Novel Compact Antenna for VLF

A new very compact VLF antenna concept has been developed by the Department of Energy. I wonder if this would be economically reproducible for amateur VLF or even 160 meters?

The full article is available from phys.org at:
https://phys.org/news/2019-04-slac-compact-antenna-radios.html

It says, in part:

A new type of pocket-sized antenna, developed at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, could enable mobile communication in situations where conventional radios don't work...

While today's most powerful VLF technology requires gigantic emitters, this antenna is only four inches tall...

"Our device is also hundreds of times more efficient and can transmit data faster than previous devices of comparable size," said SLAC's Mark Kemp, the project's principal investigator. "Its performance pushes the limits of what's technologically possible and puts portable VLF applications, like sending short text messages in challenging situations, within reach."

 

We need to find in ourselves the ability to bend the law of physics and use it to build a better mousetrap

 

" In tests that sent signals from the transmitter to a receiver 100 feet away, the researchers demonstrated that their device produced VLF radiation 300 times more efficiently than previous compact antennas and transmitted data with almost 100 times greater bandwidth."

Not sure about this novel approach yet. In the world of conventional VLF antennas one would call that a near-field test and not expect
anything spectacular, no matter how good it is at such distance.
73
Peter

 

Near field and earth-wave. It is bogus to say the antenna is "4 inches". Its not an antenna. Its a resonator being driven as an exciter. Read the Nature article.

Basically its about a new method for making a TRANSMITTER, not an ANTENNA.

The resonator is coupling to ground.

GW Pierce would be proud;-)

 

If that fence(?) in the background is made from metal, 'bogus' is a kind understatement.
Peter

 

That's a big pocket!

 

The original title:
"A High Q Piezoelectric Resonator as a Portable VLF Transmitter"

The original article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09680-2

Reiterating what W1YW pointed out, the authors do not make any claim regarding a new antenna device. Yet another failure to grasp the idea by journalists writing summary pieces.

 

I’d like to talk to them about 160 meters. That is a band that is hard to talk on. May be I’ll take all there broken
Crystals and grind one for 160 meters

 

Fair enough on the semantics of the phys.org article.

If, however, this device (resonator or otherwise) works and could be economically employed for amateurs it could be a great thing for low band participation.

 

i'm getting to tinker with the new Kymeta flat panel antennas,, it's pretty cool concept on how they manipulate the suspended particle in the liquid to be able to peak up on the ku bird. On the legacy satellites with lesser power it is not as efficient as traditional parabola dish type however with the new HTS o3b constellation the pairing is perfectly and i'm getting as much throughput as the 1M parabola stabilized dish.. BUC size being the same of course.