A 64-Element Antenna Array With a Low Wind Load for 5G Base Station Applications

In this work, a 64-element antenna array with a low wind load is proposed for sub-6 GHz base stations. The proposed array element consists of a radiating layer with regular cross-dipoles, a defected ground layer to improve isolation between input ports, a metal mesh reflector to reduce the size of the windward side and maintain electromagnetic performance, and the metal support structure to keep the physical structure stable and provide enough space for installing the radome. A prototype of the proposed 64-element array formed by using the above-mentioned antenna element is fabricated and measured. The results show that the -10-dB impedance bandwidth is 3.4–3.6 GHz, the realized gain is 24.2 ± 0.4 dBi and the front-to-back ratio is larger than 16 dB, which proves that the proposed structure is suitable for 5G sub-6 GHz base stations.