DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 4-PORT MIMO MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA FOR 6G APPLICATIONS

Abstract

The current study addresses the design and analysis of a small, wideband Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna array for next-generation (5G/6G) wireless communication systems, addressing two issues: wide bandwidth and antenna-element coupling. A novel modified fish-type-shaped resonator is first developed on a Rogers RT5880 Substrate. Through strategic iterations, a partial ground plane and triangular slots with a wide impedance bandwidth of 6 to 12 GHz and return loss as low as -30 dB are implemented, resulting in stable radiation. Further, a four-port MIMO array employing an orthogonal placement strategy, which offers spatial and polarization diversity by nature, and the mutual coupling can be effectively suppressed without a complicated decoupling structure. The array can maintain wideband operation (S11 < -10 dB) and achieve high (15 dB+) port isolation from 6-12 GHz, with a peak gain of 5.3 dBi and a high radiation efficiency (>85%). In addition, Critical MIMO performance characteristics are verified to be outstanding diversity parameters: Envelope Correlation Coefficient (ECC) is smaller than 0.001, Diversity Gain (DG) is close to the optimum 10 dB, Channel Capacity Loss (CCL) is less than 0.1 bits/s/Hz, and Total Active Reflection Coefficient (TARC) is less than -10 dB.