Wide-Band and Wide-Angle Scanning Phased Array Antenna for Mobile Communication System

Abstract

A wide-band phased array antenna with wide-angle scanning capability for mobile communication system is proposed in this article. An air cavity is properly embedded into the substrate under each array element. This method is very simple and can efficiently enhance wide-angle scanning performance by improving the wide-angle scanning impedance matching (WAIM) and realizing the beam-width of elements in the array. Besides, the operating bandwidth is also extended with the proposed approach. The wide-angle scanning capability is analyzed and verified by both the linear array antennas (on large ground planes in detail) and the planar array. Two $1\times 8$ linear arrays and one $8\times 8$ planar array are demonstrated, which achieve the beam scanning of around ±60° with a realized gain reduction under 3.5 dB in the wide operating bandwidth (37.4%). Furthermore, the beam in the E-plane can scan over ±70° with a realized gain reduction under less than 3 dB. Two linear array prototypes with wide-angle scanning capacity in two planes are fabricated and characterized, yielding good performance within overall operational bandwidth. The measured results align very well with the simulated. The proposed wideband phased array with large scanning coverage is a promising candidate for 5G mobile communications.

Keywords

• Mobile communication
• phased arrays
• vehicle antennas
• beamforming
• scanning antennas