Magneto-electric Dipole Antenna Array Research Articles

A high-gain circularly polarized magnetoelectric dipole antenna array with metallic radiating structure for millimeter-wave applications

A high-gain circularly polarized (CP) magnetoelectric (ME) dipole antenna with metallic radiating structure is presented. The proposed CP antenna element consists of two pairs of metallic posts with a supporting metallic plate, a metallic air-filled elliptical cavity, and a feeding slot on the bottom substrate integrated waveguide (SIW). The two pairs of modified rectangular metallic posts combined with the gaps between them act as radiating ME-dipoles which are surrounded by a metallic air-filled elliptical cavity. The above-mentioned radiating structures are fed by a modified cross-shaped coupling slot etched on the bottom feeding SIW to generate CP radiation, where loading the elliptical metallic cavity significantly improve the CP performance of the antenna element. Then, a 4 × 4 antenna array with full-corporate feeding network is designed, fabricated, and measured, which has an impedance bandwidth of 18.9 % from 37.4 to 45.2 GHz and a 3-dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 14.2 % from 36 to 41.5 GHz. Thanks to the all-metal radiating structures, a maximum measured gain of 20.4 dBic has been achieved. The measured and simulated results are in good agreement.

High-gain and high-isolation MIMO magneto-electric dipole antenna array for 5G millimeter-wave communications

This paper presents a four-port multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) magneto-electric dipole antenna array with high gain and high isolation for 5G millimeter-wave communications. Each antenna contains an eight-way power divider, an eight-element magneto-electric dipole antenna array, a metal rectangular ring, and a dielectric slab. The proposed magneto-electric dipole antenna array has high radiation gain. The metal rectangular ring is applied to not only support the dielectric slab but suppress the surface wave propagation and thus the mutual coupling can be reduced. A further increase in the isolation performance can be realized based on the polarization diversity. The simulated and measured impedance bandwidths at 10 dB return losses are 24–31.86 GHz (28.1%) and 24.12–32 GHz (28.1%), respectively. The simulated and measured isolation levels are larger than 25 and 20 dB, respectively. The simulated and measured realized peak gains at 30 GHz are 20.5 and 19.2 dBi, respectively.

Slot fed circularly polarized magneto-electric dipole antenna array fed by optimized printed microstrip gap waveguide network

<p>A compact, circularly polarized 8 × 8 antenna array is designed for the 60 GHz band. The array comprises circularly polarized magneto-electric dipoles (CP-ME-Dipole) excited by narrow slots. The slots are fed by a printed gap waveguide (PGWG) cooperative network optimized based on the termination of the effective impedance of the array elements. Thus, it accounts for the space mutual coupling of the antenna elements. A procedure based on the full-wave analysis of a 4 ´ 4 array is used to estimate each element’s 8 × 8 array effective port impedance. The cooperative feeding network is designed based on the known effective impedances. The array is divided into two half subarrays out of phase from each other, and a rectangular waveguide feeds both sides. The commonly measured bandwidth of 18.3% achieves return loss better than 10 dB and an axial ratio below 3 dB (AR) of less than 3 dB. A maximum gain of 26.2 dBic with a high radiation efficiency of 82% radiation efficiency.</p>

Millimeter-Wave Wideband Dual-Polarized Aperture-Coupled Magnetoelectric Dipole Antenna Array With High Isolation

Millimeter-Wave Wideband Dual-Polarized Aperture-Coupled Magnetoelectric Dipole Antenna Array With High Isolation

A high gain circularly polarised magnetoelectric dipole antenna array with metallic radiating structures for millimetre‐wave applications

AbstractAn antenna array design method of trade‐off between high gain and low profile is proposed. A high‐gain circularly polarised (CP) substrate integrated waveguide (SIW)‐fed magnetoelectric dipole (ME‐dipole) antenna array with metallic radiating structures is presented for millimetre‐wave (MMW) applications. The CP antenna element comprises a set of horizontally and vertically metal plates and a metallic cavity that is excited by an X‐shaped coupling slot etched on the broader side of SIW. The metallic cavity is designed to improve the gain and axial ratio (AR) performances. Utilising this antenna element, a proof‐of‐concept is established through the design of a 2 × 2 subarray and a 4 × 4 array. The fabricated 4 × 4 CP antenna array has a measured impedance bandwidth of 6.1% (36.4–38.7 GHz), with |S11| ≤ −10dB. The measured 3dB AR bandwidth is 5.4% (36.0–38.0 GHz). The measured maximum gain achieved is 19.1 dBic. The height of the proposed array is 0.74λ0 which is larger than the heights of typical SIW‐based microstrip arrays (0.1–0.4λ0) and lower than the heights of metallic arrays (larger than 2λ0).

