Personal work 53 2.12 CA30, KA30, SA42, SA43
Laboratory sessions 12 0.48 CA30, SA43

Guided activities:

  • Lectures: explanation of theoretical contents with application examples
  • Laboratory sessions: develop a planned activity using simulation tools and measurement techniques

Autonomous activities:

  • Individual study of the subject
  • Solving exercises, preparation of lab activities and reports

Supervised activities:

  • Individual or small group meetings to clarify concepts, to advise on the development of the course or to
  • attend other specific issues.
Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Lab reports 30% 12 0.48 CA30, SA43
Solving exercises 20% 12 0.48 CA30, KA30, SA42, SA43
Final exam 50% 3 0.12 CA30, KA30, SA42

This course does not provide a single assessment system.

a) Evaluation activities

  • Final exam (FEx): 50%. Short questions and problems. It is compulsory to obtain FEx >= 4 to pass the course.
  • Solving exercises (EX): 20%. Short questions and problems will be proposed throughout the course. All the deliverables have the same weight in EX.
  • Lab reports (LR): 30% Report (per lab group) on the activities developed in the lab. All the reports have the same weight in LR.

Any evaluation activity delivered after the deadline will be qualified with zero.

b) Evaluation activities schedule

  • FEx: final exam dates will be public the first day of the course in the Campus Virtual and the web page of the Engineering School.
  • EX and LR schedule of lab sessions and deliverables will be made public in Campus Virtual.

The schedule can be modified due to unexpected events. Please, check Campus Virtual often since any modification will be published there.

c) Second chance procedure

  • FEx: according to UAB regulations there will be one second chance exam for those students with FEx < 4 that have participated in, at least, 2/3 of the evaluation activities of the course. Attending the second chance exam implies forfeiting the grade from the previous exam.
  • EX and LR: these evaluation activities do not have second chance procedure.

d) Request for rescheduling

There is a protocol for the “request for rescheduling assessment activities” according to the cases specified in the assessment criteria and guidelines of the School of Engineering.

e) Students with disabilities or special educational support needs (NESE)

Students with disabilities or special educational support needs (NESE) may contact the UAB Equality and Diversity Service, which provides specific support to ensure a full and independent academic and social life at the university.

f) Grades revision procedure

For every evaluation activity it will be scheduled a place, date and time for reviewing the grade. The grade of the activity will not be modified after the scheduled date.

g) Final grade

  • If FEx < 4, Final grade = FEx
  • If FEx>=4, Final grade =max( 0.5*FEx+0.2*EX+0.3*LR, 0.7*FEx +0.3*LR)
  • It is mandatory a final grade >= 5 to pass the course
  • Matricules d’honor (MH): the highest grade available can only be awarded by the coordinator of the course to those students with the top final grades. According to UAB regulations final grade should be >= 9 and the number of MH is restricted to the 5% of the students enrolled in the course.
  • “Not evaluated” will be only granted with the student participates in less than 10% of the evaluation activities.

h) Irregularities by the student, copy and plagiarism

Without prejudice to other disciplinary measures considered appropriate, the irregularities committed by the student that can lead to a variation of the grade of an evaluation activity (such as copying, plagiarism, cheating, allowing others to copy …) will be qualified with zero.

i) Use of Artificial Intelligence

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed as an integral part of the development of the work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution from the student in analysis and personal reflection. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI is considered academic dishonesty and may result in a zero in the activity grade, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.

j) Students repeating the course

There is no differential treatment for students repeating the course. No grades of the previous course will be kept.

Bibliography

C. A. Balanis, Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design, 4th ed. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2016. ISBN 978-1118642061

J. L. Volakis, C.-C. Chen, and K. Fujimoto, Small Antennas: Miniaturization Techniques & Applications. New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill, 2010. ISBN 978-0071625531

K.-L. Wong, Planar Antennas for Wireless Communications. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley-Interscience, 2003. ISBN 978-0471266112

Software

FEKO from Altair: electromagnetic solver. https://altairuniversity.com/feko-student-edition/

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE