Wireless Local Area Network Applications Research Articles

Combined Shark-Fin Rooftop Antenna for LTE, WLAN and BeiDou Applications

This paper presents rooftop automobile antennas designed for Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and navigation system applications. The proposed antennas are housed within a shark-fin structure on the car’s roof, and comprise a main antenna and a diversity antenna. The main antenna and diversity antenna combine for spatial diversity, receiving and processing the same signal to optimize signal quality. To accommodate the limited space within the shark-fin housing, various miniaturization and multiband techniques are utilized. The hexagonal substrate is more closely fitted to the shape of the shark fin, thus making full use of the space of the shark-fin shell. The main antenna and the diversity antenna are perpendicular to each other, which saves the space of the overall antenna and improves the utilization rate of the overall antenna space. The proposed main antenna, compactly sized at 50 mm × 20 mm × 1.59 mm, maintains a VSWR value below 2 across the frequency range of 1.19–2.8 GHz, enabling support for LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 15, 16, 34, 39, 40, and 41, as well as WLAN 2400 bands. The diversity antenna maintains a VSWR value below 2 across the frequency range of 1.5–2.6 GHz, which can cover BeiDou B1-1, LTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 15, 16, 34, 39, and 40, and WLAN 2400 bands. The main antenna and the diversity antenna both demonstrate favorable radiation patterns on the azimuth plane. Simulation and measurement results exhibit a high level of agreement.

Compact microstrip patch antenna loaded with Artificial Transmission Line for wireless applications

ABSTRACT This article presents an efficient yet simple spiral antenna design methodology for 2.44 GHz Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) applications. In the suggested design, the antenna’s radiating section is redesigned with a particular Artificial Transmission Line (ATL) construction that allows for good downsizing. Circuit analysis and electromagnetic solver are used to verify the design, which demonstrate good agreement with the measured results. The electromagnetic simulation and passive component analysis reveal that the new design matches the traditional designs in terms of frequency tuning and size reduction. The overall footprint of the proposed ATL design is (33 × 25 × 1.6) mm3 which equals to 0.2684λ×0.2033λ×0.013λ, where λ is the distance travelled by the wave per cycle at the operating frequency of 2.44 GHz. The antenna has a gain of 3.8dBi and a 50Ω impedance. Modifying the interdigital capacitance and inductance used in the ATL structure to achieve a longer electrical length of the line can also improve the wave guide mode of excitation. As a result, the phase constant is regulated, allowing for good antenna size minimisation. The effect of interdigital inductance and capacitance on the operating bands is also analysed.

AN ASYMMETRICAL PSI-SHAPED MULTIBAND ANTENNA FOR WIRELESS APPLICATIONS

In this article, a low-profile multiband asymmetrical psi-shaped antenna for different wireless applications is presented and analyzed. This multiband antenna consists of an asymmetrical psi-shaped radiator considered on a single layer FR4 substrate with compact dimensions. The better impedance matching characteristics between the radiating element and the signal source are obtained by employing a slotted structure. The designed antenna operates at six different frequency bands of 1.8-2.03 GHz [GSM1800, personal communication systems (PCS)], 4.64-5.35 GHz [wireless local area network (WLAN)], 6.05-6.95 GHz (C-band), 7.92-8.59 GHz (military), 9.55-11.14 GHz [fixed satellite service (FSS)], and 11.57-12.29 GHz (DBS) while the S<sub>11 </sub>value is lower than -10 dB. The Ansoft HFSS 21 electromagnetic simulator is employed to optimize the antenna dimensions and study the antenna functionality at the six different frequency bands. The designed antenna exhibits higher gain at six frequency bands. The developed multiband antenna is prototyped, and test results are generated to validate its performance. The simulation results authenticate acceptable agreement with the measurement results. This antenna is a good choice for GSM1800, PCS, WLAN, C-band, FSS, and military defense applications.

Eight-Element Dual-Band Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Mobile Phone Antenna for 5G and Wireless Local Area Network Applications.

