This paper presents an experimental characterization of millimeter-wave (mm-wave) channels in the 6.5 GHz, 10.5 GHz, 15 GHz, 19 GHz, 28 GHz and 38 GHz frequency bands in an indoor corridor environment. More than 4,000 power delay profiles were measured across the bands using an omnidirectional transmitter antenna and a highly directional horn receiver antenna for both co- and cross-polarized antenna configurations. This paper develops a new path-loss model to account for the frequency attenuation with distance, which we term the frequency attenuation (FA) path-loss model and introduce a frequency-dependent attenuation factor. The large-scale path loss was characterized based on both new and well-known path-loss models. A general and less complex method is also proposed to estimate the cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) factor of close-in reference distance with the XPD (CIX) and ABG with the XPD (ABGX) path-loss models to avoid the computational complexity of minimum mean square error (MMSE) approach. Moreover, small-scale parameters such as root mean square (RMS) delay spread, mean excess (MN-EX) delay, dispersion factors and maximum excess (MAX-EX) delay parameters were used to characterize the multipath channel dispersion. Multiple statistical distributions for RMS delay spread were also investigated. The results show that our proposed models are simpler and more physically-based than other well-known models. The path-loss exponents for all studied models are smaller than that of the free-space model by values in the range of 0.1 to 1.4 for all measured frequencies. The RMS delay spread values varied between 0.2 ns and 13.8 ns, and the dispersion factor values were less than 1 for all measured frequencies. The exponential and Weibull probability distribution models best fit the RMS delay spread empirical distribution for all of the measured frequencies in all scenarios.

The current propagation models used for frequency bands less than 6 GHz are not appropriate and cannot be applied for path loss modeling and channel characteristics for frequency bands above 6 GHz millimeter wave (mmWave) bands, due to the difference of signal propagation characteristics between existing frequency bands and mmWave frequency bands. Thus, extensive studies on channel characterization and path loss modeling are required to develop a general and appropriate channel model that can be suitable for a wide range of mmWave frequency bands in its modeling parameter. This paper presents a study of well-known channel models for an indoor environment on the 4.5, 28, and 38 GHz frequency bands. A new path loss model is proposed for the 28 GHz and 38 GHz frequency bands. Measurements for the indoor line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenarios were taken every meter over a separation distance of 23 m between the TX and RX antenna locations to compare the well-known and the new large-scale generic path loss models. This measurement was conducted in a new wireless communication center WCC block P15a at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia UTM Johor, Malaysia, and the results were analyzed based on the well-known and proposed path loss models for single-frequency and multifrequency models and for directional and omnidirectional path loss models. Results show that the large-scale path loss over distance could be modeled better with good accuracy by using the simple proposed model with one parameter path loss exponent PLE (n) that is physically based to the transmitter power, rather than using the well-known models that have no physical base to the transmitted power, more complications (require more parameters), and lack of anticipation when explaining model parameters.The PLE values for the LOS scenario were 0.92, 0.90, and 1.07 for the V-V, V-H, and V-Omni antenna polarizations, respectively, at the 28 GHz frequency and were 2.30, 2.24, and 2.40 for the V-V, V-H, and V-Omni antenna polarizations, respectively, at the 38 GHz frequency.

It has been widely speculated that the performance of the next generation Internet of Things (IoT) based wireless network should meet a transmission speed on the order of 1000 times more than current wireless networks; energy consumption on the order of 10 times less and access delay of less than 1 ns that will be provided by future 5G systems. To increase the current mobile broadband capacity in future 5G systems, the millimeter wave (mmWave) band will be used with huge amounts of bandwidth available in this band. Hence, to support this wider bandwith at the mmWave band, new radio access technology (RAT) should be provided for 5G systems. The new RAT with symmetry design for downlink and uplink should support different scenarios such as device to device (D2D) and multi-hop communications. This paper presents the path loss models in parking lot environment which represents the multi-end users for future 5G applications. To completely assess the typical performance of 5G wireless network systems across these different frequency bands, it is necessary to develop path loss (PL) models across these wide frequency ranges. The short wavelength of the highest frequency bands provides many scatterings from different objects. Cars and other objects are some examples of scatterings, which represent a critical issue at millimeter-wave bands. This paper presents the large-scale propagation characteristics for millimeter-wave in a parking lot environment. A new physical-based path loss model for parking lots is proposed. The path loss was investigated based on different models. The measurement was conducted at 28 GHz and 38 GHz frequencies for different scenarios. Results showed that the path loss exponent values were approximately identical at 28 GHz and 38 GHz for different scenarios of parking lots. It was found that the proposed compensation factor varied between 10.6 dB and 23.1 dB and between 13.1 and 19.1 in 28 GHz and 38 GHz, respectively. The proposed path loss models showed that more compensation factors are required for more scattering objects, especially at 28 GHz.

We demonstrate a Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) using a newly developed zinc oxide- (ZnO) based saturable absorber (SA). The SA is fabricated by embedding a prepared ZnO powder into a poly(vinyl alcohol) film. A small piece of the film is then sandwiched between two fiber ferrules and is incorporated in an EDFL cavity for generating a stable Q-switching pulse train. The EDFL operates at 1560.4 nm with a pump power threshold of 11.8 mW, a pulse repetition rate tunable from 22.79 to 61.43 kHz, and the smallest pulse width of 7.00 μs. The Q-switching pulse shows no spectral modulation with a peak-to-pedestal ratio of 62 dB indicating the high stability of the laser. These results show that the ZnO powder has a great potential to be used for pulsed laser applications.

This article describes the design of an Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) miniature folded dipole Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag antenna that can be mountable on metallic objects. The compact tag antenna is formed from symmetric C-shaped resonators connected with additional arms embedded into the outer strip lines for miniaturization purposes. It is loaded with outer strip lines, resulting in a flexible tuning method that is capable of matching the integrated circuit (IC) chip’s impedance. The proposed tag is fabricated on a single layer of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrate. It has simple structure and does not require any metallic vias or shorting plate. The miniature tag antenna with a size of 82.75 × 19.5 × 1.5   mm 3 yields a total realized gain of − 0.53   dB at the resonance frequency when attached to a 40 × 40   cm 2 metal plate. The presented design utilizes a European RFID band, and the simulated results of realized gain, read range, and input impedance are verified with measurement results.

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The aim of this study is to examine the factors that influenced the use of Edmodo content management system to support the teaching and learning in a flipped classroom context. Using an extended technology acceptance model (TAM), we adopted a revised model consisting of two external factors (Content Quality and Motivation) that may influence students' perceptions and acceptance of the system. A total of 42 students were involved in this study. The students attended a course in a flipped classroom environment. The findings of the study utilizing the multiple regression analysis revealed that the Edmodo content management system was well accepted where the Content Quality acted as a good external factor and able to predict the students Perception of Usefulness and Perception Ease of Use. As for Motivation, it was found that there was no positive relationship with the Perception of Usefulness.

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