Web-Based Vi rual Laboratori es for Antenna

Arrays, Radi owave Propagati on, and

Fi l ter Desi gn
Cagatay Ulu//k and Levent Sevgi
El ectroni cs and Communi cati ons Engi neeri ng Department
Dogu Uni versity
Zeamet Sokak 21 , ACl badem - Kadl koy, 34722 I stanbul , Turkey
E-mai l : I sevgi @dogus. edu. tr
Abstract
Thi s tutori al expl ai ns in detai l the creati on of a Web-based appl i cati on usi ng the MATAB Web Serer (MWS) tool box
of MATAB. I t ai ms to enabl e readers who are fami l i ar with MATAB but don' t have Web-programmi ng ski l l s to prepare
thei r own Web-based appl i cati ons. Three Web-based vi rtual l aboratori es, AntenGUI, SSPEGUI, and FilterGUI, created
usi ng MWS, are presented. The AntenGUI appl i cati on i l l ustrates the array factor of l i near, rectangul ar, and ci rcul ar
arrays. The SSPEGUI appl i cati on vi sual i zes radi owave propagati on over a non-smooth Earh' s surface through a
non-homogenous atmosphere. The FiterGUI tool desi gns l umped-el ement (LC) fi l ters, and obtai ns the correspondi ng
transmi ssi on-l i ne and mi crostri p-l i ne fi l ters. These Web-based vi rtual tool s can be accessed on the I nternet.
Keywords: MATAB Web Server; vi rtual l aboratory; vi sual i zati on; si mul ati on; di stance l earni ng; engi neeri ng educati on;
pl anar arrays; i sotropi c radi ators; antenna radi ati on patterns; radi owave propagati on; parabol i c equati on method; fi l ter
desi gn ; l umped el ements; transmi ssi on l i nes; mi crostri p l i nes
1 . I ntroducti on
W
eb-based virtual laboratories play an important role in
engineering education, due to their low costs, lack of
requirements for physical places, and easy accessibility. There
are many Web-based virtual laboratories that have been created
using MTLAB. These cover diferent topics, such as control
engineering [ 1 -7] , signal processing [8, 9] , medical imaging
[ 1 0] , electromagnetics [ 1 1 ] , power engineering [ 1 2] , and
teaching basic mathematics [ 1 3] .
A few MTLAB-based electromagnetic virtual tools have
been introduced for the use of the readers in the last couple
of years (see, for example, [ 1 4- 1 6] ). AntenGU [ 1 4] was intro
duced to investigate the radiation characteristics of periodic
and planar arrays of isotropic radiators [ 1 4] . SSPEGU [ 1 5]
simulates wave propagation over non-fat terrains, through
non-homogenous atmospheres. MFilterDesigner [ 1 6] auto
mates the design procedure for lumped-element, transmission
line, and microstrip-line flters. All can be downloaded for fee
(http: //www3. dogus. edu. tr). but they require a valid MTLB
license and a proper version, as well as some specifc toolboxes.
Many users who downloaded these packages have
informed us that they encountered problems related to MTLAB,
and asked for help. We therefore decided to prepare Web-based
versions of these packages that can be accessed on the Interet
(http: //modsim. dogus. edu.tr) fom anywhere in the world, with
only Web browser needed.
However, introducing these Web-based virtual tools is not
the only nor the main objective of this paper. Another aim is
to explain how to prepare a Web-based application by using
only MTAB and HTM editors. Most people in the antennas
and propagation area are likely to be familiar with MTLAB,
and may have their own MTLAB codes, but they usually lack
Web-programming skills. The intent is to enable them to cre
ate their own Web-based applications without leaing a Web
programming language or interface, such as Java, PHP, ASP,
etc. The Web-application developers can also use their own
old MTLAB codes, with minor changes. Of course, one can
create more-attractive and more-efective Web-based applica
tions than the tools introduced in AntenGU, SSPEGU, and
FilterGUby using Java, ASP, PHP, or another advanced Web
programming language.
