This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been
fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/LAWP.2018.2830807, IEEE
Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters
5G MIMO Antenna Based on Vector Synthetic
Mechanism
He Huang, Member, IEEE, Xiaoping Li and Yanming Liu
Abstract—A dual-polarized antenna based on vector synthetic
mechanism is demonstrated in this paper. It mainly embraces four
radiators, a feed structure and a reflector. All the radiators partic-
ipate in the synthesis process, and there is almost no cross polari-
zation current on the radiators. Hence, the antenna element could
cover 3.3-3.6 GHz with high port isolation and low cross polariza-
tion. A prototype of the antenna element is also experimentally
studied. Then, the antenna element is extended to an array. By as-
signing different weighting factor and phase for each element’s
port, the antenna array can generate different pattern to meet the
multimode requirements of the communication network. High iso-
lation, low cross polarization, low side lobes and high front to back
ratio can still be obtained. Having such merits, the MIMO antenna
would find its wide application in the future 5G base station appli-
cation.
Index Terms—Broadcast beam pattern, MIMO antenna, Traf-
fic beam pattern, Vector Synthetic Mechanism.
I. INTRODUCTION
The fifth generation (5G) wireless access is the next big step
in the evolution of mobile communications. Its commercial de-
ployment will be approximately in the early of 2020s [1]. Min-
istry of Industry and Information Technology of China has
identified the 5G frequency. They are 3300-3600 MHz, 4800-
5000 MHz and millimeter wave frequency band. The aim of 5G
is to connect the new industries and services, such as industrial
automation, Internet of things, automatic driving and intelligent
home [2]. Higher request to the network such as high reliability,
low latency and wide coverage has been put forward.
MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology is an
important innovation research program in the field of wireless
communications. By intelligently using the multiple antennas,
more signal can be launched and the channel capacity can be
significantly increased. Furthermore, by using the intelligent
beam forming technique, the radio frequency energy can con-
centrate in one direction, thus improving the signal coverage.
With these two advantages, Massive MIMO has become one of
the core technology of 5G.
This work was supported in part by the National Basic Research Program of
China under Grant 2014CB340204, in part by the National Program on Key
Basic Research Project of China under Grant 61XX81.
The authors are with the School of Aerospace Science and Technology, Xid-
ian University, Xi’an 710071, China (e-mail: huanghe@xidian.edu.cn).
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Based on the above description, dual-polarized MIMO an-
tenna working at 5G band is worth studying. In general, there
are several ways to realize dual polarization for base station an-
tenna. One is the crossed narrow-arm dipole, like the antenna
in [3]. However, its bandwidth will be limited by its narrow arm.
Another is the crossed dipole antenna with adjacent arms, like
the ones in references [4]-[6]. This type can obtain a wide band-
width by utilizing the strong mutual coupling between the ad-
jacent arms. For ease of integrating with other band elements,
the third type is emerged, like the antenna involved in [7] and
the lower band element in [8]. These antennas mainly consists
of two pairs of dipoles. Each pair has two opposite dipoles fed
with equal magnitude and phase. It dose has broader bandwidth
and is easy to work with other band elements, but its size might
be a little large.
In this paper, a novel dual-polarized vector synthetic dipole
(VSD) antenna element is firstly demonstrated. It can cover the
3.3-3.6 GHz band for 5G application. Its size is only 0.3λ0 ×
0.3λ0 × 0.21λ0 (λ0 represents the free-space wavelength at 3.45
GHz). Due to the adoption of vector synthesis technique, high
isolation and low cross polarization can be achieved. Then, a
4×4 array is developed. By adopting the beam forming tech-
nique, the array can provide a broadcast beam pattern and a
traffic beam pattern. The broadcast beam supports the wireless
network coverage, while the traffic beam support high data
transmission rate when the users request. The antenna element
and its array are equipped with enough bandwidth, high port
isolation, smaller size, good radiation performance. They are
very promising for the future 5G smart MIMO antenna.
II. VSD ANTENNA ELEMENT WITH COMPACT SIZE
The configuration of the antenna element is shown in Fig.
1. Four radiators with single coated copper are inserted in the
slots at the edge of the feed structure. For legible identification,
we designate these radiators as I, II, III and IV. The feed struc-
ture is made of a 0.8 mm thick FR4 substrate. On the bottom
layer of the substrate, there are two feed networks. Each of them
contains two Γ-shaped feeding lines fed with equal magnitude
and phase. A jumper bridge is designed to avoid intersection
between the power dividers. On the top layer of the substrate,
there is an irregular patch served as the ground. Four slots are
etched on the diagonal lines of the irregular patch, thus the en-
ergy can be coupled to the radiators. Note that, the terminal of
the Γ-shaped feeding lines and the slots on the irregular patch
are modified to gain better impedance matching. The feed
structure is mounted upon the reflector through four nylon sup-
port columns. The distance between the feed structure and the
reflector is H (8 mm). The size of the antenna element is only
26 mm × 26 mm×18.8 mm. Table I tabulates the electrical size
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/LAWP.2018.2830807, IEEE
Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters

of the proposed antenna and the ones in references [3]-[8] for which port is excited. Since there is almost no cross polariza-
comparison. The symbol λ0 represents the free-space wave- tion current on the antenna radiators, an extreme high port iso-
length at their individual center frequency points. It is seen that lation (simulated results) larger than 28.8 dB and low cross po-
the proposed antenna occupies the smallest electrical size of larization (simulated results) less than -28 dB at θ = 0°and -20
0.3λ0 × 0.3λ0 × 0.21λ0. dB within θ ≤ ±60°can be achieved. In addition, due to the
adoption of the vector synthesis technique, the H-plane and V-
TABLE I plane patterns of the antenna are extremely symmetry.
Electrical size of the proposed antenna and the ones in references
II
Ref. Operate Fre- Electrical size
quency (GHz)
[3] 1.7-2.2 0.46λ0×0.46λ0×0.27λ0
[4] 1.7-2.7 0.35λ0×0.35λ0×0.27λ0 III
IV
[5] 1.7-2.7 0.47λ0×0.47λ0×0.32λ0
[6] 1.7-2.7 0.4λ0×0.4λ0×0.26λ0
Y
[7] 0.69-0.96 0.39λ0×0.39λ0×0.25λ0 I X
[8] 0.79-0.96 0.49λ0×0.49λ0×0.2λ0 (a) (b)
Proposed 3.3-3.6 0.3λ0×0.3λ0×0.21λ0 Fig. 2. Vector current distribution at a certain phase at 3.45 GHz. (a) when
Port 1 is excited and (b) when Port 2 is excited.

Radiator
A prototype of the antenna element as shown in Fig. 3 is man-
II ufactured and measured in order to validate the design. Fig. 4
D shows its measured S-parameters. It is seen that the antenna can
Feed
III IV cover the frequency range of 3.2 GHz to 3.9 GHz with high
Structure
isolation larger than 25 dB. The measured H-plane and V-plane
L1
I
Support
patterns at 3.3, 3.45 and 3.6 GHz are plotted in Fig. 5. At θ =
W1 Column 0°, the cross polarization are less than -24.5 dB for H-plane and
H V-plane. When θ ≤ ±60°, the cross polarization are less than -
Y Reflector 17 dB for H-plane and V-plane. F/B ratio (Front to back ratio)
of co and cross polarization at H-plane is approximately larger
X
than 29 dB and 15 dB within θ = 180°± 30°. The simulated
Gw
gain, HPBW (half power beam width) and efficiency are
(a)
depicted in Fig. 6 compared with the measured one. As is seen,
Feed network Ground
the measured gain is ranging from 7.3 to 7.9 dBi and the
measured efficiency is from 89.3% to 90.7% over the working
band, slightly smaller than the simulated result. The measured
HPBW is ranging from 68° to 70°, slightly larger than the
Port 1 simulated one. All the electrical and radiation characteristics of
Port 2 the antenna are good enough to satisfy the specification for the
Jumper bridge
5G base station antenna.

(b)
Fig. 1. (a) Geometry of the antenna element. (b) Geometry of the feed
structure. (Unit: mm. Gw = 72, H = 8, D= 26, W1 = 24.8, L1 =10).

The vector current distribution of the antenna is given in Fig. Fig. 3. Photograph of the antenna element.
2. As is seen, when Port 1 is excited, the current on the radiators
0 S11
I and II is along -x-axis, while the current on III and IV is along S22
S-parameters, dB

-y-axis. Their vector synthesis orientation is along +45°direc- -10 S21

tion. When Port 2 is excited, the current on I and II is along +x- -20
axis, while the current on III and IV is along -y-axis. Their vec-
-30
tor synthesis orientation is along -45°direction. Thus, two slant
polarized wave are generated. -40
3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0
Different from the crossed dipole antennas, the four radiators Frequency, GHz
of this antenna all participate in the synthesis process no matter Fig. 4. Measured S-parameters for the VSD antenna.

