Millimeter-Wave MIMO Antenna Design for 5G Communications
Summary
The advent of 5G has seen the exploitation of millimetre-wave bands to deliver unprecedented data rates and low latency. Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques are central to this evolution, leveraging spatial multiplexing and diversity to overcome high path loss and atmospheric attenuation inherent at frequencies above 24 GHz. Antenna design in this regime must reconcile competing demands: wide impedance bandwidth to cope with broad 5G allocations, high radiation efficiency to counter absorption losses, compact form factors for integration into user devices and base stations, and high isolation between closely spaced elements. Recent efforts have focused on novel substrate materials, defected ground structures, decoupling networks and metasurfaces to mitigate mutual coupling. Innovations in element geometry, such as orthogonal or perpendicularly arranged patches, combined with frequency-selective surfaces, have yielded gains in isolation exceeding 28 dB and bandwidths approaching 50 percent of the centre frequency. Concurrently, diversity parameters such as envelope correlation coefficient and diversity gain have been optimised to ensure robust link performance in dense multipath environments. These advances are paving the way for practical, scalable antenna arrays that can be mass-produced and integrated into 5G infrastructure and consumer electronics.
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Millimeter-Wave MIMO Antenna Design for 5G Communications publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in millimeter-wave mimo antenna design for 5g communications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
MIMO: multiple-input multiple-output systems employing two or more antennas at both transmitter and receiver to increase data throughput and link reliability.
Millimetre wave (mmWave): spectrum band roughly from 24 GHz to 300 GHz used in 5G to offer wide bandwidth and high data rates.
Defected ground structure (DGS): deliberate perturbations etched into the ground plane to suppress surface waves, enhance impedance bandwidth and improve isolation.
Decoupling structure: additional circuitry or patterned elements designed to reduce electromagnetic coupling between adjacent antenna elements.
Frequency-selective surface (FSS): periodic array of conductive shapes acting as a spatial filter, reflecting or transmitting electromagnetic waves at specific frequencies to enhance gain or bandwidth.
Envelope correlation coefficient (ECC): statistical measure of similarity between signals at different antenna ports, with lower values indicating better spatial diversity.
References
- Enhancing Performance of Millimeter Wave MIMO Antenna with a Decoupling and Common Defected Ground Approach. Technologies (2023).
- Frequency-Selective Surface-Based MIMO Antenna Array for 5G Millimeter-Wave Applications. Sensors (2023).
- 4-Port MIMO Antenna with Defected Ground Structure for 5G Millimeter Wave Applications. Electronics (2020).
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