Statistical Review Evaluation of 5G Antenna Design Models from a Pragmatic Perspective under Multi-Domain Application Scenarios

Antenna design for the 5G spectrum requires analysis of contextual frequency bands, design of miniaturization techniques, gain improvement models, polarization techniques, standard radiation pattern designs, metamaterial integration, and substrate selection. Most of these models also vary in terms of qualitative & and quantitative parameters, which include forward gain levels, reverse gain, frequency response, substrate types, antenna shape, feeding levels, etc. Due to such a wide variety in performance, it is ambiguous for researchers to identify the optimum models for their application-specific use cases. This ambiguity results in validating these models on multiple simulation tools, which increases design delays and the cost of deployments. To reduce this ambiguity, a survey of recently proposed antenna design models is discussed in this text. This discussion recommended that polarization optimization and gain maximization are the major impact factors that must be considered while designing antennas. It is also recommended that collocated microstrip slot antennas, fully planar dual-polarized broadband antennas, and real-time deployments of combined slot antenna pairs with wide-band decoupling are very advantageous. Based on this discussion, researchers will be able to identify optimal performance-specific models for different applications. This discussion also compares underlying models in terms of their quantitative parameters, which include forward gain levels, bandwidth, complexity of deployment, scalability, and cost metrics. Upon referring to this comparison, researchers will be able to identify the optimum models for their performance-specific use cases. This review also formulates a novel Antenna Design Rank Metric (ADRM) that combines the evaluated parameters, thereby allowing readers to identify antenna design models that are optimized for multiple parameters and can be used for large-scale 5G communication scenarios

Dual-Band Ten-Element MIMO Array Based on Dual-Mode IFAs for 5G Terminal Applications

A dual-band ten-element MIMO array based on dual-mode inverted-F antennas (IFAs) for 5G terminal applications is presented in this paper. The proposed dual-mode IFA is composed of two radiators, which are etched on the outer and inner surfaces of the side-edge frame. The outer part of the antenna generates the low-order mode at 3.5 GHz, while the inner part radiates another one-quarter-wavelength mode at 4.9 GHz. In this way, the IFA can achieve dual-band operation within a compact size of 10.6 × 5.3 × 0.8 mm 3 . Based on the proposed antenna, a dual-band ten-element multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) array is developed for 5G terminal applications. By combining neutralization line structures with decoupling branches, the isolations between the elements are improved. To validate the design concept, a prototype of the ten-element MIMO array is designed, fabricated, and measured. The experimental results show that the proposed antenna can cover the 3.3-3.6 GHz and 4.8-5.0 GHz bands with good isolation and high efficiency. Furthermore, the envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), and channel capacity are also calculated to verify the MIMO performances for 5G sub-6GHz applications

Eight-Port Tapered-Edged Antenna Array With Symmetrical Slots and Reduced Mutual-Coupling for Next-Generation Wireless and Internet of Things (IoT) Applications

A compact and low-cost eight-port (2x4 configuration) tapered-edged antenna array (TEAA) with symmetrical slots and reduced mutual-coupling is presented in this paper using the inset-feed technique. The 8-port TEAA is designed and simulated using CST microwave studio, fabricated using the flame-resistant (FR4) substrate having a dielectric constant (εr) = 4.3 and thickness (h) = 1.66mm and characterized using Keysight technologies vector network analyzer (VNA). The designed 8-port TEAA operates at the 5.05-5.2GHz frequency band. Various performance design parameters, like return-loss, bandwidth, gain, 2D/3D radiation patterns, surface current distributions, and isolation-loss, are briefly studied, and the results are summarized. The eight-port TEAA has featured the bandwidth/ gain characteristic of 195MHz/10.25dB, 3dB beam-width of 52.8o, and excellent mutual-coupling (high isolation-loss) of less than -20dB, respectively. The 8-port TEAA is proposed and characterized to work for next-generation high-throughput WLANs like IEEE 802.11ax (WiFi-6E), Internet-of-Things (IoT), and the upcoming 5G wireless communication systems

