Mitigation of mutual coupling in 2 X 2 dual slant polarized MIMO antennas using periodic array of SRRs loaded with transmission line for LTE band 40

Abstract

2 X 2 dual slant polarized multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antennas with reduced mutual coupling is presented for polarization and spatial diversity. The design of printed periodic array of split ring resonators (SRRs) loaded with horizontal strip transmission line is proposed to mitigate the mutual coupling among the MIMO antenna elements. An equivalent circuit model, characterizes the effect of coupling between the array of SRRs and the loaded transmission line, which together reduces the near field coupling between the adjacent antenna elements. The additional horizontal strip at the bottom is utilized to seek the return current path to the ground plane. Polarization and spatial diversity is achieved by utilizing dual slant 450 polarized antenna elements with eight independent channels. All four dual polarized antenna elements are designed to operate with a VSWR of <2 for (2.3-2.4 GHz) Band 40. Dual slant 450 polarization is achieved by utilizing two printed planar bow-tie antennas in orthogonal orientation. Measured and simulated results shows by incorporating periodic array of SRRs loaded with transmission line a considerable mutual coupling reduction of 25 to 50 dB is achieved in E-plane, H-plane, and D-plane over the required band 40. An isolation of 30 dB and an average gain of 7.5 dB is measured for dual slant 450 polarized antenna elements. MIMO performance metrics in terms of envelope correlation coefficient and diversity gain are also investigated.