High-Frequency Communication
Phased arrays, microstrip and dielectric antennas, RF front ends, anti-jamming architectures, software-defined radio and RF energy harvesting.
HARRAN UNIVERSITY · ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
Applied Electromagnetics Lab
Research in applied electromagnetics from RF and microwave frequencies to emerging THz systems.
The Applied Electromagnetics Lab develops research in high-frequency communication, electromagnetic sensing, computational electromagnetics, and signal intelligence, with an emphasis on physically grounded modelling, measurement, and reproducible analysis.
Research led byDr. Ekrem AltınözenLab Lead & Principal Investigator
CommunicationAntennas · RF front ends · SDR · resilient wireless systems
SensingMicrowave · RFID · metamaterials · materials
ComputationFull-wave modelling · inverse problems · optimization
Signal intelligenceFeature extraction · machine learning · uncertainty · inference
01PhysicsStructure · materials · fields
→
02MeasurementVNA · SDR · calibrated experiments
→
03DataS-parameters · resonance · uncertainty
→
04InferenceModels · ML · physical interpretation
Lab vision
A research framework connecting electromagnetic structures, measurements, and data.
The laboratory vision integrates high-frequency communication and sensing with materials, measurement, validation, and machine learning for signals. The objective is to connect electromagnetic mechanisms with measurable, reproducible, and interpretable engineering outcomes.
EA
Research lead
Dr. Ekrem Altınözen
Assistant Professor · Lab Lead & Principal Investigator
Electrical & Electronics Engineering · Harran University
Academic & professional profiles
Research areas
Four connected research domains in applied electromagnetics.
Research is organized around electromagnetic hardware, sensing mechanisms, computational modelling, and the interpretation of measured and simulated signals. Each domain connects to concrete project pages and research outputs.
High-Frequency Sensing
Microwave liquid and refractive-index sensing, RFID sensing, metamaterials, composite characterization and biomedical electromagnetic concepts.
Computational Electromagnetics
Full-wave simulation, material modelling, geometry transformation, surrogate modelling, optimization and inverse electromagnetic problems.
Machine Learning for Signals
Feature extraction, classification, anomaly detection, uncertainty-aware analysis and physics-guided interpretation of electromagnetic measurements.
Active research projects
Research questions connected to methods and evidence.
Each project page separates the research question, electromagnetic mechanism, measurement or simulation workflow, expected evidence, and related scholarly outputs.
01Active
Microwave Resonant Sensing
How can multi-resonant electromagnetic responses improve material and state estimation beyond a single frequency shift?
Project page →02Experimental platform
Chipless RFID & Structural Sensing
Can passive electromagnetic signatures distinguish structural degradation, cracks, strain, and other state changes with low-complexity interrogation?
Project page →03Numerical + data
Terahertz Metasurfaces
How can tunable resonators and graphene-enabled structures produce interpretable refractive-index sensing signatures?
Project page →04Established research line
Flexible & Conformal RF
How robust are antennas, interconnects, and resonant structures when bending, twisting, and combined deformations alter their geometry?
Project page →05Method development
Material Characterization
How should waveguide, resonator, and free-space methods be selected and validated for practical dielectric extraction?
Project page →06Cross-cutting
Computational EM & Signal Inference
How can field physics, simulation, uncertainty, and data-driven models be combined without losing physical interpretability?
Project page →Technical capabilities
What is measured, modelled, and extracted.
Capabilities are separated by maturity so that experimental availability, active research, and method development are explicit rather than implied.
Available / established workflow Active research capability Method development
| Capability | Method / platform | Typical regime | Primary outputs | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S-parameter measurement | Vector network analyser with calibration and fixture-aware workflows | RF / microwave | S11, S21, magnitude, phase | Available |
| Resonant sensing | Resonators, fixtures and controlled perturbation | Microwave | Resonant frequency, Q-factor, bandwidth, multi-feature response | Active |
| Dielectric / material characterization | Waveguide, resonator and free-space strategies selected by specimen and band | Method dependent | Relative permittivity, loss tangent, uncertainty-aware estimates | Developing |
| Antenna & RF validation | VNA, SDR and compact application-specific arrangements | RF / microwave | Matching, coupling, spectral response, system metrics | Available |
| Computational electromagnetics | Full-wave numerical modelling, geometry transformation and parametric studies | RF → THz | Fields, S-parameters, sensitivities, deformation response | Active |
| Signal intelligence | Python-based feature engineering, machine learning and statistical validation | Measured / simulated data | Classification, inference, uncertainty and benchmark metrics | Active |
Measurement method and frequency range depend on the device, material, fixture, calibration strategy, specimen dimensions, and required uncertainty. Project-specific feasibility is assessed before experimental work.
Research outputs
Publications connected to problems, methods, and contributions.
Selected papers are summarized by the technical problem they address and the contribution they make. DOI links point to the publication record.
