A High Gain Circularly Polarized Slot Antenna Array for 5G Millimeter-Wave Applications

Area of Science:

• Electromagnetics and Wave Propagation
• Antenna Theory and Design
• Microwave Engineering

Background:

• Fifth-generation (5G) wireless systems require advanced antenna solutions for high-speed data transmission.
• Circularly polarized (CP) antennas are crucial for mitigating multipath fading and polarization mismatch in mobile communications.
• Substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) technology offers a promising platform for high-frequency antenna development due to its low loss and integration capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel air-filled substrate-integrated waveguide (AF-SIW) circularly polarized (CP) 1x8 antenna array.
• To achieve wide input impedance bandwidth and high gain for 5G applications.
• To demonstrate the effectiveness of an S-shaped aluminum radiation cavity for CP performance.

Main Methods:

• Design and simulation of a multi-layer antenna array using AF-SIW feeding network and aluminum cavity radiators.
• Integration of an S-shaped aluminum cavity to achieve CP characteristics.
• Fabrication and measurement of the 1x8 antenna array to validate simulated performance.

Main Results:

• Achieved a wide input impedance bandwidth of 18.4% (34.5 GHz to 41.5 GHz).
• Obtained a peak gain of 18 dBic.
• Demonstrated a wide 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 16.4% (36.5 GHz to 43 GHz).
• Measured results closely matched simulated performance, confirming simultaneous wide AR and input impedance bandwidth.

Conclusions:

• The proposed AF-SIW CP antenna array exhibits excellent performance metrics suitable for 5G applications.
• The S-shaped aluminum cavity effectively enables CP radiation with high efficiency.
• The fabricated antenna array shows significant potential for future mobile communication systems.