Designing Eight-port Antenna Array for Multi-Band MIMO Applications in 5G Smartphones

This article introduces a dual-functional low-profile compact multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna array for multi-band communication in 5G smartphones. The proposed eight elements of the antenna array form two different 4×4 MIMO systems. The first four elements are placed at the four mobile corners and operate in a single band of 3.445-3.885 GHz for 5G n77 and n78 applications. The other system, in which four antennas are positioned in the middle of the terminal board, supports two wide bands of 1.684-2.300 GHz and 4.432-5.638 for n2, n3, n39, n65, n66, n79, and WLAN applications. The second iteration of a modified Peano-type fractal geometry served as the design foundation for the proposed antenna element. The system's ground plane design is based on self-isolated and spatial diversity methods. The single-band MIMO system's isolation is better than 23 dB. In the dual-band MIMO system that is based on self-isolation, isolation equals approximately 16 dB in the higher band and 10 dB in the lower band. To evaluate performance, radiation-related and total antenna efficiencies, scattering parameters and gains were investigated. Additionally, ECCs have been considered to evaluate MIMO performance. According to the results, such design constitutes a valuable option for MIMO applications in 5G smartphones.