Balanced Circularly Polarised MIMO Antennas for High-Performance IoT Networks

About the Project

The Internet of Things (IoT) will connect billions of devices in the coming decade, enabling transformative applications across smart homes, healthcare, transport, and industrial automation. To support this vision, IoT devices require antennas that can deliver reliable, compact, and energy-efficient connectivity, even in challenging environments with multipath fading, device orientation changes, and interference.

Circularly polarised (CP) antennas are well suited for IoT networks as they mitigate polarisation mismatch and enhance link stability in dynamic environments. At the same time, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems provide higher capacity, improved throughput, and better resilience to fading. Combining these two approaches promises robust and efficient IoT connectivity.

A key innovation in this project is the adoption of balanced antenna designs. Balanced antennas inherently suppress unwanted currents and common-mode noise, leading to improved radiation efficiency, wider bandwidth, and superior isolation between antenna elements. They are also compact and less affected by nearby structures, making them ideal for dense IoT deployments where space is limited and devices operate in cluttered or noisy electromagnetic environments. Integrating balanced configurations with CP-MIMO architectures therefore offers a pathway to achieve high-performance, interference-resilient, and orientation-independent antennas tailored for IoT systems.

This PhD project will investigate the design, development, and optimisation of balanced circularly polarised MIMO antennas for IoT applications. Research objectives include:

• Novel Balanced CP-MIMO Architectures: Designing compact antenna structures that combine balance, circular polarisation, and MIMO capabilities for efficient integration into IoT devices.
• Interference and Multipath Robustness: Exploiting balanced designs to reduce cross-coupling, minimise common-mode interference, and improve performance in multipath-rich environments.
• Enhanced MIMO Performance: Maximising isolation, diversity gain, and channel capacity while maintaining low profile and low power operation.
• Energy-Efficient Operation: Achieving high radiation efficiency and low power loss, supporting sustainable IoT devices.
• Application Demonstration: Prototyping and validating antenna designs in realistic IoT scenarios such as healthcare monitoring, smart infrastructure, and industrial sensing.

The project will combine computational modelling, antenna prototyping, and experimental validation. State-of-the-art simulation tools (e.g., HFSS, CST, MATLAB/Python) will be used for optimisation, with fabricated prototypes tested in laboratory and field conditions.

This project is suitable for applicants with backgrounds in electrical and electronic engineering, communications engineering, or applied physics. Strong candidates should demonstrate interests in:

• Antenna theory, balanced antenna structures, and electromagnetic design,
• Microwave/mm-wave engineering and RF circuits,
• Wireless communication systems and MIMO technology,
• Applied mathematics, optimisation, and programming (MATLAB, Python, C++).

Applicants with enthusiasm for interdisciplinary research in antenna innovation, wireless communications, and IoT applications are particularly encouraged to apply.

Academic qualifications

A first degree (at least a 2:1) ideally in Electrical & Electronic Engineering

English language requirement

IELTS score must be at least 6.5 (with not less than 6.0 in each of the four components). Other, equivalent qualifications will be accepted.

Essential attributes:

Only a first-class honours degree, or a distinction at master level in a subject relevant to the PhD project will be considered, or equivalent achievements.

Experience of fundamental antenna design and modelling

Competent in Electromagnetics Theory and Fields

Programming skills

Microwave Engineering and Circuit Theories.

Good written and oral communication skills.

APPLICATION CHECKLIST

• Completed application form
• CV
• 2 academic references, using the Postgraduate Educational Reference Form (download)
• Research project outline of 2 pages (list of references excluded). The outline may provide details about
  1. Background and motivation of the project. The motivation, explaining the importance of the project, should be supported also by relevant literature. You can also discuss the applications you expect for the project results.
  2. Research questions or objectives.
  3. Methodology: types of data to be used, approach to data collection, and data analysis methods.
  4. List of references.
• The outline must be created solely by the applicant. Supervisors can only offer general discussions about the project idea without providing any additional support.
• Statement no longer than 1 page describing your motivations and fit with the project.
• Evidence of proficiency in English (if appropriate)

To be considered, the application must use

• the advertised title as project title