252 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magaine, Vol. 53, No. 4, August 201 1
2. MATLAB Web-Server Applicati on Desi gn
2. 1 Web-Server Software I nstal l ati on and
Confi gurati on
The Web-server sofware, Hypertext Transfer Prtocol
Daemon (HTPD), should be installed on the server com
puter. The most-used Web-server sofware packages are the
Apache HTTP Server [ 1 7] and Interet Irormation Serices
(lIS by Microsof [ 1 8] . There are a large number of diferent
Web servers. However, it should be taken into account that the
selected Web-server sofware should be capable of executing
Common Gatewa Interace (CGJ programs.
The Apache HTP Server (available for fee) was chosen
and installed on the server computer for the MTLAR Web
server applications AntenGU, SSPEGU, and FilterGU. The
confguration fle httpd . conf should then be edited. This can
be found in the conf folder under the main Apache directory.
The default main Apache directory is c : \ Program Fi l es \
Apache Software Foundation \Apache2 . 2 \ . Table 1 lists
the felds of the httpd . conf fle that need to be edited. The
Document Root is the directory fom which all requests are
taken and all documents are served, and the CGI directory is the
directory where the CGI program is located.
Using CGI programs is the simplest and most common way
to put dynamic content on a Web site. The Apache server should
be confgured to permit CGI execution in order to properly rn
the CGI programs. The ScriptAlias directive tells Apache
that a particular directory, namely the CGI directory, is set aside
for CGI programs. The Apache server assumes that every fle in
the CGI directory is a CGI program, and attempts to execute it
when requested by a client. A sample ScriptAl ias directive
looks like
ScriptAlias / cgi-bin/ "C : /EMGUI s /MFiles / "
This example tells Apache that any request for a resource
beginning with / cgi-bin/ should be served fom the direc
tory " C : /EMGUI s /MFi l es /" and should be treated as a CGI
program. Apache will ret an error message if the fle does
not exist, or is not executable, or does not retu outputs in a
particular way.
The Document Root and Directory felds of the
httpd . conf fle are changed to " C : / EMGUI s " for AntenGUI,
SSPEGU, and FilterGU. The CGI directory is specifed as
"C : / EMGUI s /MFi les / " and the Options directive is set to
" +ExecCGI " instead of "None" as shown in Table 1 .
Afer the installation of the Apache server, typing http : / /
localhos t/ or http : / / I Paddres s / into the address bar of
the Web browser will display the index . html fle located in
the directory specifed in the httpd . conf fle as the Document
Root.
2. 2 MATLAB Web Serer (MWS)
I nstal l ati on and Confi gurati on
MTAR Web Serer [ 1 9] is a component of the MTAB
product family. It can be installed during the installation
procedure of MTLAB by selecting it fom a list of diferent
toolboxes. It should be noted that this toolbox is only available
with MTAB Releases 2006a or earlier. Unfortnately,
as of MTLAB Release 2006b, MTAB Web Server was
discontinued, and therefore this toolbox is no longer supported
and no longer available for purchase.
To create Web-based MTAB applications, MTAB Web
Serer uses the programs matlabserver . exe, matweb . exe,
and matweb . m. Matlabserver handles the communication
between MTLAB and the Web application. Matlabserver is
a multithreaded TCP/IP server, and is installed as a Windows NT
service. This service starts automatically at every system boot.
To check whether the service matlabserver is running or not,
the list of the services running on the system should be opened.
This list of services can be opened by either following the path
"Start Menu/Settings/Control Panel/Administrative Tools/
Services" or by right-clicking the "My Computer" icon, then
selecting frst "Manage," then "Services and Applications," and
fnally the "Services. " In this list, the status of mat labserver
should be labeled as "Started," as shown in Figure 1 . If it is not,
it can be started by right-clicking it and then selecting "Start"
fom the opened list.
