IPN supports the telecommunications sector with LaNTA

The laboratory is accredited by EMA and has international traceability from the National Metrology Center to measure radiated fields

Zenaida Alzaga

The Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) houses the Laboratorio Nacional de Telecomunicaciones y Antenas (LaNTA) at the Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica (ESIME), Zacatenco Unit. This laboratory holds both national and international certifications, along with specialized personnel, positioning this educational institution as the only public higher education institution providing support to this strategic sector for the progress and development of the country.

The laboratory is accredited by the Mexican Accreditation Entity (EMA) with international traceability from the National Metrology Center to measure radiated fields and characterize antennas in the frequency range from 700 MHz to 18 GHz, which are installed in communication networks in Mexico, Central America, South America, and Europe.

Interesting Fact

The electromagnetic anechoic chamber is a room isolated from external interference and is used for antenna characterization.

In this regard, Dr. Jorge Roberto Sosa Pedroza and Ms. Fabiola Martínez Zúñiga, professors at ESIME Zacatenco and responsible for LaNTA, explained that, for antenna characterization, they have an electromagnetic anechoic chamber where they measure radiated fields.

The electromagnetic anechoic chamber is a room isolated from external interference; its interior is covered with material that absorbs electromagnetic energy radiated by the antenna, preventing undesired reflections. The coating is formed with pyramids made of polyurethane impregnated with a ferromagnetic material, ensuring that the radiation from an antenna can only be received in the direction of the radio or television frequency measurement probe, to measure the energy radiated by the antenna in all directions.

It uses a rotating table that allows radiation measurement in 360° and an arm (mast) that moves up and down to obtain between 20 and 40 data points in its vertical movement; the data are captured by a network analyzer connected to a computer, which processes the information obtained inside the chamber, and the result indicates the radiation pattern of the antenna and other characteristics. That is, through the management of the anechoic chamber, experts can characterize electromagnetic devices from 700 megahertz (MHz) to 18 gigahertz (GHz), covering practically many of the country's communication bands.

Sosa Pedroza indicated that the antenna is a metallic device that emits and receives electromagnetic waves to channel power in a specific direction, according to its dimensions and wavelength of the emitted radio frequency signal. At the National Telecommunications and Antennas Laboratory, Dr. Jorge Sosa Pedroza and MSc. Fabiola Martínez Zúñiga, Rodrigo del Villar Ramírez, and Alejandro Trejo León participate, which is a space focused on teaching, research, collaboration, innovation, and knowledge at the undergraduate and graduate levels (master's and doctoral). They also create electromagnetic devices, mainly antennas, to address terrestrial communications and ground stations for satellites, among others.

Through the management of the anechoic chamber, electromagnetic devices can be characterized to cover many of the country's communication bands.

The research conducted in the laboratory has allowed them to apply a new method of measuring antennas (using a 19th-century integral equation), a process called "Antenna measurement using the Pocklington equation," which will soon receive a patent registration number from the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). The process has the advantage that it can be carried out in open spaces without the need for an anechoic chamber.

The Politécnico has highly trained human resources and unique infrastructure among public higher education institutions to design, build, model, test, and characterize antennas used, for example, in cellular telephony and the 5G network with the support of the anechoic chamber.

Jorge Roberto Sosa added that in the laboratory, they verify that the antennas do not have mechanical deficiencies that could affect the reception and quality of national telecommunications; they verify the operation of satellite networks; they conduct quality of service and coverage analysis in communications, among others.

Currently, LaNTA is accredited as a Calibration and Testing Laboratory under the NMX-t17025-IMNC-2018 ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard for Antennas and Radiated Electromagnetic Fields, issued by the Mexican Accreditation Entity (EMA).

This allows products that qualify and are certified by public or private entities to be marketed in European countries, for example, because they also have a certificate issued by the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) to carry out their functions.

Finally, the experts pointed out that recently, LaNTA worked on the design of the coverage of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Interoceanic Corridor that will benefit the inhabitants of 72 municipalities in Oaxaca and Veracruz; in the design of the Sonora Trunk Network that will connect all the populations of the state and the government entities of the state, almost all concentrated in front of the Gulf of California, as well as in the development of standards for measuring security communication systems of the Ministry of the Interior, among other projects.

In the laboratory, they verify that the antennas do not have deficiencies that could affect the reception of national telecommunications.

Selección Gaceta Politécnica #173. (April 30th, 2024). IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in Spanish here.