Selected publications by the Lab Lead
Representative peer-reviewed work
2026THz sensing
Graphene-Based Terahertz Metasurface with Molybdenum Disulfide for Refractive Index Sensing Applications
Sensing and Imaging · 27(1) · Article 62
Problem: tunable and polarization-tolerant refractive-index sensing at terahertz frequencies. Approach: graphene-enabled dual elliptical-ring metasurface with full-wave analysis of resonance physics. Contribution: links tunability, field/current interpretation, and sensing response in a compact numerical platform.
2026THz + ML
A numerical study of graphene-based nested split-ring terahertz for sensing applications
Optical and Quantum Electronics · 58 · Article 181
Problem: interpreting tunable THz resonance signatures for sensing. Approach: nested split-ring/graphene full-wave modelling with S-parameter feature construction and benchmarked classification. Contribution: couples electromagnetic response analysis with a comparative supervised-learning stage.
2025Flexible sensing
Numerical Analysis of a Flexible Interconnect and Ground-Defected Split Ring Resonator for High-Frequency 5G Sensing Applications
Harran University Journal of Engineering · 10(3) · 172–183
Problem: deformation-sensitive RF behaviour in lightweight conformal structures. Approach: numerical characterization of a PDMS-based flexible interconnect incorporating a defected-ground split-ring resonator. Contribution: evaluates bending-related electromagnetic response for high-frequency sensing concepts.
2023Flexible antennas
Assessment of the Robustness of Flexible Antennas to Complex Deformations
IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation · 71(6) · 4714–4723
Problem: realistic antenna deformation is more complex than simple cylindrical bending. Approach: Green-Coordinates-based spatial manipulation generates spherical, saddle, and twisting deformations for full-wave analysis. Contribution: assesses antenna performance robustness under complex in-situ geometric changes.
2022Geometry modelling
Systematic Generation of Arbitrary Antenna Geometries
IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation · 70(8) · 6377–6387
Problem: standard EM workflows struggle to generate arbitrary bent, twisted, and crumpled antenna geometries robustly. Approach: Green Coordinates with distortion compensation. Contribution: provides a systematic route from complex spatial deformation to EM-ready antenna geometry.
Software & data
Only resources with explicit maturity labels
CODEPUBLIC CHANNEL
Lab GitHub organization
Public code and future open research software are released through the lab GitHub organization. Individual tools are cited only when a repository is publicly available.
Open GitHub ↗DATAIN DEVELOPMENT
Research datasets
Measurement and simulation datasets are being structured around provenance, calibration context, physical parameters, and reusable benchmark splits.
BENCHMARKIN DEVELOPMENT
Evaluation frameworks
Benchmark protocols are being developed to connect electromagnetic features, uncertainty, model comparison, and physically interpretable validation.
Research updates
A concise record of recent research activity.
Updates point to a publication, project page, or concrete site resource rather than functioning as a general-purpose blog.
Research architecture expanded
The lab site now connects research areas to dedicated project pages, maturity-labelled capabilities, and publication evidence.
Explore projects →Graphene/MoS₂ THz metasurface study
A numerical terahertz refractive-index sensing study was published in Sensing and Imaging.
Publication DOI ↗Nested split-ring THz sensing + classification
A graphene-enabled nested split-ring study combining electromagnetic response features with classifier benchmarking was published in Optical and Quantum Electronics.
Publication DOI ↗Flexible interconnect and resonator study
Numerical characterization of a PDMS-based flexible RF interconnect with a defected-ground split-ring resonator was published.
Publication DOI ↗Academic biography
Ekrem Altınözen, PhD
Assistant Professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering · Harran University, Şanlıurfa, Türkiye
Dr. Ekrem Altınözen works at the intersection of computational electromagnetics, RF and microwave engineering, resonant sensing, antenna technology, and intelligent signal interpretation. His research combines electromagnetic theory, full-wave numerical simulation, experimental measurement, inverse modelling, and data-driven analysis.
His doctoral research at the University of Nottingham developed spatial-warping methods for representing complex deformations in flexible electromagnetic structures. Current work extends these foundations toward microwave and terahertz resonant sensors, chipless RFID, material characterization, structural sensing, reconfigurable electromagnetic structures, and physics-guided signal intelligence.
Student research & opportunities
Student research built around real electromagnetic problems.
Undergraduate and graduate students interested in RF, microwave sensing, antennas, SDR, computational electromagnetics, or signal processing may participate through supervised research projects when suitable topics and laboratory capacity are available.
Research inquiry →Acknowledgements & support
Industry support for experimental research and engineering education.
Laboratory equipment support is acknowledged separately from complimentary samples, materials, software access, and development platforms.
Laboratory equipment support
We gratefully acknowledge the support of companies that contribute to our lab by providing low-frequency Digital Multimeters, Waveform Generators, InfiniiVision 1000 X-Series Oscilloscope, and a DC power supply with three outputs.
Complimentary samples & development boards
We gratefully acknowledge the support of companies that contribute to our lab by providing complimentary samples and development boards.
altera
Tidy3D
Contact & collaboration
Research collaboration, student projects, and laboratory support.
The laboratory welcomes research collaborations that connect electromagnetic modelling, sensing, RF hardware, materials, measurement, and intelligent signal processing.
Joint research & publications
Materials / fabrication collaboration
Measurement & benchmarking
Student research projects