Ma tweb . exe is a program that uses the Common Gateway
Interface (CGJ) to get data fom HTM forms, and to transfer
these data to ra tlabserver. Ma tweb . exe is a TCP/IP client
of matlabserver, and resides on the HTTP server. The
program ra tweb . m runs the requested m-fle if invoked by the
program matlabserver. The programs matl abserver . exe
and matweb . exe are located i n the <Matlab>/webserver/
bin/win3 2 directory, and matweb . m resides i n the directory
<Matlab>/ toolbox/webserver/webserver.
MTAB Web Serer uses the confguration fles
matlabserver . conf and matweb . conf in conjunction
with the above-mentioned programs. The confguration fle
matlabserver . conf can be found in the directory <Matlab>/
webserver, and i s used by the program matlabserver for
the initial settings. Possible options of this confguration fle
with their default values are listed and explained in Table 2. If
unedited, matlabserver . conf consists of only the notation
-m 1 , which permits only one MTAB to at the same time.
Note that matlabserver should be halted and restarted to see
the changes made to matlabserver . conf.
The matweb . exe program needs information i n the
confguration fle matweb . conf in order to connect to
matlabserver. The names of each MTLAB application
(m-fle) should appear in this confguration fle in square
brackets, and all of its variables with the coresponding values
should follow in separate lines. A sample of a matweb . conf
confguration fle i s shown i n Table 3.
IEEE Antennas and Prpagation Magaine, Vol . 53, No. 4, August 201 1 253
Table 1. The edited felds of the confguration fle httpd . conf.
Default Confguration Edited Confguration
Document Root "Main Apache Directory/htdocs / " " C : /EMGUI s "
Directory "Main Apache Directory/htdocs / " " C : / EMGUI s "
ScriptAl i as / cgi-bin/
"Main Apache Directory/ cgi-bin/ " " C : /EMGUI s /MFi l e s / "
Options None Options +ExecCGI
Table 2. The content of the confguration fle ma tlabserver . conf.
Option
Default
Description
Value
- m 1 Number of MTABs that can run simultaneously
-
p 8888 Port number that matlabserver listens on
300 The duration in seconds for waiting the matlabserver to start
- a None Additional MTAB path
Table 3. The content of the confguration fle
matweb . conf.
[ antengui J
ml server=F8 1 3 PC l 1 4 1 5
mldi r=C : /EMGUI s /MFi les
resdir=C : /EMGUI s /AntenGUI / OutputHTML
figdir=C : /EMGUI s /AntenGUI / images
[ s spegui J
ml server=F8 1 3 PCl 1 4 1 5
mldi r=C : /EMGUI s /MFi les
resdi r=C : /EMGUI s / SSPEGUI /OutputHTML
figdir=C : / EMGUI s / S S PEGUI / images
[ filtergui J
ml server=F8 1 3 PCl 1 4 1 5
mldi r=C : /EMGUI s /MFi les
resdir=C : /EMGUI s / FI LTERGUI / OutputHTML
figdi r=C : / EMGUI s / FI LTERGUI / images
There are three MWS applications located in the CGI
directory C : /EMGUI s /MFi l es / . The confgurations for
all these applications appear in the same fle. The variable
ml s erver is the name of the host running matlabserver,
which can be either a fl l computer name or an IP address of
the host. The variables mldir and resdir show locations
of the working directory and the ou
t
put HTM document,
respectively. The store directory is specifed by figdir, fom
where the image fles are read. A sample ma t web . con f fle can
be found in the directory <Matlab>/toolbox/webserver/
wsdemos .
2. 3 HTML Documents and m-Fi l e Creati on
An outut HTM document and a MTAB m-fle should
be created in order to build a MTLAB Web Server application.
The input HM document is needed to collect the input data
from users. The m-fle processes received input data, computes
the results, and the output HTM document displays the results
of computations.