This paper proposes an eight-element dual-band multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna that operates in the fifth generation (5G), n78 (3400-3600 MHz), and WLAN (5275-5850 MHz) bands to accommodate the usage scenarios of 5G mobile phones. The eight antenna elements are printed on two long frames, which significantly reduce the usage of the internal space of the mobile phone. Each antenna element is printed on both surfaces of one frame, which consists of a radiator on the internal surface and a defected ground plane on the outer surface. The radiator is a rectangular ring fed by a 50 Ω microstrip line which is printed on the top surface of the system board. A parasitic unit is printed on the outer surface of each frame, which is composed of an inverted H-shaped and four L-shaped patches. Each parasitic unit is connected to the internal surface of the frames through a via, and then it is connected to a 1.5 mm wide microstrip line on the top surface of the system board, which is connected to the ground plane on the bottom surface of the system board by a via. Four L-shaped slots, four rectangular slots, and four U-shaped slots are etched onto the system board, which provides good isolation between the antenna elements. Two merged rectangular rings are printed on the center of each frame, which improves the isolation further. The return loss is better than 6 dB, and the isolation between the units is better than 15 dB in the required working frequency bands. In addition, the use of a defected ground structure not only makes the antenna element obtain better isolation but also improves the overall working efficiency. The measurement results show that the proposed MIMO antenna structure can be an ideal solution for 5G and WLAN applications.

Advancements in Flexible Antenna Design: Enabling Tri-Band Connectivity for WLAN, WiMAX, and 5G Applications

The use of flexible antennas has garnered significant interest in light of their wide-ranging applications inside contemporary wireless communication systems. The need for these antennas stems from the necessity for small, conformal, and versatile systems that can effectively function across many frequency ranges. The present study investigates designing and optimizing a universal triband antenna, focusing on meeting the distinct demands of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G applications. The current methodologies often need help attaining maximum efficiency over a wide range of frequency bands, resulting in concerns such as subpar radiation patterns and restricted bandwidth. To address the obstacles, this research proposes a novel approach known as the Triband Antenna Design using the Artificial Neural Network (3AD-ANN) method. This method utilizes machine learning techniques to devise and enhance the attributes of the antenna effectively. The 3AD-ANN approach presents several notable characteristics, such as heightened adaptability, increased radiation patterns, and a condensed physical structure. The mean values for far-field radiation gain are around -37.4 dB in simulated scenarios and -39.9 dB in actual observations. The average return loss is roughly -23.8 dB in simulations and -25.8 dB in experimental measurements. The numerical findings illustrate the effectiveness of this methodology, exhibiting exceptional return loss and gain sizes over a range of frequencies, including WLAN, WiMAX, and 5G.

Design of single‐layer bandstop fractal frequency selective surface based on WLAN applications

AbstractIn this letter, we present a new frequency selective surface (FSS) for shielding 2.4–2.5 and 4.98–5.825 GHz wireless local area network (WLAN) bands. This FSS structure is based on the traditional Sierpinski octagon and we improve it. Compared with the traditional structure, the improved one has a smaller element size and better angular stability. The design is realized on float glass with a relative permittivity () of 8, and the unit cell size is 0.1152λ0 × 0.1152λ0 (λ0 is the free space wavelength at the first resonant frequency). Wide rejection bandwidths (−10 dB) of 910 and 1630 MHz are obtained at 2.4–2.5 and 4.98–5.825 GHz, respectively. The surface current distribution and the equivalent circuit model are illustrated to explain the resonance behavior of the proposed FSS. Furthermore, this FSS exhibits stable frequency response to incident angles of 0°–80° under transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations. Finally, this FSS structure was fabricated and measured. The measured results demonstrate that this FSS structure has good performance in WLAN applications.

Bandwidth and Gain Enhancement of Microstrip Leaky-Wave Antennas with Slot and Defected Ground Structure

This paper discusses the design, simulation, and realization of a leaky-wave microstrip antenna with multiple slots and defected ground structure (DGS). The leaky-wave microstrip antenna with multiple slots and DGS was designed to operate at 5.925-6,425 GHz for wireless local area network applications (WLANs), with a gain of ≥4dBi. The antenna uses FR-4 epoxy as the substrate with a dielectric constant of 4.6 and a thickness of 1.6 mm. The leaky-wave microstrip antenna has dimensions of 45.1 mm × 24.8 mm × 1.6 mm, while the leaky-wave microstrip antenna with multiple slots and DGS has dimensions of 40.6 mm × 25 mm × 1.6 mm. The simulation results showed that adding multiple slots and DGS to the leaky-wave microstrip antenna increased the bandwidth from 280 MHz (5.859–6.139 GHz) to 691 MHz (5.854–6.545 GHz) while the gain increased from 4.47 to 5.04 dBi. Meanwhile, the measurement results showed that the bandwidth parameter increased from 273 MHz (5.877–6.150 GHz) to 684 MHz (5.845–6.529 GHz) and the gain parameter from 4.53 to 5.06 dBi at 6 GHz.

