A Fully Integrated Shark-Fin Antenna for MIMO-LTE, GPS, WLAN, and WAVE Applications

Abstract

In this study, a three-dimensional compact antenna solution for the automotive industry is proposed. The antenna solution is designed to fit in a shark-fin case and is easily fabricated from a printed circuit board and a metal sheet with low-cost process and materials. The antenna solution covers Long Term Evolution (LTE), GPS, WLAN, and Wireless Access in the Vehicular Environment (WAVE) bands (850 MHz, 1575 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.9 GHz, respectively). The planar inverted-F antennas are used as multiple-input-multiple-output antennas for the LTE band due to their low-profile structure. Modified planar monopoles are used to obtain omnidirectional radiation patterns for WLAN and WAVE bands. Antenna characteristics such as return loss, isolation, and radiation pattern have been simulated and measured to confirm the possibility for use in automotive applications.