Subdirectories AntenGUI, SSPEGUI , and FILTERGUI
are created in the main directory C : / EMGUI s / for the three
MS applications. Two of these are shown in Figure 2. Both
directories contain three subdirectories named as images,
I nputHTML and OutputHTML, which are reserved for read
ing/writing images, for the input HTM documents, and for
the outut HTM documents, respectively. The fles matweb .
exe and matweb . conf should be copied to the CGI directory
c : /EMGUI s /MFiles / . This directory also includes the m-fles
(antengui . m, s spegui . m, and filtergui . m).
HTM documents can be prepared using a basic text edi
tor, such as Notepad, or one of the commercially available
HTM editors, such as FrntPage fom Microsof, Dream
weaver fom Adobe Systems, etc. Although HTM fles created
with HTM editors are larger than those produced with a basic
text editor, HTM editors are easy to use, and do not require
any knowledge of programming languages. Input and output
HTM documents for the MS applications were prepared
using FrntPage. Creation of the HTM fles using FrontPage
is explained below only for the AntenGUI example.
The main input HTM document of the AntenGUI
application is the antengui . htm fle, which is located in the
c : / EMGUI s /AntenGUI / l nputHTML/ directory. This HTM
fle is used to collect data fom the user, send these data to
matlabserver, and run the m-fle antengui . m. Figure 3
shows the antengui . htm fle opened with the FrontPage
editor. As shown in the fgure, the page consists of two fames.
254 IEEE Antennas and Prpagation Magazine, Vol. 53, No. 4, August 201 1
D Ud5ym
W Lod5y
Figure 1. The services installed on the system and their
status.
(C: )

d b||| DQ>
JML
H1ML
Figure 2. The fle and directory locations.
a....aaaa..... aaaaa..... aaaaaa ... . a_
---- --
PNbNNPPPY
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DGRn
z<
H- f I P :
9|^I J P/
9jm] - J |9
t FA5tm
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1D 0R
I '
Z
Figure 3. The design of the antengui . htm fle.
The name of the upper frame is specifed as "top" and uses as
the source page the fle antenframel . htm, while the name of
the lower frame is specifed as "bottom" and uses as the source
page the fle antenframe2 . htm.
The source fle antenframe l . htm includes a form ele
ment that is shown with blue dotted lines in Figure 3. The HTML
code of the form element is given in Table 4. The frst line of
this code calls the CGI program ra tweb . exe. Since the target
fame is specifed as "bottom," the upper frame named "top"
will remain unchanged, and all the outputs will be displayed in
the lower frame, named "bottom. " In the second line, an HTM
input feld of type "hidden" is created. This feld is used to send
data to the Webserver and is not displayed by the browser. The
name of the m-fle to run is specifed afer the value tag, and in
this example, it is an tengui . m.
The source fle antenframe l . htm includes 10 text boxes,
one check box, two drop-down boxes and two push buttons.
The names and values of each of these elements should be
specifed. For example, the name and initial value of the text
box next to the string "f [MHz]=" are specifed as freq and
300, respectively. The names of two pushbuttons are specifed
as TwoDGraph and ThreeDGraph, respectively.
The OutputHTML directory consists of only the ou
t
put
HTM document antenframe2 . htm. This fle difers from
the input HTM document antenframe2 . htm only in the
location of the image source fle. In the input HTML docu
ment antenframe2 . htm, the image fle is specifed as <img
s rc=" . . / Images /ClearGraph . j pg ">, while in the
output HTM document the image fle is specifed as <img
src=" $ grafi k$ ">. The input fle always displays the same
image, called ClearGraph . j pg, but the output fle displays
the image specifed in the m-fle as outputs . grafik.
After creating the input and output HTMLfles, a MTAB
m-fle should be written to process the received input data and
compute the results. Table 5 shows a shortened version of the
m-fle antengui . m. The second line of the MTLAB code
changes the directory to the directory specifed as figdi r in the
mat web . conf confguration fle. The third line deletes all the
j peg image fles in that directory that have names beginning
with Graph and that are older than 0. 1 hours. This prevents
the server from being overloaded with a huge number of
image fles. The fourth line initializes the retur string resp.