A Multi-Bandwidth Reconfigurable Patch Antenna for Devices in WLAN and UWB Technology Applications

This article introduces a process to design, simulate, and measure a novel multi-band patch antenna with different operation modes, i.e., band centers and bandwidths. Switching between operation modes is possible using a pair of PIN diodes to connect different parts of the antenna with the main antenna patch. Such a reconfigurable design allows for individual control of each frequency range. The main operation mode of the resulting antenna has an impedance bandwidth with two bands, one from 2.4 GHz to 2.73 GHz and another from 3.4 GHz to 5.73 GHz, with a maximum gain of 4.85 dBi and stable radiation patterns. The resulting antenna is suitable for applications using both ultra-wideband technologies and wireless local-area network (WLAN) technologies.

A 200-MS/s 10-Bit SAR ADC Applied in WLAN Systems

This paper introduces a new high-performance successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) designed for high-speed and low-power wireless local area network (WLAN) applications using a SMIC 55 nm 1p8m CMOS process. The design employs several innovative techniques, including an improved bootstrap switch with high linearity, a 4-reference voltage method to minimize capacitive digital-to-analog converter (CDAC) mismatch, a kickback-canceling comparator to eliminate kick-back noise, and redundant design-assisted window-opening SAR logic to decrease conversion time. Experimental results reveal that the proposed ADC achieves an impressive signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) of 55.3 dB and a spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) of 66.6 dB at a sampling rate of 200 MHz with Nyquist frequency input while consuming a power of 2.8 mW at a 1.2 V power supply. This corresponds to a figure-of-merit (FoM) value of 29 fJ/conversion-step. Thanks to the incorporation of the 4-reference voltage method, the ADC demonstrates a significant area advantage compared to other designs with similar FOM values utilizing more advanced processes, occupying a mere 0.008 mm2 of core area.

2.4 GHz Active Inductor Based Single to Differential LNA for WLAN Applications

This paper presents a source degenerated cascode LNA design using a regulated cascode active inductor (AI). The AI has an inductance value of up to 6.28 nH, a Q-value of up to 4750, and a resonant frequency of up to 9.758 GHz. The proposed AI replaces the passive source degenerated inductor and load inductor in the LNA. Further, an active balun is used to have a differential signal at the LNA output to support the mixer stage. The gain and noise figure of the LNA is 22.2 and 5.6 dB respectively. The 3rd order input intercept (IIP3) value is 1.92 dBm and the return losses at the input port and two output ports are less than −10 dB. The power consumption of the circuit is 27 mW at a 1.8 V supply and the figure of merit (FoM) is 9.17. The area occupied by the AI is 39 × 72 µm2 and balun-LNA is 0.872 × 0.62 mm2. The complete proposed circuit is meant for wireless local area network (WLAN) applications in the 2.4 GHz frequency band.

A Low Phase Noise Crystal Oscillator with a Fast Start-Up Bandgap Reference for WLAN Applications

This article presents the design and implementation of a 40 MHz crystal oscillator (XO) with low phase noise, based on the 55 nm CMOS process, for wireless transceiver systems, particularly those used in Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). The proposed design employs a bandgap reference circuit that includes a start-up circuit and a low-voltage common-source common-gate current mirror, which ensures that the bandgap reference circuit is powered up effectively across all temperatures and process corners. A low-pass filter is also incorporated at the low dropout regulator (LDO) input to reduce the phase noise of the XO circuit. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed design achieves a final phase noise of −164.36 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset frequency, with a power consumption of 0.444 mW. The test of start-up time is 0.718 ms and the compact chip area is 0.088 mm2. According to the simulation and test results, the final FOM value calculated in this paper is 209.93 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset.

Improving Isolation in MIMO Antenna for WLAN Applications

The system Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) presents minimum bandwidths to provide required transmission data rates, isolation can also be improved using multiple input multiple output (MIMO) scheme increasing their capacity. In this paper, the Decoupling Networks technique is presented to reduce the coupling between the elements of the MIMO antenna and thus improve data rate with a 2x2 MIMO antenna system. The dielectric used was FR4 substrate with dielectric constant εr = 4.4 and thickness of substrate 1.544 mm. The S11 and S12 scattering parameters were obtained as well as ECC at the resonance frequency and bandwidth. The radiation pattern and the current density are simulated by HFSS. The antenna size is 80x65mm^2.

