Wideband proximity coupled microstrip linear array design for 5G mobile communication

A novel low-cost, high-gain mm-wave antenna has been presented. The antenna consists of a proximity-coupled linear array with a novel feed structure which presents the idea of a segmented feedline in a series configuration below the patches creating a very wide bandwidth. The increased bandwidth is due to the manner of power coupling from the feedlines on the lower substrate to the patches on the upper substrate and back down to the next feedline. Very good agreement between simulated and measured results achieved shows that the proposed antenna structure is very efficient in achieving wideband characteristics and low sidelobe levels with conformal size. The antenna has a gain of over 13.5 dB with an HPBW of 15 degrees +/- 2 degrees over a bandwidth of 27.5-28.5 GHz. It also exhibits a return loss below -10 dB with a bandwidth of 9% from 26.4 to 28.92 GHz.