Metasurface covered millimeter-wave MIMO antenna array

Alibakhshikenari, Mohammad, ud Din, Iftikhar, Ali, Esraa Mousa, Abd Elmunim, Nouf, Virdee, Bal S., Mariyanayagam, Dion, Ullah, Sadiq, Ahmad Abbasi, Nisar, Rashid, Nasr, Hwang See, Chan, Saber, Takfarinas, Falcone, Francisco, Limiti, Ernesto. (2025). Metasurface covered millimeter-wave MIMO antenna array. Waves in Random and Complex Media, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17455030.2025.2574631

Abstract

This paper describes the design of a unique 26 GHz Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna array for 5G millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) broadband applications. The antenna comprises a 2 × 1 array of radiating elements excited through a T-junction power divider. The antenna array, with dimensions of 12 × 18 mm2, offers a wide operational bandwidth between 25.05 and 27.8 GHz, corresponding to a fractional bandwidth of 10.4%. It is a modified four-element MIMO system, in which the radiating elements are arranged in parallel with an inter-element spacing of 1.5λ0 at 26 GHz and oriented orthogonally to one another. To further enhance the gain, isolation, and overall performance, a metasurface layer comprising a 5 × 6 array of rectangular split-ring resonators (RSRs) is strategically placed above the antenna. This metasurface acts as a passive spatial filter and phase modulator, enabling wavefront shaping and polarization control. Constructed on a Rogers RT/duroid substrate with a thickness of 0.8 mm, the proposed MIMO system achieves an average gain of 7.85 dBi, a peak gain of 9.1 dBi at 25.8 GHz, an inter-element isolation of –24 dB, and an ECC of less than 0.0005.

Funder

European Union
Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland
University of Galway
Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University

Publisher

Taylor and Francis Group

Rights

CC BY-NC-ND

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Collections

Computer Science (Scholarly Articles)