A mobile terminal leaky-wave antenna for efficient 5G communication

Abstract

The millimeter-wave 37 –43.5GHz band is proposed to provide the requested multigigabit-per-second (Gb/s) data rates for future 5G cellular communications. As a total wireless-link gain of 37 dBi may be required, the mobile terminal antennas should provide 12 dBi gain –being the remaining 25 dBi for the base station antennas. This high gain is linked to the synthesis of narrow directive radiated beam, which must somehow be scanned into space over a wide field of view (FoV), and thus satisfy the mobility and coverage conditions. Such high-gain beam-scanning antenna design is very challenging, taking into account that high radiation efficiency, compact size/volume, and low-cost are key features for mass-market mm-wave applications. In this sense, most of the proposed 5G mobile-antenna solutions are based on phased arrays, which rely on active scanning/beam-forming networks which might be impractical due to an increase cost and manufacturing complexity. However, owning to their characteristics of high-gain, simple-feeding, planar structure, and inherent frequency-beam-scanning behavior, leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) might offer an interesting solution for high-gain low-cost scanning.