Mimo antenna system for modern 5g handheld devices with healthcare and high rate delivery

In this work, a new prototype of the eight-element MIMO antenna system for 5G communications, internet of things, and networks has been proposed. This system is based on an H-shaped monopole antenna system that offers 200 MHz bandwidth ranges between 3.4-3.6 GHz, and the isolation between any two elements is well below -12 dB without using any decoupling structure. The proposed system is designed on a commercially available 0.8 mm-thick FR4 substrate. One side of the chassis is used to place the radiating elements, while the copper from the other side is being removed to avoid short-circuiting with other components and devices. This also enables space for other systems, sub-systems, and components. A prototype is fabricated and excellent agreement is observed between the experimental and the computed results. It was found that ECC is 0.2 for any two radiating elements which is consistent with the desirable standards, and channel capacity is 38 bps/Hz which is 2.9 times higher than 4 x 4 MIMO configuration. In addition, single hand mode and dual hand mode analysis are conducted to understand the operation of the system under such operations and to identify losses and/or changes in the key performance parameters. Based on the results, the proposed antenna system will find its applications in modern 5G handheld devices and internet of things with healthcare and high rate delivery. Besides that, its design simplicity will make it applicable for mass production to be used in industrial demands

Antenna Design for 5G and Beyond

With the rapid evolution of the wireless communications, fifth-generation (5G) communication has received much attention from both academia and industry, with many reported efforts and research outputs and significant improvements in different aspects, such as data rate speed and resolution, mobility, latency, etc. In some countries, the commercialization of 5G communication has already started as well as initial research of beyond technologies such as 6G.MIMO technology with multiple antennas is a promising technology to obtain the requirements of 5G/6G communications. It can significantly enhance the system capacity and resist multipath fading, and has become a hot spot in the field of wireless communications. This technology is a key component and probably the most established to truly reach the promised transfer data rates of future communication systems. In MIMO systems, multiple antennas are deployed at both the transmitter and receiver sides. The greater number of antennas can make the system more resistant to intentional jamming and interference. Massive MIMO with an especially high number of antennas can reduce energy consumption by targeting signals to individual users utilizing beamforming.Apart from sub-6 GHz frequency bands, 5G/6G devices are also expected to cover millimeter-wave (mmWave) and terahertz (THz) spectra. However, moving to higher bands will bring new challenges and will certainly require careful consideration of the antenna design for smart devices. Compact antennas arranged as conformal, planar, and linear arrays can be employed at different portions of base stations and user equipment to form phased arrays with high gain and directional radiation beams. The objective of this Special Issue is to cover all aspects of antenna designs used in existing or future wireless communication systems. The aim is to highlight recent advances, current trends, and possible future developments of 5G/6G antennas

Design of Multi-Mode Antenna Array for Use in Next-Generation Mobile Handsets

In this study, a new design of a tri-band multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) antenna array is proposed for fifth-generation (5G) cellular systems. Its structure is composed of eight identical planar-inverted F antenna (PIFA) elements placed at different edge corners of the handset mainboard with overall dimensions of 150 × 75 mm2. The PIFA elements and ground plane of the MIMO antenna system are arranged on the back layer of the platform, which makes the design easy to integrate with the handset circuit. For S11 ≤ −10 dB, the radiation elements of the MIMO design operate at the frequency ranges of 2.5–2.7 GHz, 3.4–3.75 GHz, and 5.6–6 GHz covering the long-term evolution (LTE) 41, 42/43, and 47 operation bands, respectively. The array achieves better than 15 dB return loss results across the three operating bands. The presented antenna array not only exhibits multi-band operation but also generates the polarization diversity characteristic, which makes it suitable for multi-mode operation. The proposed antenna array was simulated and experimentally tested. Fundamental characteristics of the proposed design are investigated. It offers three band S-parameters with acceptable isolation and dual-polarized radiation with quite good efficiency and gain results. Besides this, the total active reflection coefficient (TARC) and envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) results of the PIFAs are very low over the bands. In addition, the radiation characteristics of the MIMO antenna in the presence of the user and handset components are studied. Moreover, a new and compact phased array millimeter-wave (MM-Wave) antenna with broad bandwidth and end-fire radiation is introduced which can be easily integrated into the smartphone antenna system. Due to its good performance and simple structures, the proposed smartphone antenna array design is a good candidate for future multi-mode 5G cellular applications

