Step-Like Ultra-Wideband Antenna Applicable for 5G Communication

One problem of Ultra-wideband systems is reducing the size of the antenna while still maintaining the antenna’s performance in the Ultra-wideband frequency range. This is also a requirement in 5G wireless communication. 5G antennas are to have low profiles, simple structure, have a lighter weight, and a high gain. In this paper, a novel antenna with two steps on the patch and defected ground structure for UWB and 5G applications are presented. It has a volume of 32 x 32 x 1.6mm3. The antenna is realized on an FR4 substrate and fed with a 50Ω microstrip feedline. The design and simulation of the antenna were carried out using CST studio. The stepped patch is used to improve the impedance matching at the lower frequencies while the slotted ground is used to improve that of the higher frequencies. The antenna has high impedance matching characteristics over the entire operating bandwidth from 2.95 to 40 GHz at return loss ≤ 10 dB and Voltage Standing Wave Ratio < 2 from the simulated results with its highest gain at 9.5 GHz frequency. The antenna exhibits multiband characteristics at frequency ranges of 3.40-3.60, 8.63-10.37, 13.53-14.69, 18.82-20.06, 23.95- 24.56, 27.22-28.52 GHz frequency band at 20 dB. The antenna has good gain, and a low return loss of 20 dB at 28 GHz, making it suitable for 5G applications. The significance of the slots and Defected Ground Structure are also simulated and presented in this paper. The antenna can be used for UWB applications due to its wider bandwidth.