A quad port dual band notch UWB MIMO antenna using hybrid decoupling structure

Abstract

A four-port dual-band notch ultrawideband (UWB) multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) antenna for automotive applications is presented. Initially, a circular patch monopole antenna is designed and optimized by embedding a rectangular stub onto the radiator and lowering the ground plane to realize the UWB frequency spectrum. The dual-band frequency notch, from 4.6 to 5.9 and 6.8–8.8 GHz, is achieved using a half wavelength slot onto the feedline and a pair of H-shaped stubs across the feedline, respectively, to cover WLAN and complete x-band satellite communication. Further, the designed dual-band notch UWB antenna is transformed to a four-port MIMO antenna with interelement spacing much smaller than λ/4 (λ at 3.1 GHz) and a size of 0.46 × 0.41 × 0.01 λ3. Isolation improvement is achieved by a hybrid decoupling technique comprising a distinctive neutralization line (NL) and defected ground structure (DGS). The average isolation of the proposed design is better than 22 dB. Characteristic mode analysis of the proposed antenna is performed to analyze the specific significant mode and their contribution to the antenna radiation. The antenna design's diversity and time-domain properties are analyzed and found suitable for automotive applications. The antenna's electromagnetic interaction with the electrically large structure is studied by mounting the antenna onto an open-source automobile model, and the gain is determined to be more than 6.1 dB at the antenna's resonant frequencies.

Keywords

• Automotive
• DGS
• Isolation
• MIMO
• Neutralization line
• Notch