Low Cost Planar Millimeter Wave Antenna Array for 5G Mobile Applications

A compact design of efficient and low profile millimeter wave antenna array is proposed for 5G mobile applications. Bandwidth is enhanced by implementing rectangular slot on patch and by using partial ground plane. 16 element linear array is designed in H plane to improve the gain. Proposed antenna array resonates from 12.69 GHz to 35.20 GHz with reflection coefficient less than -10 dB and impedance bandwidth of 94.02 % at center frequency of 23.94 GHz. Maximum gain of 16.3 dB is achieved at 28 GHz and very small variation in the gain over whole operating frequency range is observed. Main beam can be steered from -45 degree to +45 degree with maximum scanning loss of 3.6 dB. Side lobe levels are below -10 dB over whole scanning range. The proposed design has sharp narrow radiation pattern which is desired for 5G mobile stations. Thickness of antenna is only 0.254 mm so it can be easily integrated with printed circuit board of mobile phone. The radiation characteristics suggest that proposed antenna is a potential candidate for millimeter wave applications and 5G mobile communications.