Title:
Quantum Annealing for Antenna Array Optimization: Tackling Combinatorial Challenges in Modern Multi-Antenna Systems
Abstract:
Recent wireless communication and radar systems increasingly rely on multi-antenna technologies, such as MIMO and phased arrays, to deliver higher capacity, wider coverage, and agile beamforming capabilities. As these systems continue to grow in scale and complexity, determining the optimal antenna placement from a large set of candidate locations becomes a challenging combinatorial optimization problem whose computational complexity increases exponentially with the number of design variables. Conventional optimization approaches based on repeated electromagnetic simulations often become computationally infeasible for such large-scale problems.
This keynote introduces quantum annealing as a promising approach to antenna array optimization, highlighting its potential for efficiently exploring vast design spaces and identifying high-quality solutions with practical computation times. Representative case studies and future research directions will be discussed, demonstrating how quantum-inspired optimization can contribute to the design of next-generation multi-antenna systems.
Biography:
Dr. Toyoda received the B.E., M.E., and the Dr. Eng. degrees in communication engineering from Osaka University, Osaka, Japan, in 1985, 1987, and 1990, respectively. From 1990 to 2011, he was engaged in research and development of the three-dimensional (3-D) and uniplanar MMICs, ultra-high-speed digital ICs, millimeter-wave high-speed wireless access systems, and their applications at NTT Laboratories and NTT Electronics Corporation. He was also active in developing IEEE 802.11, 802.15, and other national standards. He was a Guest Editor of a 1998 special issue on "3D-Components and Active Circuits" of the International Journal of RF and Microwave Computer-Aided Engineering and a Guest Editor-in-Chief of a 2016 special issue on "Microwave researches in universities" of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE) Transactions on Electronics. He was a Councilor, Tokyo Section, and a Councilor and Section Chair, Kyushu section, IEICE, GA member of the European Microwave Association (EuMA), and a Chair of IEEE AP-S Fukuoka chapter. He also served Technical Committee on Electron Devices of the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ) as a Secretary, Vice-Chair, and Chair. He also served on many other technical committees of IEICE and IEEJ, Japan. He published 6 book chapters. He was a Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering and a Director of Research and Community Cooperation Affairs / Vice President, Saga University, Japan. He is now a Professor at Saga University, Japan. His current interests concern microwave circuits, antennas, and their integration technologies, including wireless power transfer.
Dr. Toyoda received the 1993 Young Researcher's Award presented by the IEICE, Japan; the Japan Microwave Prize presented at the APMC1994; the 18th Telecom System Technology Award from the Telecommunications Advancement Foundation; the 2004 Electronics Society Award from the IEICE, Japan; First Prize for Propagation and Antenna Measurements at the EuCAP2010; 2010 and 2016 Best Paper Awards from the IEICE, Japan; 2020 Best Paper Award from IEEJ; 38th Radio Engineering & Electronics Association Award, and many conference and NTT R&D awards. He was also recognized as an Excellent Educator by Saga University in 2017. He is a senior member of IEICE and IEEJ, and a member of IEEE and EuMA.