A Low-Profile Dielectric Resonator Antenna Array for OAM Waves Generation at 5G NR Bands.

This paper presents the generation of orbital angular momentum (OAM) vortex waves with mode +1 using dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) array. The proposed antenna was designed and fabricated using FR-4 substrate to generate OAM mode +1 at 3.56 GHz (5G new radio band). The proposed antenna consists of 2 × 2 rectangular DRA array, a feeding network, and four cross slots etched on the ground plane. The proposed antenna succeeded in generating OAM waves; this was confirmed by the measured radiation pattern (2D polar form), simulated phase distribution, and intensity distribution. Moreover, mode purity analysis was carried out to verify the generation of OAM mode +1, and the purity obtained was 53.87%. The antenna operates from 3.2 to 3.66 GHz with a maximum gain of 7.3 dBi. Compared with previous designs, this proposed antenna is low-profile and easy to fabricate. In addition, the proposed antenna has a compact structure, wide bandwidth, high gain, and low losses, thus meeting the requirements of 5G NR applications.

A Miniaturized and Highly Sensitive Microwave Sensor Based on CSRR for Characterization of Liquid Materials.

In this work, a miniaturized and highly sensitive microwave sensor based on a complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) is proposed for the detection of liquid materials. The modeled sensor was designed based on the CSRR structure with triple rings (TRs) and a curve feed for improved measurement sensitivity. The designed sensor oscillates at a single frequency of 2.5 GHz, which is simulated using an Ansys HFSS simulator. The electromagnetic simulation explains the basis of the mode resonance of all two-port resonators. Five variations of the liquid media under tests (MUTs) are simulated and measured. These liquid MUTs are as follows: without a sample (without a tube), air (empty tube), ethanol, methanol, and distilled water (DI). A detailed sensitivity calculation is performed for the resonance band at 2.5 GHz. The MUTs mechanism is performed with a polypropylene tube (PP). The samples of dielectric material are filled into PP tube channels and loaded into the CSRR center hole; the E-fields around the sensor affect the relationship with the liquid MUTs, resulting in a high Q-factor value. The final sensor has a Q-factor value and sensitivity of 520 and 7.032 (MHz)/εr) at 2.5 GHz, respectively. Due to the high sensitivity of the presented sensor for characterizing various liquid penetrations, the sensor is also of interest for accurate estimations of solute concentrations in liquid media. Finally, the relationship between the permittivity and Q-factor value at the resonant frequency is derived and investigated. These given results make the presented resonator ideal for the characterization of liquid materials.

A Review of Circularly Polarized Dielectric Resonator Antennas: Recent Developments and Applications.

A comprehensive review on recent developments and applications of circularly polarized (CP) dielectric resonator antennas (DRAs) is proposed in this paper. DRAs have received more considerations in various applications due to their advantages such as wide bandwidth, high gain, high efficiency, low losses, and low profile. A broad justification for circular polarization and DRAs is stated at the beginning of the review. Various techniques such as single feed, dual, or multiple feeds used by different researchers for generating circular polarization in DRAs are briefly studied in this paper. Multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) CP DRAs, which can increase channel capacity, link reliability, and data rate, have also been analyzed. Additionally, innovative design solutions for broadening the circular polarization bandwidth and reducing mutual coupling are studied. Several applications of DRA are also discussed comprehensively. This paper finishes with concluding remarks.

A Wideband High-Gain Microstrip Array Antenna Integrated with Frequency-Selective Surface for Sub-6 GHz 5G Applications.

This paper presents a wideband and high-gain rectangular microstrip array antenna with a new frequency-selective surface (FSS) designed as a reflector for the sub-6 5G applications. The proposed antenna is designed to meet the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) standard for 5G in the mid-band (3.5-5 GHz) applications. The designed antenna configuration consists of 1 × 4 rectangular microstrip array antenna with an FSS reflector to produce a semi-stable high radiation gain. The modeled FSS delivered a wide stopband transmission coefficient from 3.3 to 5.6 GHz and promised a linearly declining phase over the mid-band frequencies. An equivalent circuit (EC) model is additionally performed to verify the transmission coefficient of the proposed FSS structure for wideband signal propagation. A low-cost FR-4 substrate material was used to fabricate the antenna prototype. The proposed wideband array antenna with an FSS reflector attained a bandwidth of 2.3 GHz within the operating frequency range of 3.5-5.8 GHz, with a fractional bandwidth of 51.12%. A high gain of 12.4 dBi was obtained at 4.1 GHz with an improvement of 4.4 dBi compared to the antenna alone. The gain variation was only 1.0 dBi during the entire mid-band. The total dimension of the fabricated antenna prototype is 10.32 λo × 4.25 λo ×1.295 λo at a resonance frequency of 4.5 GHz. These results make the presented antenna appropriate for 5G sub-6 GHz applications.

Broadband Circular Polarised Printed Antennas for Indoor Wireless Communication Systems: A Comprehensive Review.

With the rapid changes in wireless communication systems, indoor wireless communication (IWC) technology has undergone tremendous development. Antennas are crucial components of IWC systems that transmit and receive signals within indoor environments. Thus, the development of indoor technology is highly dependent on the development of indoor antennas. However, indoor environments with limited space require the fewest indoor antenna units and the smallest indoor antenna sizes possible. Hence, indoor antennas with compact size and broad applications have become widely preferred. In an IWC system, circularly polarised (CP) antennas are generally important, especially in dense indoor environments, because compared with linearly polarised (LP) antennas, CP antennas reduce polarisation mismatch and multipath losses. This paper combs through the existing studies related to three-dimensional (3D) geometry (nonplanar) or waveguide indoor antennas and the two common approaches to two-dimensional (2D) geometry (planar) indoor antennas, namely, broadband CP printed monopole antennas (BCPPMAs) and broadband CP printed slot antennas (BCPPSAs). The advantages, disadvantages and limitations of previous works are highlighted as well. These research works are summarised, compared and analysed to understand the recent specifications of BCPPMAs and BCPPSAs to generate the most appropriate design structure suitable for current IWC systems.