Multifunctional high gain antenna apertures using radial line slot array for multistandard 5G new radio

In this paper, we propose radial line slot array antenna for 5G fixed beam solutions aimed at integrating multiple frequencies of high gain aperture into a single antenna with a common feed. Thus generated shared aperture will facilitate multi-functional antenna aperture for 5G new radio applications in FR-2 band. With increasing diversity in paradigms of communication systems, especially in mm-wave frequency bands, antenna arrays with specialized, multifunctional radiation capabilities are being pursued. This includes RLSAs for multi-band, multi-polarization and multi-beam radiation. This paper will introduce a low-profile, shared-aperture Radial Line Slot Array (SA-RLSA) antenna for these applications in the mm-wave frequency band. The available design methods for these antennas require complex feeding structures, which could be inconvenient for mass production. This work uses a simple capacitive hole-assisted coaxial feed and a conventional substrate containing the radiating slots on the upper plane. A shared aperture approach is adopted to generate beams at multiple frequencies with pencil and conical shapes and to obtain dual polarization. The measured responses from the fabricated samples for dual-band (28 GHz and 47 GHz), dual-beam (pencil beam at 28 GHz and conical beam at 47 GHz), and dual-pol (28 GHz and 47 GHz with X-pol and 38 GHz with Y-pol) showed a very good agreement with the simulated result. At operating frequencies, ∼20+ dBi gain is obtained, which can be enhanced by increasing the size of the slotted aperture.