Antenna Designs for 5G/IoT and Space Applications

This book is intended to shed some light on recent advances in antenna design for these new emerging applications and identify further research areas in this exciting field of communications technologies. Considering the specificity of the operational environment, e.g., huge distance, moving support (satellite), huge temperature drift, small dimension with respect to the distance, etc, antennas, are the fundamental device allowing to maintain a constant interoperability between ground station and satellite, or different satellites. High gain, stable (in temperature, and time) performances, long lifecycle are some of the requirements that necessitates special attention with respect to standard designs. The chapters of this book discuss various aspects of the above-mentioned list presenting the view of the authors. Some of the contributors are working strictly in the field (space), so they have a very targeted view on the subjects, while others with a more academic background, proposes futuristic solutions. We hope that interested reader, will find a fertile source of information, that combined with their interest/background will allow efficiently exploiting the combination of these two perspectives

H-Shaped Eight-Element Dual-Band MIMO Antenna for Sub-6 GHz 5G Smatphone Applications

The design of an eight-element H-shaped dual-band multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna system for sub-6 GHz fifth-generation (5G) smartphone applications is presented in this work. The radiating elements are designed on the side edge frame of the smartphone, placed on both sides of the main printed circuit board (PCB). Each side edge consists of four radiating elements, which ensures low mutual coupling between antenna elements. The total size of the main PCB is 150×75 mm 2 , while the size of the side edge frame is 150×7 mm 2 . A single antenna consists of an H-shaped radiating element fed using a 50Ω microstrip feeding line designed on the main board of the smartphone. The results show that, according to −6 dB impedance bandwidth criteria, the designed MIMO antenna radiates at two different frequency ranges within the allocated 5G spectrums, i.e., 3.1–3.78 GHz and 5.43–6.21 GHz with 680 MHz and 780 MHz bandwidths, respectively. It is also observed that the antenna elements are able to provide pattern diversity for both the frequency bands. Furthermore, an isolation of >12 dB is observed between any two given radiating elements. Numerous MIMO critical performance characteristics are assessed, including diversity gain (DG), envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), and channel capacity (CC). A prototype is built, measured, and it is observed that the measured and simulated data correspond well. On the basis of performance characteristics, it can be claimed that the suggested MIMO system may be used in 5G communication networks.Dr. Mohammad Alibakhshikenari acknowledges support from the CONEX-Plus programme funded by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 801538

Future Smartphone: MIMO Antenna System for 5G Mobile Terminals

In this article, an inverted L-shaped monopole eight elements Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna system is presented. The multi-antenna system is designed on a low cost 0.8 mm thick FR4 substrate having dimensions of 136 x 68 mm(2) resonating at 3.5GHz with a 6dB measured bandwidth of 450MHz, and with inter element isolation greater than 15 dB and gain of 4 dBi. The proposed design consists of eight inverted L-shaped elements and parasitic L-shaped strips extending from the ground plane. These shorted stripes acted as tuning stubs for the four inverted L-shaped monopole elements on the side of chassis. This is done to achieve the desired frequency range by increasing the electrical length of the antennas. A prototype is fabricated, and the experimental results show good impedance matching with reasonable measured isolation within the desired frequency range. The MIMO performances, such as envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) and mean effective gain (MEG) are also calculated along with the channel capacity of 38.1bps/Hz approximately 2.6 times that of 4 x 4 MIMO system. Due to its simple shape and slim design, it may be a potential chassis for future handsets. Therefore, user hand scenarios, i.e. both single and dual hand are studied. Also, the effects of hand scenarios on various MIMO parameters are discussed along with the SAR. The performance of the proposed system in different scenarios suggests that the proposed structure holds promising future within the next generation radio smart phones