Compact 16-Port MIMO Antenna for Sub-6 GHz Communications

A 16-port multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna for sub-6 GHz communication systems is presented in this paper. It is designed by arranging the eight dual polarized antenna elements in 2 × 4 array pattern. Each dual polarized antenna element is incorporated inside a shielded quarter-mode substrate integrated waveguide (S-QMSIW) cavity, which is orthogonally fed by a pair of 50 Ω coaxial lines. Two U-shaped slots are etched on the top-surface of S-QMSIW resonator to obtain two radiating patches in each of the dual-polarized unit element. The designed antenna radiates over the frequency band of 5.32-6.35 GHz (FBW = 17.54 %), which covers n46, n47, n96 and n102 bands of sub-6 GHz communications. Due to the strategic placement of dual polarized antenna elements, high inter-port isolation (>45 dB) over the entire operating bandwidth is attained. The overall dimensions of the proposed MIMO antenna are 88 mm × 44 mm × 0.508 mm. The designed antenna also exhibits high gain and excellent MIMO performance. © 2013 IEEE.