Closely Spaced Miniaturized MIMO Antenna for X and Ku Band Applications Using Metamaterial

The design of a low profile rectangular patch multi-input multi-output (MIMO) antenna is proposed. The antenna incorporates a novel metamaterial-based structure and utilizes a three single split ring resonators based tank circuit to achieve high isolation. A novel metastructure covers C, X, and Ku bands. The antenna structure is made up three single split ring resonators (SRRs) embedded on the bottom of the antenna, situated between the radiating patches. The dimensions of the fabricated antenna are 10 x 15 x 1.6 mm 3 on an FR4 epoxy substrate. The antenna operates within the frequency range of 10.97 to 18.85 GHz with minimum spacing between antenna elements as 2 mm, covering the X and Ku bands. It is utilized in radar and satellite applications. The metastructure on the back of the antenna enhances isolation by more than 16 dB in the operating band, with a maximum of - 31.28 dB at 17.88 GHz. The antenna's radiation efficiency and gain are increased by 80% and 5.54 dB at a frequency of 16.37 GHz respectively. The antenna exhibits good diversity performance parameters, such as an ECC below 0.1 and a DG of 9.98 dB, in addition to desirable radiation characteristics. The proposed antenna exhibits the features that make it highly suitable for advanced technologies.