A 28 GHz Broadband Helical Inspired End-Fire Antenna and Its MIMO Configuration for 5G Pattern Diversity Applications

Abstract

In this paper, an end-fire antenna for 28 GHz broadband communications is proposed with its multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) configuration for pattern diversity applications in 5G communication systems and the Internet of Things (IoT). The antenna comprises a simple geometrical structure inspired by a conventional planar helical antenna without utilizing any vias. The presented antenna is printed on both sides of a very thin high-frequency substrate (Rogers RO4003, εr = 3.38) with a thickness of 0.203 mm. Moreover, its MIMO configuration is characterized by reasonable gain, high isolation, good envelope correlation coefficient, broad bandwidth, and high diversity gain. To verify the performance of the proposed antenna, it was fabricated and verified by experimental measurements. Notably, the antenna offers a wide −10 dB measured impedance ranging from 26.25 GHz to 30.14 GHz, covering the frequency band allocated for 5G communication systems with a measured peak gain of 5.83 dB. Furthermore, a performance comparison with the state-of-the-art mm-wave end-fire antennas in terms of operational bandwidth, electrical size, and various MIMO performance parameters shows the worth of the proposed work.