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/LAWP.2018.2830807, IEEE
Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters

0 0 working mode can be obtained. For broadcast beam pattern,

Relative magnitude, dB

Relative magnitude, dB
co-pol
-10 -10 co-pol two middle columns should take charge. By setting the magni-
tude of the two middle columns’ as “1, 1”, and the phase of the
-20 -20 side columns’ as “0°, 180°”, the array can obtain a sectored
coverage of 60°. As for the traffic beam pattern, the phase dif-
-30 cro-pol -30
ference between the adjacent elements is set as 90°or -90°, thus
cro-pol
-40 -40 generating two beams with HPBW 28°. Further, the magni-
-180 -120 -60 0 60 120 180 -180 -120 -60 0 60 120 180
Angle, degree Angle, degree tudes of the ports shows taper distribution, aiming to suppress
(a) (b) the side lobes of the radiation pattern. The magnitudes and
3.3 GHz(co-pol) 3.45 GHz(co-pol) 3.6 GHz(co-pol) phases assigned to the ports of +45°polarization are listed in
3.3 GHz(cro-pol) 3.45 GHz(cro-pol) 3.6 GHz(cro-pol) Table I.
Fig. 5. Measured (a) H-plane and (b) V-plane radiation patterns for the
VSD antenna. 0.005
for i  j,
0.004 i vs j
12 120 100 (i = j= R1L1+,R1L2+,R2L1+,R2L2+,
Gain (Sim.)
Gain (Meas.) 0.003 R1L1-,R1L2-,R2L1-,R2L2-)

ECC
100 95
HPBW, deg

Efficiency, %

8
Gain, dBi

0.002
Gain HPBW 80 90
4 Efficiency (Sim.) 0.001
HPBW (Sim.) 60 85 Efficiency (Meas.)
HPBW (Meas.) 0.000
3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6
0 40 80
3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Frequency, GHz
Frequency, GHz Frequency, GHz Fig. 8. Simulated ECC between port i and port j.
(a) (b)
Fig. 6. (a) Simulated and measured gain and HPBW for the VSD antenna. TABLE I
(b) Simulated and measured efficiency for the VSD antenna. Magnitude and phase assigned to the ports of +45°polarization
Broadcast beam pattern
III. ANTENNA ARRAY AND ITS RESULTS Ports Magnitude Relative phase(°)
In the following, a 4×4 array is presented. The array arrange- R1L1+, R1L2+, R1L3+, R1L4+ 0.3, 1, 1, 0.5 0, 0, 0, 180
R2L1+, R2L2+, R2L3+, R2L4+ 0.3, 1, 1, 0.5 0, 0, 0, 180
ment and port sign are shown in Fig. 7. In first row, the ports
R3L1+, R3L2+, R3L3+, R3L4+ 0.3, 1, 1, 0.5 0, 0, 0, 180
corresponding to +45°polarization are named as R1L1+, R1L2+,
R4L1+, R4L2+, R4L3+, R4L4+ 0.3, 1, 1, 0.5 0, 0, 0, 180
R1L3+ and R1L4+”, and the ports corresponding to -45°polari-
Traffic beam pattern (Left beam)
zation are named as “R1L1-, R1L2-, R1L3- and R1L4-”. Other ports Ports Magnitude Relative phase(°)
are named in a similar way. The adjacent elements spacing is R1L1+, R1L2+, R1L3+, R1L4+ 1, 3, 3, 1 0, 90, 180, 270
about 0.46λ0 along the horizontal direction, and 0.69λ0 along R2L1+, R2L2+, R2L3+, R2L4+ 4, 12, 12, 4 0, 90, 180, 270
the vertical direction. R3L1+, R3L2+, R3L3+, R3L4+ 4, 12, 12, 4 0, 90, 180, 270
R4L1+, R4L2+, R4L3+, R4L4+ 1, 3, 3, 1 0, 90, 180, 270
R4L1+ R4L2+ R4L3+ R4L4+ Traffic beam pattern (Right beam)
R4L1- R4L2- R4L3- R4L4- Ports Magnitude Relative phase(°)
R1L1+, R1L2+, R1L3+, R1L4+ 1, 3, 3, 1 0, -90, -180, -270
R3L1+ R3L2+ R3L3+ R3L4+
R2L1+, R2L2+, R2L3+, R2L4+ 4, 12, 12, 4 0, -90, -180, -270
R3L1 -
R3L2- R3L3 -
R3L4- R3L1+, R3L2+, R3L3+, R3L4+ 4, 12, 12, 4 0, -90, -180, -270
R2L1+ R2L2+ R2L3+ R2L4+
R4L1+, R4L2+, R4L3+, R4L4+ 1, 3, 3, 1 0, -90, -180, -270

