Array Antenna Feeding Network Design for 5G MIMO Applications

Year 2019, Volume: 19 Issue: 2, 120 - 127, 01.07.2019

Nurhan Türker Tokan

Abstract

DOI: 10.26650/electrica.2019.19004

Emerging smart antenna systems require
different beam patterns of multiple antennas. Although adjustable phase
shifters are mostly used in continuous-beam systems, the Butler matrix is used
in switching-beam systems due to its low cost and easy fabrication. In this
study, an antenna-array-feeding circuit based on the Butler matrix that can be
used for Multiple Input Multiple Output applications is designed for 5G new
radio. With the proposed switching system, the control of four beams can be
achieved. The Butler circuit, designed to cover the 3.5–4.2 GHz 5G band, has a
low complexity and is capable of meeting the need for high data throughput. A simulation
of the circuit and circuit sub-elements designed using a 0.508-mm-thick
substrate material is performed using the Computer Simulation Technology
Microwave Studio computer-aided design tool. Furthermore, a prototype of the
Butler circuit is fabricated, and the amplitude and phase variations at the
output ports are measured. An average transmission loss of the feed circuit is
measured as 1.5 dB, and when the length of the Phase Shifter in the circuit is
set to λ/8, with a four-element linear array added to the output of the Butler
circuit, the main beam is steered to ±15o and ±35o having maximum gain in the
6.39–8.77 dBi range.

Cite this article as: Türker Tokan N. Array
Antenna Feeding Network Design for 5G MIMO Applications. Electrica, 2019;
19(2): 120-127.

Keywords

5G, antenna array, Butler circuit, MIMO, Vivaldi

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• Nurhan Türker Tokan received her B.Sc. degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Kocaeli University in 2002 and her M.Sc. and PhD degree in Communication Engineering from Yıldız Technical University (YTU), Istanbul, Turkey, in 2004 and 2009, respectively. From May 2003 to May 2009, she worked as a research assistant in the Electromagnetic Fields and Microwave Technique Section of the Electronics and Communications Engineering Department of YTU, Istanbul, Turkey. Between May 2009 and April 2015, she worked as an assistant professor in the Electronics and Communications Engineering Department of YTU. Since April 2015, she has been working as an associate professor at the same department. From October 2011 to October 2012, she was Postdoctoral researcher in the EEMCS Department of Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands. From October 2012 to May 2013, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow supported by European Science Foundation at the Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications (IETR), University of Rennes 1, Rennes, France. She is the author or coauthor of more than 50 papers published in peer-reviewed international journals and conference proceedings. Her current research interests are analysis and design of antennas with emphasis on dielectric lens antennas and wideband antennas, microwave circuits and intelligent systems.