Low-cost Kirigami-inspired deployable dual-polarized MIMO antenna with angular pattern diversity.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Electromagnetics
• Antenna Theory

Background:

• The demand for compact, high-performance antennas is growing in wireless communication systems.
• Deployable antennas offer advantages in terms of size and portability, but often face challenges in performance and fabrication complexity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel, low-cost, and easily fabricated kirigami-inspired deployable Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna.
• To achieve dual polarization and angular pattern diversity at 2 GHz for enhanced wireless communication.

Main Methods:

• The antenna design is inspired by the Yagi antenna, incorporating two orthogonally oriented antennas on a foldable, staircase-shaped Kirigami structure made of PET.
• Each antenna element consists of a monopole radiating element and a parasitic director, with a reflector integrated onto the structure.
• The design utilizes kirigami principles for deployability and a PET substrate for flexibility and low-cost fabrication.

Main Results:

• The proposed MIMO antenna operates at 2 GHz, achieving a peak gain of 9 dBi and a -10 dB impedance bandwidth of 630 MHz (1.82 GHz to 2.45 GHz).
• Mutual coupling between antenna elements is below -15 dB, with total efficiency exceeding 80% across the operating band.
• The antenna system meets MIMO specifications with an Envelope Correlation Coefficient (ECC) below 0.0025 and Channel Capacity Loss (CCL) below 0.35 bps/Hz.

Conclusions:

• The kirigami-inspired deployable MIMO antenna demonstrates high performance, including good gain, wide bandwidth, and low mutual coupling.
• The design's low cost and ease of fabrication, combined with its electrical performance, make it suitable for diverse microwave applications.
• This work highlights the potential of kirigami structures in developing advanced, deployable antenna systems for future wireless technologies.