A Wideband Tri-Band Shared-Aperture Antenna Array for 5G and 6G Applications

TL;DR

This paper introduces a wideband tri-band shared-aperture antenna array designed for 5G and 6G applications, addressing scattering and coupling issues with innovative segmented spiral radiators and magnetoelectric dipole structures.

Contribution

It presents a novel segmented spiral radiator and a planar ME dipole design that collectively enable wideband tri-band operation with low coupling and scattering for advanced wireless systems.

Findings

Achieves over 128% RCS reduction from 4.7-21.5 GHz

Maintains better than 20 dB port isolation across all bands

Successfully covers 5G and 6G frequency ranges with stable radiation patterns

Abstract

This work presents a wideband tri-band shared-aperture antenna array covering the 5G mid-band and 6G centimetric band. The challenge of scattering and coupling suppression is holistically addressed across the wide bands. Guided by characteristic mode analysis (CMA), a segmented spiral radiator is developed to mitigate high-frequency scattering and coupling while maintaining low-frequency radiation performance. Compared with a conventional tube radiator, the proposed spiral achieves a reduced radar cross-section (RCS) over 4.7-21.5 GHz (128.2%). With the aid of serial resonators, the segmented-spiral dipole achieves impedance matching in the low band (LB, 3.05-4.68 GHz, 42.2%), covering the 5G band (3.3-4.2 GHz), while additional suppressors further reduce cross-band coupling. The middle band (MB) and high band (HB) antennas operate at 6.2-10.0 GHz (46.9%) and 10.0-15.6 GHz (43.8%), respectively, collectively covering the anticipated 5G-Advanced and 6G bands (6.425-15.35 GHz). Both the MB and HB antennas employ a planar magnetoelectric (ME) dipole structure to avoid common-mode resonances within the LB and MB and to minimize cross-band scattering in the HB. The proposed array maintains undistorted radiation patterns and better than 20 dB port isolation between any two ports across all three bands.