Between the sixth and 1 7th lines, values of the input variables
are frst converted from strings to numbers and then assigned to
variables, which will be used in the computation. Lines 1 8 to 20
check whether or not the specifed variables exist. For example,
if a user presses the "DRAW GRAPH" push button in the input
HTM fle, a variable named TwoDGraph is created, and the
MTLAB command i sfield ( input s , ' TwoDGraph' ) returs
the value one. However, since the "3D GRAPH" push button is
not pressed at the same time, a variable named ThreeDGraph
is not created, and the MTLAB command i sfield ( inputs ,
' ThreeDGraph' ) returs the value O. The MTLAB script can
determine which pushbutton is pressed and which type of graph
to draw. If the check box is checked, a variable named dBScale
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 53, No. 4, August 201 1 255
256
Table 4. The HTML code of the form element.
<form action=" / cgi -bin/matweb . exe" method="POS T" target="bottom">
<input type="hidden" name="mlmfi le" value="antengui " >
. . .
. . .
< / form >
Line
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1 0
1 1
1 2
1 3
1 4
1 5
1 6
1 7
1 8
1 9
20
2 1
1 53
1 54
1 55
1 56
1 5 7
1 58
1 5 9
1 60
1 6 1
1 62
1 63
1 64
1 65
Table 5. The MATLAB m-fle antengui . m.
MATLAB Code
function resp = antengui ( inputs )
cd ( inputs . figdi r ) ;
wscleanup ( ' Graph* . j pg' , 0 . 1 ) ;
resp = char ( ' ' ) ;
N str2num ( inputs . N) ;
M str2num ( inputs . M) ;
d str2num ( inputs . d) ;
dx str2num ( inputs . dx) ;
dy str2num ( inputs . dy) ;
faz = str2num ( input s . Phas e) ;
f str2num ( inputs . freq) * l e 6 ;
r str2num ( inputs . r ) ;
rmax str2num ( inputs . rmax) ;
secim str2num ( input s . ArrayType ) ;
thetaorphi = str2num ( inputs . TetaorPhi ) ;
theta_or_phi = str2num ( inputs . RadiationPlane ) ;
dB = i sfield ( inputs , ' dBScale ' ) ;
ThreeD
TwoD
i sfield ( inputs , ' ThreeDGraph' ) ;
i sfield ( inputs , ' TwoDGraph ' ) ;
% + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
% + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Fig=figure ( ' vi s ible ' , ' o f f ' ) ;
polar ( angler, Array)
reqld=inputs . mlid;
Filename=sprintf ( ' Graph% s . j pg' , reql d) ;
drawnow;
wsprintj peg ( Fig, Filename ) ;
close ( Fig) ;
outputs . grafik= [ . . /AntenGUI / images / ' , Filename ] ;
cd ( inputs . resdi r ) ;
templateiil e = which ( ' antenframe2 . htm' ) ;
resp = htmlrep ( outputs , templatefil e ) ;
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 53, No. 4, August 201 1
is created, and the MTLAB command i sfield ( inputs @
' dBScale' ) rets the value one, and if not checked, it returs
the value zero. Between the 22nd and 1 53rd lines, all the
computations are performed. If a two-dimensional (2D) graph
is requested, two arays, called angler and Array, are created.
Line 1 55 creates an empt fgure; line 1 56 plots angler as a
fnction of Array into this fgure in polar coordinates. In line
1 60, this fgure is saved to a fle the name of which is specifed
in the 1 5 8th line. This fle is assigned to a variable outputs .
grafik. Line 1 65 calls the fnction htmlrep with the output
structure and with the output HTML fle name. The fnction
htmlrep looks in the output fle antenframe2 . htm for
variables with values that are the variable names enclosed in
dollar signs, e. g. , "$ grafik$" and then replaces values of all
these variables with the corresponding values of variables of
the same name specifed in the output structure.