Wideband Circularly Polarized Magneto-Electric Dipole Antenna Array with Metallic Walls for Millimeter-Wave Applications

This work proposes a new circularly polarized (CP) 4 × 4 magneto-electric (ME) dipole antenna array using metallic walls for 28 GHz band applications. The ME dipole element is surrounded by eight metallic walls and is excited fed by microstrip line. By introducing metallic walls, the 3-dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of the element is increased from 23% to 36.5%. The 4 × 4 array is fed by a simple 1-to-16 microstrip power divider. In contrast to the conventional substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) power divider using two layers, the proposed microstrip divider only needs one substrate layer. The experimental 3-dB AR bandwidth of the array achieves 30.1%, ranging from 22.5 to 30.5 GHz, which falls inside the −10 dB impendence bandwidth. The measured maximum gain is 19.2 dBic.

Single-Layer Interconnected Magneto-Electric Dipole Antenna Array for 5G Communication Applications

A high-gain and wideband interconnected magneto-electric (ME) dipole on a single-layer PCB substrate is designed for 5G communication applications. Microstrip lines and coplanar striplines (CPSs) serve as transmission lines to connect the ME dipole elements along the E-plane and the H-plane directions, respectively. Impedance matching and sidelobe-level suppression are the key challenges to design a large-scale interconnected ME dipole antenna array. It is shown that impedance matching can be improved by introducing slots and adjusting the width of microstrip lines. Sidelobe level can be enhanced by properly choosing the length of the microstrip lines. A 5 × 5 interconnected ME dipole array is fabricated on a single layer of the RT/duroid 5880 substrate. The proposed antenna exhibits a measured −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 14.5 GHz (52% at 28 GHz) and a maximal peak realized gain of 20.44 dBi at 27.5 GHz with a 3 dB gain bandwidth of 3.5 GHz (12.5% at 28 GHz). The proposed antenna array is a good candidate for 5G communication applications due to its advantages of simple feeding structure, wide bandwidth, high gain, and low profile.

Dual-Band Dual-Circularly Polarized Antenna Array With Printed Ridge Gap Waveguide

A dual-band dual-circularly polarized magneto-electric dipole antenna array for full-duplex communication systems is presented in this communication. The proposed array can simultaneously achieve left-hand circular polarization (LHCP) around 20 GHz and right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) around 30 GHz with a low-loss feed network using the printed ridge gap waveguide (PRGW). The antenna is composed of two sets of stacked interconnected short-circuit patches operating at different frequencies and fed by the same gap. The LHCP at the 20 GHz band and RHCP at the 30 GHz band are realized by exciting the corresponding orthogonal electric-dipole mode and magnetic-dipole mode with -90°/90° phase difference. A cylindrical cavity consists of a series of metalized vias with a top metal strip used for surface wave inhibition. Using the PRGW, a four-way power divider with a low transmission loss is designed. Finally, the simulated 2 ×2 array was fabricated and measured. The measurement results show that the impedance bandwidths are 18.85-20.8 and 29.5-30.9 GHz. The 3 dB axial ratio bandwidths are 19.4-20.4 and 28.5-31.4 GHz, with the peak gains of 13.2 and 11.5 dBic, respectively.

Millimeter-Wave Magneto-Electric Dipole Antenna Array With a Self-Supporting Geometry for Time-Saving Metallic 3-D Printing

A specially designed millimeter-wave high-gain wideband magneto-electric (ME) dipole antenna array based on metallic 3-D printing technology is presented. In order to shorten the printing duration of the array that is related to the fabrication costs, components with novel self-supporting geometries in the printing process, including a waveguide-fed ME-dipole radiating element, a 1-to-4 power divider acting as the subarray feed, and a full-corporate E-plane waveguide feed network, are investigated. Benefitted from these components, the entire array configuration can be fulfilled by employing a time-saving printing scheme, which leads to a 15% reduction in the printing duration for an $8 \times 8$ array, and the reduction can be further increased to 40% for a $16 \times 16$ design in comparison with the reported 3-D printed Ka-band arrays with same sizes that were fabricated by using the traditional printing scheme. Simultaneously, excellent operating characteristics, including a wide bandwidth of 32.4%, a maximum gain of 27.1 dBi, and stable unidirectional radiation, are also confirmed experimentally by an $8 \times 8$ prototype of the proposed array. This work offers a method to effectively reduce the printing time of the 3-D printed large-size antenna arrays with attractive performance, which would be of importance to the practical cost-effective large-scale applications in the emerging millimeter-wave wireless communications.

