A Tri-Band Omnidirectional Shark-Fin Antenna for Vehicle Applications: Design and Analysis

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Antenna Design
• Wireless Communications

Background:

• Vehicular communication systems require compact, high-performance antennas covering multiple frequency bands.
• Existing antenna solutions often struggle to balance size, bandwidth, and radiation characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel tri-band omnidirectional shark-fin antenna for vehicular communications.
• To achieve miniaturization while maintaining excellent isolation and omnidirectional radiation.

Main Methods:

• Integration of a central UHF monopole and symmetric printed radiating elements within a shark-fin radome.
• Utilizing T-shaped and I-shaped radiating branches for independent resonant modes.
• Employing a tapered impedance transformation network for broadband matching and balanced excitation.
• Adopting a dual-band array configuration to enhance gain and stabilize radiation patterns.

Main Results:

• The antenna covers Ultra High Frequency (UHF), LTE Band 5, and LTE-1800.
• Peak gains of 2.3 dBi (UHF) and 7.2 dBi (LTE-1800) were achieved.
• Isolation greater than 10 dB was maintained.
• Simulated and measured results showed strong agreement, validating the design.

Conclusions:

• The proposed shark-fin antenna design is feasible for high-performance vehicular communication systems.
• The collaborative array approach enables structural miniaturization without compromising performance.
• The antenna offers a promising solution for multi-band vehicular communication needs.