3. Web-Based Vi rual Tool s and Exampl es
3. 1 The AntenGUI Tool
The Web-based virtual tool AntenGUI, as displayed in
Figure 4, allows the user to visualize radiation characteristics
of linear, rectangular, and circular periodic arrays of isotropic
radiators. The user may choose fom a dropdown box to
design a linear or rectangular or circular aray. The user then
specifes the number of elements, operating frequency, inter
element spacings, and flls in the dB-scale check box. Pressing
the 3D GRPH button plots the three-dimensional radiation
patter of the designed array, whereas the DRW GRPH
button plots a two-dimensional cross section of this graph. The
user determines the two-dimensional radiation-patter plane
by selecting Theta- or Phi-Planes from a dropdown box and
specifing the ThetalPhi value.

- p - t g -

qLL1)!k &!eS\0l
*, Q -
Figure 4. The horizontal radiation pattern of a nine-element
linear array ( / 1 50 MHz, d 0. 5 m A/4 ).
ql1lT)IK l>I`0l
| & `
Figure 5. The horizontal radiation pattern of a 4 ^ 7 rec
tangular, periodic, linearly phased array of isotropic
radiators ( / = 300 MHz, dx d
y
0.25 m A/4 ).
qLt150kL>VGI
Figure 6. The three-dimensional radiation pattern of a 4 ^ 7
rectangular, periodic, linearly phased array of isotropic
radiators ( / 300 MHz, dx d
y
0.25 m A/4 ).
This Web-based tool is quite similar to the MTAB
based virtual tool AntenGUI, and directions and explanations
on the use of the tool can be found in [ 1 4] . However, there are
slight diferences. The MTAB-based version allows the user
to arbitrarily locate the radiators one-by-one, by clicking with
the mouse, but this capability is not included in the Web-based
version. Also, the Web-based version does not include beam
steering capability, and the coordinates of the radiators cannot
be displayed. Finally, some sliding bars have been removed.
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 53, No. 4, August 201 1 257
K
Mw0R 10 0 I
m
qL1IJ5lkL L eS\'C!
jQ
Figure 7. The vertical radiation pattern (-z plane) of an
ll-element circular array of isotropic radiators ( I = 600
MHz, r = 0. 5 m = A ).
O I
.
x

Figure 8. The three-dimensional radiation pattern of an
ll-element circular array of isotropic radiators ( I = 600
MHz, r = 0. 5 m A ).
Figure 4 shows the horizontal radiation patter of a linear
aray consisting of nine isotropic radiators with an inter-ele
ment spacing of d = 0.5 m. The operating frequency was cho
sen as 1 = 1 50 MHz, and the graph was plotted on the dB scale.
The radiators are also displayed in the fgure with small red
circles.
The next example belongs to a planar array consisting of
N = 7 and M = 4 isotropic radiators in the y and directions,
respectively. The inter-element spacings along the and y
coordinates were chosen as dx = dy = 0. 25 m. The fequency
was 1 = 300 MHz. The inter-element phasing along the
direction was specifed as Phase = 90 , so the phases of the
elements in the second line ( M = 2 ) delayed by 90 the phases
of the elements in the frst line ( M = 1 ) etc. Figure 5 shows
horizontal radiation patter. Figure 6 presents the three
dimensional radiation patter of this array.
The last example was a circular array, where 1 1 isotropic
radiators were located symmetrically on a circle with radius
r = 0.5 m. The operating frequency was 1 = 600 MHz. The
vertical radiation patter in the yz plane is illustrated in Fig
ure 7, and the three-dimensional radiation patter is given in
Figure 8 .
3. 2 The SSPEGUI Tool
The Web-based virtual tool SSPEGU, displayed i n Fig
ure 9, allows users to investigate radiowave propagation
through a non-homogenous atmosphere over a non-fat Earth's
surface. This tool is based on the split-step parabolic-equation
(SSPE) method.
