Dual‐port circular patch antenna array: Enhancing gain and minimizing cross‐polarization for mm‐wave 5G networks

SummaryThis paper presents the design and performance evaluation of a single‐layer, high‐gain, millimeter‐wave (mm‐wave), corporate–series‐fed, 16‐element circular patch array antenna tailored for the 28 GHz frequency band, pertinent to fifth‐generation (5G) wireless communication systems. The proposed antenna configuration employs a dual‐port feeding technique, where consecutive junction patches are interconnected with two separate feed networks. By simultaneously exciting the two ports with identical amplitude but opposite phases, the antenna achieves high gain directed towards the broadside. The proposed structure is fabricated on a grounded substrate, enabling accurate performance measurement of the prototype. Close agreement between simulated and measured results validates the precision of the designed structure. The measured performance of the proposed antenna configuration demonstrates an impedance bandwidth of 3.79% within the desired frequency band of 27.6‐28.7 GHz for S11 ≤ −10 dB. Experimental measurements demonstrated that the mutual coupling between the two distinct ports is <−30 dB, with a diversity gain exceeding 9.99 dB. Simulated radiation efficiency exceeds 90% at the 28 GHz center frequency, while the measured peak gain approaches 17.7 dBi. Measured stable radiation plots specify that the proposed array exhibits broadside patterns with half‐power beamwidths (HPBWs) of 30.4° and 11.3°, sidelobe levels (SLLs) below −25 and −10 dB, and cross‐polarization levels <−25 dB in both the E and H planes, respectively. The superior performance characteristics of the proposed array antenna make it well‐suited for 28 GHz mm‐wave 5G applications, facilitating efficient and reliable long‐range communication in the mm‐wave spectrum.