Integrated LTE and Millimeter-Wave 5G MIMO Antenna System for 4G/5G Wireless Terminals

TLDR

The study presents an integrated MIMO antenna for LTE and mm‑wave 5G services. The design uses a two‑element LTE MIMO antenna and a four‑element 5G MIMO array with ground‑plane defects, fabricated on a 0.76 mm Rogers RO4350B substrate measuring 75 mm × 110 mm. The integrated antenna operates from 5.29–6.12 GHz (LTE bands 46/47) and 26–29.5 GHz (5G mm‑wave), achieving peak gains of 5.13 dB and 9.53 dB, respectively, and demonstrates strong MIMO performance, low SAR/PD, meeting safety standards and positioning it as a promising candidate for future communications.

Abstract

This work demonstrates an integrated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna solution for Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Millimeter-Wave (mm-wave) 5G wireless communication services. The proposed structure is comprised of a two-element LTE MIMO antenna, and a four-element 5G MIMO configuration with rectangular and circular defects in the ground plane. For experimental validation, the proposed structure is fabricated on a Rogers RO4350B substrate with 0.76 mm thickness. The overall substrate dimensions are 75 mm × 110 mm. The proposed structure is capable of operating at 5.29-6.12 GHz (LTE 46 and 47 bands) and 26-29.5 GHz (5G mm-wave) frequency bands. Additionally, the measured peak gain of 5.13 and 9.53 dB is attained respectively for the microwave and mm-wave antennas. Furthermore, the analysis of the MIMO performance metrics demonstrates good characteristics, and excellent field correlation performance across the operating bands. Furthermore, the analysis of the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and Power Density (PD) at the lower frequency band (5.9 GHz) and PD only at mm-Wave frequency band (28 GHz) verifies that the proposed antenna system satisfies the international human safety standards. Therefore, the proposed integrated MIMO antenna configuration ascertains to be a potential contender for the forthcoming communication applications.