The user specifes the operating frequency, the range
between the transmitter and receiver, the height of the trans
mitter, the antenna tilt angle, and the beamwidth of the trans
mitted Gaussian signal. Atmospheric refractivity is determined
by two height values and the slope values of two linear seg
ments. A terrain profle can be chosen fom ten diferent pre
defned terrains via a dropdown box. The user may choose to
plot the fgure in high or low resolution, taking into account that
high resolution requires more computation time.
4msphem Reham.
*MP ~T| M Fwtm \
P m[ wg= wm.o
WIWH r
WI9 r

'" I
qL1l 1$lk 1l-m5VCI
* j@
Figure 9. The web-based SSPEGUI tool with a non-smooth
terrain profle.
258 IEEE Antennas and Prpagation Magazine. Vol. 53, No. 4, August 201 1
LoadTemInI

MspmRehamq:
M^ fi
M^
IIW
WIWM
qL1IT5lk 1 Le IV'0I
Figure 10. Propagation over an irregular terrain through a
standard atmosphere.
This Web-based tool is very similar to the MTAB-based
virtual tool SSPEGU, introduced in [ 1 5] . Again, there are
some diferences between the Web-based and MTLAB-based
versions. The main diference is in the determination of the
terrain profle. The MTLAB-based version allows the user to
design his/her own terrain profle by marking terrain points on
the Earth's surface with a mouse click. It also enables saving
a generated terrain profle in a fle. Pre-generated terrain data
can also be loaded from a fle. However, the Web-based tool
only enables loading the terain from 1 0 diferent pre-generated
profles.
Figure 1 0 visualizes propagation over four sequential
hills through standard atmosphere. Here, the operating fre
quency was 1 00 MHz, the maximum range was 40 km, and
the transmitter was at 400 m. The antenna was not tilted, and
the beamwidth was 1 0 downwards. The white line in the fg
ure represents a linearly increasing refactivity with a slope
of 1 1 7 M/km, which corresponds to a standard atmosphere
including the Earth's curvature. The fgure shows the three
dimensional feld strength as a function of the range/height.
3. 3 The FilterGUI Tool
The Web-based virtual tool FilterGU, displayed i n Fig
ure 1 1 , simplifes and automates the design procedure for fl
ters. The tool designs lumped-element flters with a classical
method, and obtains the corresponding transmission-line and
microstrip-line flters via systematic transformations. This tool
uses the Butterworth approach for designing lumped flters,
Kuroda transformations for distributed low-pass flters, and
impedance/admittance inverters for distributed bandpass or
band-stop flters [ 1 6] .
The flter type (Iow-pass/high-pass/bandpass/band-stop)
is frst selected fom a dropdown box. The user specifes the
3 dB cutof fequency and the out-of-band attenuation at a user
specifed fequency for low-pass or high-pass flters. The center
fequency, pass-band, stop-band, and attenuation are supplied
for bandpass or band-stop flters. The minimum and maximum
plotting fequencies are stated. The thickness and relative
permittivity of the dielectric material used in the microstrip-line
are specifed. Pressing the design button plots the schematics of
the lumped, scattered, and microstrip-line flters, and the layout
of the microstrip-line flter. The user may switch among these
plots by pressing the appropriate radio buttons. The schematics
include all element values and dimensions. The frequency
response of the flter, i . e. , a graph of the insertion loss as a
fnction of frequency, is shown in a separate plot.
Figure 12 shows the design of a bandpass flter with a
900 MHz center fequency and a 3 dB bandwidth of
BW3 dB 300 MHz, which yielded 40 dB attenuation at
300 MHz and 1 200 MHz. The microstrip specifcations were
chosen to have a relative permittivity of Gr 9. 6 and a thick
ness of 1 . 27 mm. The microstrip-flter schematic, including the
Figure 11. The Web-based FiterGUI tool.
