A Compact Cross-Structured Dynamic Antenna for Reconfigurable Directional Modulation

A compact cross-structured dynamic antenna is presented for antenna-level physical-layer security using reconfigurable information-beam control rather than conventional radiation beam steering. The antenna uses four printed meander-line monopoles in a planar cross structure and a switching network that realizes two complementary excitation states for each dynamic mode. By switching between opposite or diagonal port groups, the aperture introduces apparent two-dimensional phase center displacement and supports four information-beam directions: $\varphi=0^\circ$, $45^\circ$, $90^\circ$, and $135^\circ$. An average--differential array factor formulation shows that the average component preserves broad omnidirectional coverage, while the odd-symmetric differential component creates angle-dependent magnitude and phase distortion that determines where the constellation remains recoverable. The recoverable information region is therefore reconfigured without phased-array beamforming, multiple RF chains, or mechanical motion. A 5.05-GHz prototype on Rogers RO4350B is fabricated with an electrical footprint of $0.57 \times 0.47λ_0^2$. Measured 16-QAM results show that low bit error rate is confined to the intended E-plane information-beam sectors, while off-beam angles exhibit large magnitude and phase errors, elevated BER, or unrecoverable constellations despite high received SNR. The measured H-plane cuts maintain low BER over nearly the full angular range, confirming omnidirectional information recovery in the orthogonal plane.

A Miniaturized Dynamic Array for Antenna-Level Physical Layer Security

A compact dynamic omnidirectional array is proposed for antenna-level physical-layer security through directional modulation. Unlike conventional directional-modulation transmitters based on phased-array beam synthesis or multiple RF chains, the proposed architecture uses a single RF input and a switching-controlled four-element printed meander-line monopole array operating at 5.05 GHz. The state-dependent excitation introduces controllable magnitude and phase perturbations in the radiated field, producing angle-dependent constellation distortion and bit error rate behavior. Reliable information recovery is confined to a narrow broadside region in the E-plane, whereas the H-plane remains quasi-static and omnidirectional, providing a full 360-degree information-recoverable region. The antenna is implemented on a single-layer Rogers RO4350B substrate with a compact footprint of 0.57 x 1.11 lambda_0^2. A four-path switching network based on commercial RF components is used for experimental validation. Communication measurements using 16-QAM at 5.05 GHz demonstrate BER-defined E-plane information beamwidths of 30 to 36 degrees for calibrated switching modes under a BER <= 10^-3 criterion, while no bit errors are observed in the measured H-plane and the SNR remains above approximately 33 dB. Feed-phase offsets are also used to steer the BER-defined information-recoverable sector, demonstrating information-beam steering with the same antenna-level switching mechanism. These results show that compact antenna-level directional modulation can provide angularly selective information recovery in one principal plane while preserving omnidirectional coverage in the orthogonal plane.

A Compact Omnidirectional Meanderline Antenna Array for Wireless Security Using Dynamic Magnitude and Phase Pattern Modulation

A compact dynamic four-element array with omnidirectional H-plane coverage is presented for planar physical-layer security using antenna-level directional modulation. The proposed approach achieves angularly selective information transmission without phased-array beamforming or multiple RF chains by dynamically switching the excitation paths of a four-element array. The antenna comprises four printed meander-line monopole elements operating at 5.05 GHz with independently controlled differential power excitation, which introduces magnitude and phase pattern modulation and dynamic motion of the apparent element spacing, resulting in strongly angle-dependent signal distortion and bit error rate (BER) performance. Reliable information recovery is confined to a narrow broadside region in the E-plane, while significantly elevated BER is observed at off-broadside angles. In contrast, the H-plane radiation remains static and omnidirectional, enabling full 360-degree information-recoverable coverage in the orthogonal plane. The antenna is fabricated on a single-layer Rogers RO4350B substrate with a compact footprint of 0.55 x 1.73 lambda_0^2. A four-path switching network implemented using commercial RF components validates the concept experimentally. Communication measurements under high-SNR conditions above 19 dB using 16-QAM demonstrate a planar information beamwidth below 24 degrees, confirming effective antenna-level directional modulation with angle-dependent BER characteristics and omnidirectional H-plane coverage.

