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Abstract—In this letter, a four-element wideband multiple- isolation, and correlation [5]–[14]. Many compact, narrow,
input–multiple-output (MIMO) configuration consisting of single-band, four-element MIMO antennas are reported, which
inverted L-monopole antenna (ILA) elements is proposed. An ad- make use of diagonally arranged planar inverted-F antenna/slot
ditional low-frequency operating mode arises in the MIMO system
due to symmetric arrangement of elements with interconnected elements [5] and planar H-shaped directive antenna elements
ground, apart from the resonance of the isolated ILA. Utilizing this [6]. Multiband MIMO antennas are designed in [7]–[10], which
mode, the proposed MIMO antenna operates in wide frequency utilize directional triple-band Yagi–Uda elements [7], F-shaped
range of 2.70–4.94 GHz (impedance bandwidth = 58.6%). The quadband printed slots [8], coplanar waveguide-fed quadband
proposed four-element MIMO system occupies compact total area monopoles loaded with split-ring resonator (SRR), interdigital
of 0.13λ20 (λ0 = highest operating wavelength) and has no com-
plex decoupling scheme. Satisfactory interelement isolation (≥11 capacitors [9], and microstrip-fed inverted L-monopoles loaded
dB) and directional pattern with average gain ≈ 4 dBi are achieved with complementary split-ring resonator (SRR) [10]. For
throughout the operating band of the proposed MIMO antenna. implementing wideband MIMO or array structures, different
Furthermore, envelope correlation coefficient < 0.1 and mean ef- techniques, such as microstrip-fed slots [11], common wide-
fective gain ratio close to 1 are obtained in the working frequencies, band radiating element [12], dipole with V-shaped ground
confirming satisfactory MIMO/diversity performance.
branch [13], or printed SRR-loaded monopole antenna with
Index Terms—Bandwidth enhancement, interconnected ground, ring-shaped ground [14], are used.
inverted L-monopole antenna (ILA), multiple-input–multiple- In this letter, a four-element MIMO configuration is pro-
output (MIMO).
posed, where inverted L-monopole antennas (ILAs) are arranged
I. INTRODUCTION in symmetric fashion with interconnected ground plane. Such
structure supports a lower frequency resonance in addition to
ULTIPLE-INPUT–MULTIPLE-OUTPUT (MIMO)
M technology is deployed extensively in modern-day
wireless communication systems involving 4G Long-Term
the inherent ILA resonance, which merges with the ILA mode,
thereby providing bandwidth enhancement. Thus, the proposed
MIMO antenna is capable of operating in the LTE (band num-
Evolution (LTE) and 5G networks since it can significantly
ber 42,43) and WiMAX (3.3–3.8 GHz) frequencies, along with
improve the spectral efficiency within limited power levels [1].
sub-6-GHz bands for commercial 5G applications [15]. The pro-
Such MIMO antenna systems should have high interelement
posed four-element MIMO system has compact footprint with
isolation and low correlation between the individual element
low envelope correlation coefficient and high interelement iso-
patterns, while maintaining low interelement spacing [1].
lation. Full-wave simulations in Ansys HFSS and experimental
Also, new wireless standards such as 802.11 ac wireless local
measurements on fabricated prototypes are used to validate the
area network and 802.11m Worldwide Interoperability for
proposed design methodology.
Microwave Access (WiMAX) have been devised to support
from four to eight spatial streams [2], [3], which necessitates
the implementation of 4 × 4 and 8 × 8 MIMO antenna systems. II. DESIGN OF SINGLE ANTENNA ELEMENT AND
However, the area occupied by individual antenna elements in INTERCONNECTED GROUND PLANE
the MIMO system (in terms of square wavelength) should be A. Isolated ILA Element
small enough to render the whole design compact [4]. Several
such MIMO antenna systems have been designed to fulfil these Fig. 1(a) shows the schematic diagram of microstrip-fed ILA.
stringent design requirements on bandwidth, gain, footprint, Such ILAs are often preferred over linear printed monopoles
due to their reduced footprint [16]. FR4-epoxy substrate (εr =
4.4, tan δ = 0.02) of cross section LS × LS and thickness
Manuscript received May 7, 2017; revised June 13, 2017; accepted June
28, 2017. Date of publication July 14, 2017; date of current version August 1.6 mm is used for the design. The working frequency of this
21, 2017. This work was supported by the Science and Engineering Research ILA is determined by the length parameters L1 and L2 [16]. The
Board, India, under Project SB/S3/EECE/0164/2015. (Corresponding author: ILA of Fig. 1(a) operates at 4.41 GHz with impedance band-
Debdeep Sarkar.)
The authors are with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian In- width (IBW) of 20.71% [see Fig. 1(b)]. It should be noted that
stitute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India (e-mail: debdeep1989@ L1 + L2 ≈ 0.256λ1 , where λ1 denotes the free-space wave-
gmail.com; kvs@iitk.ac.in). length at 4.41 GHz. The IBW of the ILA can be controlled
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this letter are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. by tuning the ground length LG and feed-offset parameter L3
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/LAWP.2017.2724439 appropriately.
1536-1225 © 2017 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
2470 IEEE ANTENNAS AND WIRELESS PROPAGATION LETTERS, VOL. 16, 2017
Fig. 7. (a) Top view of the fabricated prototype for the proposed MIMO
Fig. 5. (a) Proposed four element MIMO configuration (L A = 40 mm) and configuration [see Fig. 5(a)]. (b) Frequency variation of measured S-parameters
(b) frequency variation of simulated S-parameters when port-1 is excited. when port-1 is excited.
Fig. 6. Simulated 3-D radiation patterns for the proposed MIMO antenna (see
Fig. 5) at (a) 3.15 and (b) 4.40 GHz, when element 1 is excited (other ports are
terminated with matched loads).
around 70%. This indicates that average MEG for [13] will be
about −4.5 dB in uniform 3-D propagation environment, which
is less than the proposed antenna. Although the design reported
in [14] has extremely wideband width with good isolation, it
utilizes separate ground planes similar to those proposed in [8]
and [9], which significantly limits its practical application sce-
nario [17]. The MEG for the individual elements as well as
the MEG ratio for the proposed MIMO antenna with connected
ground are well within the prescribed limits, similar to [14].
Fig. 9. Frequency variation of (a) envelope correlation coefficient (ECC or
ρe , i j ) and (b) mean effective gain ratio (MEGi /MEGj ) in dB, for the proposed Thus, the proposed MIMO configuration can find potential use
antenna [see Fig. 5(a)], where i = 1 and j = 2, 3, 4. in portable wireless routers/adapters for existing 4G and future
5G networks.
TABLE I
COMPARISON OF PROPOSED STRUCTURE TO OTHER WIDEBAND
FOUR-ELEMENT MIMO ANTENNAS; A T = TOTAL ELECTRICAL AREA, IBW =
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