FDTD Design of Antennas for Smart Applications: RF Triggering System Case-of-Study

RF self-identification and triggering system are suited for the detection of fast moving objects. We developed a system consisting of a fixed transmitter, located in the path side, and of a receiver unit mounted aboard the vehicle. A slotted waveguide antenna array is used in the TX side to accurately define the position of the moving object. The paper describes the characterization of the transmitting antenna that has been designed using numerical simulation based on a home-developed FDTD algorithm. The antenna has been realized and measured, so that a comparison between simulation and experimental data is also reported.