Spatial-Spectral Modeling of the Array Pattern of a Two-Element Dynamic Antenna Array with Differential Amplitude Modulation

We present a theoretical model for a two-element dynamic phased array and characterize the transfer of information as a function of angle. The array is based on a two-state switched structure with phase shifting to support beamsteering. Dynamic motion of the phase center of antenna arrays generates time-varying radiation patterns that, when appropriately designed, support directional modulation, or the transfer of information to regions of space that are narrower than that covered by the energy radiated by the array. We evaluate the impact of switching frequency and steering on the spatial width of the information beam, which is the region of space where information is recoverable. The concepts are evaluated through simulation and experiment using a 0.75$λ$ two-element array operating at 2.5 GHz.

Array Layout Optimization in a 24-Element 38-GHz Active Incoherent Millimeter-Wave Imaging System

Active incoherent millimeter-wave (AIM) imaging is a recently developed technique that has been shown to generate fast millimeter-wave imaging using sparse apertures and Fourier domain sampling. In these systems, spatial frequency sampling is determined by cross-correlation between antenna pairs, making array geometry an important aspect that dictates the field of view (FOV) and image quality. This work investigates the impact of array redundancy and spatial sampling diversity on AIM image reconstruction performance. We present a comparative study of three receive array configurations, including one simple circular design and two arrays obtained through optimization strategies designed to maximize unique spatial samples while preserving system resolution and FOV. Performance is evaluated using the image-domain metrics of structural similarity index (SSIM) and peak sidelobe level (PSL), enabling a quantitative assessment of reconstruction fidelity and artifact suppression. We perform experimental validation using a 38-GHz AIM imaging system, implementing a 24-element receive array within a 48-position reconfigurable aperture. Results demonstrate that optimized array configurations improve spatial sampling efficiency and yield measurable gains in reconstruction quality compared to a conventional circular array, highlighting the importance of array design for AIM imaging systems.

Secure Wireless Communication Using Coherent Distributed Transmission and Spatial Signal Decomposition

We present a new approach to secure wireless communications using coherent distributed transmission of signals that are spatially decomposed between a two-element distributed antenna array. High-accuracy distributed coordination of microwave wireless systems supports the ability to transmit different parts of a signal from separate transmitters such that they combine coherently at a designated destination. In this paper we explore this concept using a two-element coherent distributed phased array where each of the two transmitters sends a separate component of a communication signal where each symbol is decomposed into a sum of two pseudo-random signal vectors, the coherent summation of which yields the intended symbol. By directing the transmission to an intended receiver using distributed beamforming, the summation of the two vector components is largely confined to a spatial region at the destination receiver. We implement the technique in a 50 wavelength array operating at 3 GHz. We evaluate the symbol error ratio. (SER) in two-dimensional space through simulation and measurement, showing the approach yields a spatially confined secure region where the information is recoverable(i.e., the received signal has low SER), and outside of which the information is unrecoverable (high SER). The proposed system is also compared against a traditional beamforming system where each node sends the same data. We validate experimentally that our approach achieves a low SER of 0.0082 at broadside and a SER above 0.25 at all other locations compared to a traditional beamforming approach that achieves a SER of 0 at all locations measured.

Three-Dimensional Millimeter-Wave Imaging Using Active Incoherent Fourier Processing and Pulse Compression

We present a novel three-dimensional (3D) imaging approach that combines two-dimensional spatial Fourier-domain imaging techniques with traditional radar pulse compression to recover both cross-range and down-range scene information. The imaging system employs four transmitters, three of which emit spatially and temporally incoherent noise signals, while the fourth transmits a known linear frequency modulated (LFM) pulsed signal. The spatial incoherence of the noise signals enables sampling of the 2D spatial Fourier spectrum of the scene from which two-dimensional cross-range (azimuth and elevation) images can be formed via interferometric processing. Simultaneously, the LFM signal enables high-resolution downrange imaging through matched filtering. The received signals consist of a superposition of the noise sources and the known pulse allowing for joint recovery of all three dimensions. We describe the system architecture and waveform design, and demonstrate the imaging technique using both simulations with a linear array and experimental data from a 38 GHz active incoherent millimeter-wave imaging system with 23-element randomized array. Results show the reconstruction of targets in three dimensions.

