Reduction of Mutual Coupling in Compact Antenna Array Using Meander Line Slot EBG Structure

Abstract

This paper presents the design and the fabrication of a compact Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna array with very low mutual coupling, operating in the 2.4 GHz band. The compact design is achieved by the introduction of a meander line structure in the conventional patch antenna. The reduced mutual coupling of about 52 dB is realized by inserting a periodic array of Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) elements in the radiating antenna elements. A prototype of the proposed antenna array has been manufactured on an FR4 substrate with a dielectric constant of 4.4 and a height of 1.6 mm. The excellent agreement between simulated and measured data confirms the performance of the proposed antenna array in a MIMO environment. This MIMO antenna array has a compact size of 0.40λ0×0.2λ0. For the validation of the results, the overall dimensions and the isolation level of the proposed design have been compared with designs previously reported in the literature and it has been found out that the proposed design is superior in both isolation level and compactness than its counterparts.