Broadband Multiple Input Multiple Output antenna for sub‐6‐GHz 5G communications

SummaryThis paper presents the design of a miniaturized broadband monopole antenna for 5G and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) applications in mobile handsets. The proposed monopole evolved from a rectangular geometry of size 12 × 5 mm. The slot and stub loading techniques are used to improve the impedance matching offered by the antenna. Furthermore, bandwidth broadening is achieved using lumped elements loaded onto the aperture of the antenna. The proposed miniaturized antenna exhibits a measured impedance bandwidth of 63.6% (3.0–5.8 GHz) covering the 5G spectrum allocations under sub‐6 GHz and the WLAN services. The antenna elements are replicated along the sides of the mock mobile handset PCB to study the functionality of the eight‐element MIMO antenna. The prototype MIMO antenna fabricated and tested in the laboratory offers a peak gain of 3 dBi and total efficiency greater than 72%. Owing to miniaturization, the spatial distribution of the antenna element provides a low envelope correlation (ECC) of less than 0.2 and good diversity gain (DG) greater than 7.8 dB. In addition, the mean effective gain (MEG), channel capacity loss (CCL), multiplexing efficiency (ME), and total active reflection coefficient (TARC) are evaluated and presented. The estimated MIMO metrics are within the desired range of operation and hence make the antenna suitable for a complex propagation environment. The prototype antenna is developed on a thin microwave laminate with low‐loss characteristics and tested under laboratory conditions. The outcomes indicate that the proposed eight‐element antenna can be applied to 5G MIMO communications.

A Simulation Study of Triband Low SAR Wearable Antenna

The proposed paper presents a flexible antenna that is capable of operating in several frequency bands, namely 2.45 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and 8 GHz. The first two frequency bands are frequently utilized in industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) as well as wireless local area network (WLAN) applications, whereas the third frequency band is associated with X-band applications. The antenna, with dimensions of 52 mm × 40 mm (0.79 λ × 0.61 λ), was designed using a 1.8 mm thick flexible kapton polyimide substrate with a permittivity of 3.5. Using CST Studio Suite, full-wave electromagnetic simulations were conducted, and the proposed design achieved a reflection coefficient below −10 dB for the intended frequency bands. Additionally, the proposed antenna achieves an efficiency value of up to 83% and appropriate values of gain in the desired frequency bands. In order to quantify the specific absorption rate (SAR), simulations were conducted by mounting the proposed antenna on a three-layered phantom. The SAR1g values recorded for the frequency bands of 2.45 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and 8 GHz were 0.34, 1.45, and 1.57 W/Kg respectively. These SAR values were observed to be significantly lower than the 1.6 W/Kg threshold set by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Moreover, the performance of the antenna was evaluated by simulating various deformation tests.

Dual-Band Decoupling for Two Back-to-Back PIFAs

In this communication, two dual-band back-to-back planar inverted-F antennas (PIFAs) are presented for wireless local area network (WLAN) applications. By simply etching a slot on the PIFA, the PIFA can simultaneously radiate at the WLAN 2.4 GHz (2.4–2.484 GHz) and WLAN 5 GHz (5.15–5.835 GHz) bands. To reduce the mutual coupling at the two independent bands in a guided way, long and short slots are successively engraved on the ground. The detailed decoupling process is given and discussed. The antenna was fabricated and measured. The measured results show that the two PIFAs cover the 2.4 and 5 GHz WLAN bands and the isolation can be improved to higher than 20 dB at the two independent bands.

A single‐layer differential‐fed dual‐band filtering antenna for WLAN application

AbstractIn this letter, a single‐layer differential‐fed dual‐band filtering antenna for wireless local area network application is proposed. The proposed antenna consists of a square patch, and two pairs of stepped impedance resonators (SIRs). The lower operating passband is realized by exciting the square patch with a pair of differential ports. Then, a pair of SIRs is connected with the radiating edge of the square patch to introduce another resonance, thus forming the upper passband. And a radiation null is simultaneously produced to enhance the frequency selectivity between the two passbands. Moreover, another pair of SIRs is utilized to connect with the nonradiating edge of the square patch, which generates an additional high‐frequency in‐band resonance and a radiation null to further improve the bandwidth and frequency selectivity of upper passband. The developed prototype was fabricated and measured to verify the design concept. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulated ones, demonstrating that it exhibits −10 dB fractional impedance bandwidths of 3.68% and 7.35%, maximum realized gains at boresight direction of 5.5 and 8.7 dBi, and cross‐polarization levels smaller than −30 dB, in lower and upper passbands, respectively.

