A Novel Densely Packed 4 × 4 MIMO Antenna Design for UWB Wireless Applications

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Electromagnetics
• Antenna Theory

Background:

• Modern wireless communication demands compact, high-performance antennas.
• Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technology enables high data rates but requires efficient antenna solutions.
• Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems enhance wireless communication reliability and capacity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a compact 4-port UWB MIMO antenna.
• To achieve wide impedance bandwidth and high radiation efficiency.
• To ensure good isolation and performance metrics suitable for portable devices.

Main Methods:

• Design of a quad-port MIMO antenna using a low-profile FR-4 substrate.
• Incorporation of monopole antenna elements with partial ground and central slots.
• Optimization of radiator and ground slot corners for impedance matching.
• Orthogonal orientation of unit cells for MIMO configuration.
• Validation through simulation, fabrication, and experimental testing.

Main Results:

• Achieved a wide impedance bandwidth from 2.8 to 12.1 GHz (124.1%).
• Obtained a peak gain of 6.57 dBi and 97% radiation efficiency.
• Demonstrated good isolation (<15 dB lower, <20 dB higher frequencies).
• Measured low Envelop Correlation Coefficient (ECC) of 0.03 and high Diversity Gain (DG) of 10 dB.
• Reported Total Active Reflection Coefficient (TARC) < 10 dB, Channel Capacity Loss (CCL) < 0.4 bits/sec/Hz, and Mean Effective Gain (MEG) < 3 dB.

Conclusions:

• The proposed compact 4-port UWB MIMO antenna meets the requirements for high data rate wireless communication.
• The design exhibits excellent impedance bandwidth, efficiency, isolation, and diversity performance.
• Its suitability for portable UWB wireless communication devices is confirmed by experimental validation.