Beam steering mimo antenna for mobile phone of 5g cellular communications operating at mm-wave frequencies: Design

Fifth-generation technology in connection with cellular mobile communication is aiming to provide higher data rates expecting up to tens of GBPS to the individual end user. This in return demands higher bandwidth allocation for every receiving device. The unused spectrum in the millimeter-wave range makes it possible, if both transmitting and receiving devices are upgraded to new frequency bands. In this context, the design of a MIMO antenna for mobile phones operating at 15 and 28 GHz is presented in this paper. As a substitute for a traditional Omni-directional antenna, high propagation losses of millimeter-wave frequencies stipulate the beam streaming phenomena with directional antennas in the mobile phone. The proposed 120 × 40 mm² RT/duroid 6002 substrate with a compact MIMO antenna design in 40 × 20 mm² is optimized for portable devices. Incorporation of an inductive switch gives multi-band operation. Compatibility to existing frequency bands namely LTE-700, GSM-850/GSM-900, and LTE-2200 is a noticeable aspect in this design. A gain of 7-8 dBi is achieved, which is expected to increase further for more directive operation. Eighty to ninety percent of efficiency is attained in this design, which emphasizes the good radiation capabilities of the proposed antenna. CST Microwave Studio-simulated results are presented.