Zero-Power” Additively Manufactured FHE-Enabled Wireless/5G+ Ultrabroadband Modules for IoT, SmartAg, Industry 4.0 and Smart Cities Applications: from dream to reality

Abstract.- In this talk, inkjet-/3D-printed antennas, interconnects, “smart” encapsulation and packages, RF electronics, RFIDs microfluidics and sensors fabricated on glass, PET, paper and other flexible substrates are introduced as a system-level solution for ultra-low-cost mass production of Millimeter-Wave Modules and Metasurfaces for Communication, Energy Harvesting and Sensing applications. Prof. Tentzeris will touch up the state- of-the-art area of fully-integrated printable FHE-Enabled broadband wireless modules covering characterization of 3D printed materials up to E-band, novel printable “ramp” interconnects and cavities for IC embedding as well as printable structures for self-monitoring and anti-counterfeiting packages. The presented approach could potentially set the foundation for the truly convergent flexible wireless sensor ad-hoc networks of the future with enhanced cognitive intelligence and “rugged” packaging. Prof. Tentzeris will discuss issues concerning the power sources of “near-perpetual” RF modules, including 5G-enabled wireless power grids as well as energy harvesting approaches involving thermal, EM, vibration and solar energy forms. The final step of the presentation will involve examples from shape-changing 4D-printed (origami) packages, reflectarrays and mmW wearable (e.g. biomonitoring) antennas and RF modules. Special attention will be paid on the integration of ultrabroadband (Gb/sec) inkjet-printed nanotechnology-based backscattering communication modules, opto-RF modules as well as miniaturized printable wireless (e.g.CNT) sensors for Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and smart agriculture/biomonitoring applications. It has to be noted that the talk will review and present solutions for “5S Challenges” (Scalability, Sustainability, Speed, Security and Smartness) as well as future directions in the area of environmentally-friendly transient (“green”) RF electronics and “smart-skin’ conformal sensors as well as massively scalable “tile-by-tile” RFID-enabled autonomous reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.

Manos M. Tentzeris (S’89–M’92–SM’03–F’10) received the Diploma degree (magna cum laude) in electrical and computer engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.   

He is currently Ken Byers Professor in flexible electronics with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA, where he heads the ATHENA Research Group (20 researchers). He has served as the Head of the GTECE Electromagnetics Technical Interest Group, as the Georgia Electronic Design Center Associate Director of RFID/Sensors research, as the Georgia Institute of Technology NSF-Packaging Research Center Associate Director of RF Research, and as the RF Alliance Leader.  He has helped develop academic programs in 3-D/inkjet-printed RF electronics and modules, flexible electronics, origami and morphing electromagnetics, highly integrated/multilayer packaging for RF, millimeter-wave, sub-THz and wireless applications using ceramic and organic flexible materials, paper-based RFID’s and sensors, wireless sensors and biosensors, wearable electronics, “Green” electronics, energy harvesting and wireless power transfer, nanotechnology applications in RF, microwave MEMs, and SOP-integrated (UWB, multiband, mmW, and conformal) antennas. He has authored more than 850 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings, 7 books, and 26 book chapters. He was a Visiting Professor with the Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, in 2002, with GTRI-Ireland, Athlone, Ireland, in 2009, and with LAAS-CNRS, Toulouse, France, in 2010.    He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES, the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ADVANCED PACKAGING, and the International Journal on Antennas and Propagation. He has given more than 100 invited talks to various universities and companies all over the world. He is a member of the URSI-Commission D and the MTT-15 Committee, an Associate Member of EuMA, a Fellow of the Electromagnetic Academy, and a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece. He served as one of the IEEE MTT-S Distinguished Microwave Lecturers from 2010 to 2012 and is one of the IEEE CRFID Distinguished Lecturers.