Circularly polarized three-element MIMO antenna with diversity and polarization reconfigurability techniques

This paper proposes a circularly polarized (CP) three-element multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna system with diversity and polarization reconfigurability techniques for wireless local-area network (WLAN) applications. The proposed MIMO antenna system employs two CP antennas with endfire characteristics and a broadside slot antenna. The polarization reconfigurability technique is achieved using pin diodes in all three antenna elements. Additionally, the three antennas have distinct directional radiation patterns, improving the MIMO antenna system's diversity performance. The three-element MIMO antenna system is fabricated for validation, and antenna parameters are measured. For all the states, the proposed antenna provides good antenna characteristics for the WLAN frequency band (5.15 GHz − 5.35 GHz). The three-element MIMO antenna exhibits good port-to-port isolation, and MIMO parameters like total active reflection coefficient (TARC), channel capacity loss (CCL), envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) and diversity gain (DG) are within the acceptable range.

A Coupled-Fed Broadband Dual-Polarized Magnetoelectric Dipole Antenna for WLAN and Sub-6 GHz 5G Communication Applications

This paper presents a novel coupled-fed broadband dual-polarized magnetoelectric dipole antenna for wireless local area network (WLAN) and 5G communication applications. The proposed magnetoelectric dipole antenna is composed of a planar electric dipole and shorting pins as a magnetic dipole to obtain a broad operation frequency band. Two coupled microstrip lines perpendicular to each other are coupled through a cross-shaped slot to excite the vertical and horizontal polarizations. The proposed antenna features a simple structure, high gain, and high polarization isolation. The measured impedance bandwidth of the proposed antenna is 1.8–4.2 GHz (fractional bandwidth of 80%). The measured realized antenna gain value is 3.7–8.5 dBi, and polarization isolation level is 25 dB at the operation frequency band.

A Low-Profile Antenna for On-Body and Off-Body Applications in the Lower and Upper ISM and WLAN Bands

The article presents a Co-planar Waveguide (CPW) fed antenna of a low-profile, simple geometry, and compact size operating at the dual band for ISM and WLAN applications for 5G communication devices. The antenna has a small size of 30 mm × 18 mm × 0.79 mm and is realized using Rogers RT/Duroid 5880 substrate. The proposed dual-band antenna contains a CPW feedline along with the triangular patch. Later on, various stubs are loaded to obtain optimal results. The proposed antenna offers a dual band at 2.4 and 5.4 GHz while covering the impedance bandwidths of 2.25-2.8 GHz for ISM and 5.45-5.65 GHz for WLAN applications, respectively. The proposed antenna design is studied and analyzed using the Electromagnetic (EM) High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSSv9) tool, and a hardware prototype is fabricated to verify the simulated results. As the antenna is intended for on-body applications, therefore, Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) analysis is carried out to investigate the Electromagnetic effects of the antenna on the human body. Moreover, a comparison between the proposed dual-band antenna and other relevant works in the literature is presented. The results and comparison of the proposed work with other literary works validate that the proposed dual-band antenna is suitable for future 5G devices working in Industrial, Scientific, Medical (ISM), and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) bands.

A compact plus shaped with L-shaped slotted microstrip patch antenna for GSM, WLAN, WiMAX, C- and X- band applications

In this research article, a compact plus-shaped L-shaped slotted microstrip patch antenna is proposed for various applications, including the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and C-band X-band applications. The rectangular patch includes a plus-shaped slot, with an L-shaped slot cut along it, providing enhanced bandwidth and gain with multiband resonance. The radiation pattern of the proposed antenna is also better. The proposed antenna is capable of operating in four bands: (2.0 – 2.5 GHz)/2.2 GHz for GSM and WLAN applications, (3.6 – 3.9 GHz)/3.7 GHz for Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) and WiMAX applications, (6.7 -7.4 GHz)/7.1 GHz, and (9.1 – 10.8 GHz)/10 GHz for C- and X-band applications. The impedance bandwidth is 22.7%, 8.1%, 10%, and 17% for each respective frequency range. A parametric analysis of different dimensions, Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR), surface current distribution, and radiation pattern is presented to verify and validate the design parameters in each sections.