Design of penta-band MIMO antenna for GPS/2G/3G/4G AND 5G NR applications

Abstract

In this paper a planar, MIMO antenna is proposed that can be integrated within wireless devices. The antenna is designed on FR-4 substrate with dielectric constant 4.4, thickness 1.6 mm and loss tangent 0.02. Ground plane of dimension 80 mm x 55 mm is selected for the final geometry. In order to improve the isolation between the identical antenna elements a T-shaped ground extension is designed. The proposed antenna is designed, simulated and optimized using IE3D simulation software. The five bands in which the antenna elements can resonate ranges from 700 MHz – 750 MHz, 1.47 GHz – 1.9 GHz, 2.04 GHz-2.26 GHz, 2.7 GHz-2.89 GHz, 3.2 GHz – 3.8 GHz and can support GPS, 2G, 3G, LTE TDD/FDD and 5G New Radio applications. Antenna characteristics regarding reflection coefficient, mutual coupling and radiation pattern in azimuth as well as elevation planes are discussed. Diversity performance is measured in terms of envelop correlation coefficient and is below 0.07 over all frequencies under consideration. The planar structure of the designed antenna provides an ease of fabrication. The ability to support multiple frequencies of different mobile communication generations makes the antenna fit to be integrated within future multi-generation compatible wireless devices.