A Ka-Band Wideband Dual-Polarized Magnetoelectric Dipole Antenna Array on LTCC

A Ka -band wideband dual-polarized magnetoelectric (ME) dipole antenna with the feeding structure consisting of two orthogonal L-shaped probes with different heights is presented based on the low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) technology. A simulated overlapped impedance bandwidth of 42.5% is achieved together with an isolation of higher than 24 dB between the two input ports and stable radiation characteristics over the operating band. By combining the radiating elements with a single-layered feed network composed of microstrip lines, a $4\times 4$ dual-polarized ME dipole antenna array is designed, fabricated, and measured. An overlapped impedance bandwidth of 45% that can cover the entire Ka -band, a gain up to 16.1 dBi, and stable symmetrical radiation patterns in the two orthogonal planes with cross polarization of less than −15 dB are experimentally confirmed. With advantages of the compact geometry, wide operating band, and promising radiation performance, the proposed antenna array with dual polarization would be attractive for millimeter-wave wireless applications in Ka -band.

A Circularly Polarized Differentially Fed Transmission-Line-Excited Magnetoelectric Dipole Antenna Array for 5G Applications

A circularly polarized (CP) differentially fed magnetoelectric dipole (ME-dipole) array is proposed for fifth-generation applications. The proposed transmission-line-excited antenna, fabricated on a printed circuit board, can achieve wide impedance and axial ratio (AR) bandwidths and high gain. The antenna consists of a $2 \times 2$ ME-dipole array enclosed by a circular cavity. It is modified from our previous work on linearly polarized (LP) array with its element orientation selectively rotated by ±45° with respect to the differentially fed transmission line and the use of sequential rotation technique to generate CP radiation. A differential feed network is utilized to feed the prototype for experiments. Experiments show that the antenna can present an overlapping impedance and AR bandwidth of 32.2% from 52.2 to 72.2 GHz with a broadside left-handed CP gain from 10.2 to 11.8 dBic. The proposed CP antenna retains all the salient features of our previously proposed LP antenna in symmetric and stable radiation patterns and relatively low back radiation levels.

A compact broad E-plane beamwidth magneto-electric dipole antenna array for UWB application

ABSTRACTIn this paper, a novel compact magneto-electric (ME) dipole antenna with broad E-plane beamwidth is proposed for ultra-wideband (UWB) indoor positioning system. The ME dipole antenna is designed to obtain wideband and symmetrical radiation pattern. The angled dipole and loaded vertical metal plate are introduced to broaden the E-plane beamwidth. A 1 × 2 antenna array is designed for high gain in the H-plane. A measured −10 dB impedance bandwidth is 52% and the gains are round 5.9 ~ 7.5 dBi from 4.8 to 8.2 GHz. The measured 3-dB beamwidth in the E-plane of the ME dipole antenna array is 83° at 6.5 GHz and more than 100° at 7 GHz. The measurement results are in good agreement with the simulation results.

2-D Scanning Magnetoelectric Dipole Antenna Array Fed by RGW Butler Matrix

In this paper, a 2-D scanning magnetoelectric (ME) dipole antenna array fed by printed ridge gap waveguide (PRGW) Butler matrix is proposed. The ME dipole antenna is designed to achieve a bandwidth wider than 20% at 30 GHz and stable gain of 6.5 ± 0.8 dB over the operating frequency bandwidth. A $4\times 4$ planar PRGW Butler matrix is designed and constructed using a four PRGW hybrid couplers having a wide bandwidth performance. The overall performance of the Butler matrix exhibits about 5° phase error over the operating frequency bandwidth. The integration of ME dipole antennas with the designed Butler matrix results in four fixed beams, one in each quadrant at an elevation angle of 35° from the broadside to the array axis. The proposed passive beam switching network (BSN) has a wide bandwidth of 20% with radiation efficiency higher than 84% over the operating bandwidth. The proposed BSN shows a stable radiation pattern with a stable gain of 10.3±0.2 dB, where the sidelobe level is less than −15 dB over the whole operating frequency band. The fabricated prototype of the proposed BSN is tested, where the measured and simulated results show an excellent agreement.

A Magnetoelectric Dipole Leaky-Wave Antenna for Millimeter-Wave Application

This paper presents a novel frequency beam scanning slotted leaky-wave magnetoelectric (ME) dipole antenna array for the fifth generation (5G) application. The proposed antenna, which has eighteen elements of slots and electric dipoles, is built on a two-layer printed circuit board. In the lower layer, it is a conventional slotted substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) leaky-wave antenna (LWA). In the upper layer, electric dipoles are attached to the design. As for each element unit, the magnetic dipole is realized by each lower-layer aperture, while the electric dipole is realized by each pair of patches in the upper layer. The design concept is that two modes are excited together in orthogonal directions to realize the ME dipole. By introducing electric dipoles to the conventional slotted LWA, the antenna exhibits less gain variation over a wide bandwidth. The SIW leaky-wave ME dipole antenna array is designed and fabricated to operate at the 28-GHz band. It operates with wide impedance bandwidth and a peak gain of 16.55 dBi with less than 3-dB gain variation throughout the frequency range from 27 to 32 GHz.