R2L1- R2L2- R2L3- R2L4-

60mm The simulated H-plane pattern at 3.3, 3.45 and 3.6 GHz is
R1L1+ R1L2+ R1L3 +
R1L4+
also given. As shown in Fig. 9(a), when the antenna array radi-
R1L1- R1L2- R1L3- R1L4- Y ates the broadcast beam pattern, it can provide a directional pat-
40mm X tern with HPBW 60°. As shown in Fig. 9(b) and (c), when the
Fig. 7. Array arrangement and port sign of the antenna array. antenna array radiates the traffic beam pattern, it can provide a
left beam with the horizontal beam point about -26°, and a right
To evaluate the diversity performance, the envelope correla- beam with the horizontal beam point about 26°. Drawing Fig.
tion coefficient (ECC), which are calculated between the port i 9(b) and (c) together, Fig. 9(d) is obtained. It is seen that the
and j (i= j= R1L1+, R1L2+, R2L1+, R2L2+, R1L1-, R1L2-, R2L1-, ±60°level between the left and right beam is about -10 dB in
R2L2-), are plotted in Fig. 8. Results show that it keeps below H-plane, and the cross level at the junction of the left and right
0.0036 across the operating band, far less than the generally beam is around -17 dB. Due to the adoption of tapering magni-
criteria of ECC < 0.3. tude for the traffic beam pattern, the side lobes of the patterns
As the key technique of the smart antenna, the beam-forming at H-plane are less than -20 dB. What’s more, the cross polari-
technology has enjoyed widespread popularity. By assigning zation are less than -17 dB at θ = 0°/θ = ±60° for the broadcast
various weighting factor and phase for each element, different beam, -24 dB at θ = 0°/θ = ±60° for the traffic beam. The front

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/LAWP.2018.2830807, IEEE
Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters

to back ratio of co-polarization within θ = 180° ± 30° is approx- 0 S+45°polarization

S-45°polarization

S-parameters, dB
imately larger than 26 dB for the broadcast beam and 24 dB for -10 Isolation
the traffic beam.
0 -20
Relative magnitude, dB
-10 -30

-40
-20 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0
Frequency, GHz
-30 Fig. 10. Simulated S-parameter of the antenna array.

-40 Fig. 11 depicts the simulated gain and HPBW over the re-
quired bands. As we can see, the gain is ranging from 14 to 15
-50 dBi for the broadcast beam, and 16.5 to 17.4 dBi for the traffic
-180 -120 -60 0 60 120 180
Angle, degree beam. The HPBW at H-plane are within the scope of 57°to 63°
(a) for the broadcast beam, and 27°to 29°for the traffic beam. Fig.
0 Z
12 gives the simulated efficiency of the proposed array. It is
seen that the efficiency is ranging from 90.57% to 90.85% for
Relative magnitude, dB

-10
the broadcast beam, and 90.44% to 90.66% for the traffic beam.
X
-20 Flat gain, efficiency and HPBW could guarantee the antenna
works properly over the working band.
-30
20 120 20 80
-40 100 60

HPBW, deg
16

HPBW, deg
16

Gain, dBi
Gain, dBi

80 Gain
-50 12 Gain HPBW 40
-180 -120 -60 0 60 120 180 HPBW
Angle, degree 60
12
(b) 8 20
40
0 Z
4 20 8 0
3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6
Relative magnitude, dB

Frequency, GHz Frequency, GHz

-10
X
(a) (b)
Fig. 11. Simulated gain and HPBW of (a) Broadcast beam and (b) traffic
-20
beam.
-30 95

-40
Efficiency, %

90
Broadcast beam efficiency
-50
-180 -120 -60 0 60 120 180 85 Traffic beam efficiency
Angle, degree
(c)
0 80
3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6
right beam Frequency, GHz
Relative magnitude, dB

-10 left beam 120° Fig. 12. Simulated efficiency of the broadcast beam and traffic beam.
cross level
-20
IV. CONCLUSION
-30 To cater to the development of 5G communication, an array
with compact elements is developed for 3.3-3.6 GHz operation.
-40 The antenna element is designed base on the vector synthetic
mechanism, occupying the smallest electrical size. Compared
-50
-180 -120 -60 0 60 120 180 to other antenna type, this antenna has inherent advantages of
Angle, degree high port isolation and low cross polarization. With the appro-
(d) priate elements’ spacing chosen, an array is constituted. By us-
3.3 GHz(co-pol) 3.45 GHz(co-pol) 3.6 GHz(co-pol)
3.3 GHz(cro-pol) 3.45 GHz(cro-pol) 3.6 GHz(cro-pol) ing the beam forming technology, the array can not only pro-
Fig. 9. (a) Broadcast beam pattern. (b) Traffic beam pattern (Left beam). vide a broadcast beam pattern with 120°sector coverage, but
(c) Traffic beam pattern (Right beam). (d) Traffic beam pattern (Left + also two traffic beam patterns, thus meeting the future higher
Right beam). speed data transmission demand. The antennas developed in
this paper provide more optimal design method for the base sta-
The simulated S-parameters of the antenna array is exhibited tion. The antenna will be very promising in the forthcoming
in Fig. 10. From the results, we can see that the antenna can Fifth Generation communication systems.
cover the 3.3-3.6 GHz with port isolation larger than 25 dB.

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/LAWP.2018.2830807, IEEE
Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters

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