Three members of the award-winning team (L-R): Professor Manos M. Tentzeris, Aline Eid, and Jimmy G. D. Hester. Eid and Hester are holding inkjet-printed prototypes of an mm-wave harvester developed by Tentzeris’ ATHENA research group.
The research paper "Advances in Wirelessly Powered Backscatter Communications: From Antenna/RF Circuitry Design to Printed Flexible Electronics" has received the distinguished 2023 Best Paper Award from a leading technical journal, underscoring its significant contributions to the field.
The article was published in "Proceedings of the IEEE," vol. 110, no. 1, pp. 171-192 in January 2022.
The award-winning team includes former members of Professor Emmanouil (Manos) Tentzeris’ ATHENA research group, as well as researchers from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, U.K. Tentzeris is currently the Ed and Pat Joy Chair in Antennas in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The winning paper explores battery-free backscatter communications, a burgeoning technology poised to redefine the landscape of 6G, IoT, and massive machine-type communications (mMTC). Offering an exposition of foundational theories and pragmatic insights into the deployment of backscatter radio networks and transceivers, the paper shows a path towards realizing the full potential of this transformative technology.
It covers a wide spectrum of critical aspects, including semiconductor chips, antennas, power circuits, communication modules, waveform design, channel optimization, material innovation, and additive manufacturing. As the first comprehensive review paper addressing these pivotal subjects, it offers novel perspectives and insights into the interdisciplinary nature of low-power, sustainable, and cost-effective devices and systems for backscatter communication technology.
“This remarkable paper provides an insightful review of the rapidly evolving fields of wireless power transfer and flexible electronics in the context of battery-free backscatter communications,” said Tentzeris. “We're excited about the possibilities this technology opens up, envisioning a future where networks of these devices work together intelligently and sustainably, creating new opportunities in various fields.”
The “Proceedings of the IEEE” Best Paper Award, which is bestowed upon exceptional survey, review, or tutorial papers published within the journal in the preceding three years, celebrates works of broad significance and profound potential impact.
“Proceedings of the IEEE” is a world renown journal with a very high impact factor (IF=20.6) encompassing contributions from all IEEE societies providing comprehensive coverage of technical advancements in electronics, electrical engineering, and computer science.
The research team:
Georgia Tech
- Manos M. Tentzeris, Professor and Ed and Pat Joy Chair in Antennas
- Aline Eid, Ph.D. Alumni from ATHENA lab, currently Assistant Professor with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Jimmy G. D. Hester, Ph.D. Alumni from ATHENA lab, currently CTO of Atheraxon, Inc.
- Xuanke He, Ph.D. Alumni from ATHENA lab, currently with Apple
- Ryan Bahr, Ph.D. Alumni from ATHENA lab, currently with Apple
Heriot-Watt
- Chaoyun Song, Associate Professor
- Yuan Ding, Associate Professor
- Apostolos Georgiadis, Associate Professor
- George Goussetis, Professor
Related Articles
Tentzeris Appointed Inaugural Ed and Pat Joy Chair in Antennas
The ECE professor is recognized for his contributions to wireless communications encompassing additively manufactured antenna arrays, RF modules, and wireless power transfer.
The Future of 5G+ Infrastructure Could be Built Tile by Tile
In Georgia Tech’s new approach, flexible and additively manufactured tiles are assembled onto a single, flexible underlying layer.
(text and background only visible when logged in)