~~~~
r'--
=+
^
W1 w W! m W! Wm w1 m
UMWw LWWm UWMm UWm

f @ C gg@4
. ,. 1
.N
Figure 12. The design of a bandpass flter with 900 MHz
center frequency, 300 MHz 3 dB bandwidth, and 40 dB
attenuation at 300 MHz and 1500 MHz.
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, VoL 53, No. 4, August 201 1 259
calculated dimensions, is shown on the upper right side, while
the fequency responses of the lumped and the scattered flter
are plotted in the lower right part of the fgure. The graphs can
be zoomed by clicking on them, and simulation results can be
exported by using the export button.
4. Concl usi ons
The design of a MTLAB Web-server application has
been discussed. The installation and confguration of Web
server sofware and MTLAB Web Server, and the preparation
of HTM documents and m-fles, were also presented. Three
MS-based virtual laboratories, AntenGU, SSPEGU, and
FilterGUI, were introduced. The AntenGUI tool visualizes
the aray factor of periodic, planar arrays. The SSPEGU tool
illustrates radiowave propagation over non-smooth terrains
and through various refactivity profles. The FilterGU tool
designs lumped-element, transmission-line, and microstrip-line
flters. All can be accessed remotely on the Interet with only a
browser. A MTLAB compiler is not required.
All of these tools can be used in lectures such as "Anten
nas and Propagation," "Radiowave Propagation," "Microwave
Filter Design," etc. The lecturer may assign individual home
work, which could be done remotely fom a university lab and!
or home.
5. References
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Control Design Experiments," IEEE Transactions on Educa
tion, 51, 1 , February 2008, pp. 69-75.
2. S. Uran, D. Hercog, and K. Jezerik, "MATLAB Web Server
and Web-Based Control Design Leaing," IECON 2006 -
32nd Annual Conference on IEEE Industrial Electronics, 1-11,
2006, pp. 5347-5352.
3. S. Uran and K. Jezerik, "MATLAB Web Server and M-File
Application," 1 2th Interational Power Electronics and Motion
Control Conference, 1-4, 2006, pp. 495-499.
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Implementation of Web-Based Control Laboratory for Test
Rigs in Geographically Diverse Locations," IEEE Transactions
on Industrial Electonics, 55, 6, June 2008, pp. 2343-2354.
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trnics, 57, 1 0, October 201 0, pp. 3253-3265.
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in Communications Signal Processing Using MATLAB Web
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MATLAB: An Integrated Suite of Applications for Exploring
and Teaching Media Signal Processing," Proceedings of the
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1 0. D. W Wu, A. Dikshit, and W Z. Zhao, "Medical Imaging
Curriculum Development: An Interactive Simulation System
for Diferent Modalities," Proceedings of the 26th Annual
Interational Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine
and Biology Society, 26, 2004, pp. 5 1 72-5 1 75.
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for Teaching Introductory Quasi-Stationary Electromagnetics,"
IEEE Transactions on Education, 48, 1 , Febrary 2005, pp. 8 1 -
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1 2. B. Vural, A. Kizil, and M. Uzunoglu, "A Power Quality
Monitoring System Based on MATLAB Serer Pages," Turkish
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1 3 . F. Judex, G. Zauner, and F. Breitenecker, "Introducing
MATLAB into Basic Mathematic Lectures Using a Custom
E-Learing System," Proceedings ofthe IT! 2008 30th Intera
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1 4. L. Sevgi and C. Uluisik, "A MATLAB-Based Visualiza
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1 5 . L. Sevgi, C. Uluisik, and F. Akleman, "A MATLAB-Based
Two-Dimensional Parabolic Equation Radiowave Propagation
Package," IEEE Antennas and Prpagation Magazine, 47, 4,
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1 7 . The Apache server homepage: htp: //www. apache. org/
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1 8. The Ofcial Microsof lIS Site: ht: //www. iis. net.
1 9. The MathWorks Inc. , MATLAB Web Server User's Guide:
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260 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magaine, Vol. 53, No. 4, August 201 1