Collaborative Beamforming for Communication Applications Using a Two-Element Fully-Wireless Open-Loop Coherent Distributed Array

In this work we demonstrate a proof of concept of a fully-wireless two-node open-loop coherent distributed communication system and evaluate its performance by transmitting QPSK , 64-, and 256-QAM constellations at a symbol rate of 2 MBd over a 58 m link in an urban environment. The system is implemented in a distributed manner with on-node processing using software-defined radios (SDRs) and wireless internode communication to share coordination information and does not rely on external time or frequency references such as the global navigation satellite system (GNSS). In each experiment ~100 messages were transmitted and a mean coherent gain of 0.936 was achieved across all measurements with a mean symbol error ratio of below $1.4\times 10^{-4}$ achieved up to 64-QAM, demonstrating a reliable bandwidth of up to 12 Mbps.

A Compact Dynamic Omnidirectional Antenna

We propose a novel omnidirectional antenna design incorporating directional modulation for secure narrow planar information transmission. The proposed antenna features a compact size and stable omnidirectional radiation performance by employing two tightly spaced, printed meander line monopole antennas, acting as a single radiating element. To achieve a narrow information secure region, the proposed antenna is fed by differential power excitation of two ports with real-time dynamic switching. This leads to phase pattern modulation only along the electrical polarization, resulting in directionally confined information recoverable region in the E-plane, while maintaining highly constant or static omnidirectional H-plane pattern, inducing a $360^\circ$ information recoverable region. The dynamic antenna is designed and fabricated on a single layer of Rogers RO4350B which provides a miniaturized planar size of $0.36 \times 0.5 , \lambda_0^2$ at 2.7 GHz and easy integration. To validate the wireless communication performance, the fabricated antenna is directly fed with a 10 dB power ratio by a radio frequency (RF) switching system and evaluated for 16-QAM and 256-QAM transmission in a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environment. Experimental results demonstrate that for 16-QAM transmission, a narrow E-plane information beam (IB) of approximately $34^\circ$ and omnidirectional H-plane IB are obtained, and a narrower E-plane IB is achieved around $15^\circ$ for 256-QAM. These results confirm that the proposed antenna offers a simple yet effective approach to enhance planar physical information security with a compact dynamic antenna system.

Real-Time High-Accuracy Digital Wireless Time, Frequency, and Phase Calibration For Coherent Distributed Antenna Arrays

This work presents a fully-digital high-accuracy real-time calibration procedure for frequency and time alignment of open-loop wirelessly coordinated coherent distributed antenna array (CDA) modems, enabling RF phase coherence of spatially separated commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software-defined radios (SDRs) without any cables or external references such as global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Building on previous work using high-accuracy spectrally-sparse time of arrival (ToA) waveforms and a multi-step ToA refinement process, a high-accuracy two-way time transfer (TWTT)-based time-frequency coordination approach is demonstrated. By using a high-accuracy time estimation approach, frequency estimates can be derived over long observation intervals leading to a high-accuracy frequency estimate, without the requirement for long pulse durations as is required for direct spectral frequency estimation techniques, minimizing coordination overhead. Furthermore, due to the two-way nature of the high-accuracy TWTT approach, the time and frequency estimates are Doppler and multi-path tolerant, so long as the channel is reciprocal over the synchronization epoch. This technique is experimentally verified by demonstrating wireless distributed array coordination using COTS SDRs in a lab environment in static and dynamic scenarios and with significant multipath scatterers. Time, frequency, and phase stability were measured over coaxial cables to an oscilloscope and achieved time and phase coordination precision of ~60-70 ps, with median coherent gains above 99% using optimized parameters, and a beamforming frequency RMSE of 3.73 ppb in a dynamic scenario. Finally, experiments are conducted to compare the performance of this technique with previous work works using an analog continuous-wave two-tone (CWTT) frequency reference technique in both static and dynamic settings as a benchmark.