A Dual-Band Eight-Element MIMO Antenna Array for Future Ultrathin Mobile Terminals

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Electromagnetics
• Antenna Theory

Background:

• The increasing demand for high-speed mobile communication necessitates advanced antenna designs for 5G devices.
• Existing antenna solutions often struggle to meet the space and performance requirements of ultrathin smartphones.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate an ultrathin, dual-band, eight-element MIMO antenna for 5G applications.
• To ensure the antenna operates effectively within the 3.4-3.6 GHz and 4.8-5 GHz frequency bands.
• To optimize antenna performance for future ultrathin smartphone integration.

Main Methods:

• Design of an eight-element MIMO antenna with a compact unit size (9 × 4.2 mm²).
• Implementation of two decoupling branches (DB1 and DB2) to mitigate mutual coupling.
• Symmetrical arrangement of antenna units with sideboards for structural integrity.
• Measurement and simulation of impedance bandwidth, isolation, and MIMO performance indicators.

Main Results:

• The antenna achieved measured -10 dB impedance bandwidths covering 3.38-3.82 GHz and 4.75-5.13 GHz.
• Measured isolation exceeding 14.5 dB and 15 dB in the respective resonant modes.
• Demonstrated consistency between simulated and measured results.
• Evaluation of MIMO performance using ECC, DG, TARC, and ME indicators.

Conclusions:

• The proposed ultrathin dual-band eight-element MIMO antenna meets the requirements for 5G smartphones.
• The design effectively suppresses mutual coupling and achieves high isolation.
• The antenna exhibits excellent MIMO performance, making it suitable for next-generation mobile devices.