An omnidirectional multilayer metasurface antenna for 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G applications

This paper proposes a novel horizontally polarized multilayer omnidirectional antenna. The antenna consists of three stacked printed circuit boards. The antenna size is 0.54$\lambda$\times 0.54$\lambda$\times 0.1$\lambda$. The first printed circuit board contains a ring antenna array with a diameter of 0.5$\lambda$ consisting of four dipoles with F-shaped arms. The second printed circuit board contains eight passive dipoles arranged in two circles with radii of 0.22$\lambda$ and 0.15$\lambda$. The length and width of the passive dipoles increase to the center of the board. The third printed circuit board contains a metasurface of 45 cells. Each cell is two nested loops with slots on the opposite sides. The antenna array on the first printed circuit board is fed by a high-frequency SMA connector. The printed elements on the second and third boards are not fed directly. They are excited by the electromagnetic field of the ring antenna array located on the first printed circuit board. The multilayer antenna radiates and receives an electromagnetic signal in two frequency ranges, 1.64…2.35 GHz and 4.24…4.94 GHz (35.5% and 15.3% at the level of VSWR=2). The proposed antenna bandwidths correspond to the 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G generations of cellular systems. The paper presents the results of electrodynamic characteristics simulation for the proposed multilayer printed antenna.