Proc.

of the 8th International Conference on Engineering and Emerging Technologies

(ICEET) 27-28 October 2022, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A novel beamforming antenna array for 5G and

beyond applications
2022 International Conference on Engineering and Emerging Technologies (ICEET) | 978-1-6654-9106-8/22/$31.00 ©2022 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICEET56468.2022.10007412

Muhammad Asfar Saeed Augustine Nwajana

School of engineering School of engineering
University of Greenwich University of Greenwich
London, United Kingdom London, United Kingdom
[email protected] [email protected]

Abstract—5G is supposed to be the solution of issues the Furthermore, the pattern-reconfigurable method is an
current cellular network is facing like low data speed and efficient computing technique for phased arrays with
higher latency, as the number of users comes online 4G and significant scanning coverage expansion [5] [6]. In addition,
LTE gets unable to handle users. To enable a 5G compact size shared coupling among the radiating elements in an array is
microstrip patch antenna plays an important role. A
accountable for accomplishing large-angle beamforming in
microstrip patch antenna array is being proposed in this paper
which consists of six radiating patches and is fed using a linear and phased arrays [7] [8]. On the other hand, some
microstrip line feeding technique. ROGER 3003 is employed as previously applied methods involve adding dielectric sheet
a dielectric material because of its advance and environment- above the array [9], using multilayers as a ground plane [10]
friendly features which makes it suitable for the application of similarly combing or mixing different techniques also
5G and B5G.The designed antenna is evaluated based on its included some mechanical and electrical combinations to
resonating frequency at 28.8GHz with a -10 dB impedance improve beamforming [11]. In Wideband antenna
bandwidth of 1GHz. The antenna if offering a high gain of applications, beamforming is accomplished using tightly
9.19dBi. impedance and radiation coverage with a compact coupled techniques [12] [13] but for future 5G and B5G
antenna array having low cost makes it to be a suitable
tightly coupled method is not as suitable as for wideband
candidate for 5G and beyond communication applications.
antenna applications, this is because of the strong coupling
Keywords— microstrip, antenna array, beamforming, between the elements of the array. Although the above-
millimeter-wave mentioned methods can observe beamforming but have
some limitations such as complex structure, scanning
accuracy of the beam, efficiency, gain fluctuation should be
I. INTRODUCTION solved.
In the last two decades, wireless communication has In this paper, an efficient approach is introduced to
revealed a magnificent growth in the development of enhance the beamforming coverage with low gain reduction.
modern communication, this was accomplished because of The designed antenna is lightweight and can be easily
the expansion in antenna designing. The researcher believes fabricated in bulks. The designed antenna is suitable for
microstrip patch antennas and millimeter waves are future 5G. Stepping forward, this paper comprises three
appropriate candidates to fulfill the requirements of future sections. the design and development of the proposed
5G, IoT, air traffic, earth detection, space exploration, antenna are discussed in Section II. Furthermore, the
remote sensing mapping, driverless, and biomedicine [1]. performance of the designed antenna is expressed in section
The upcoming 5G needs five essential technologies to III and section IV takes up to the conclusions.
empower the approaching fifth generation which are small
cells, full-duplex, beamforming, MIMO, and mm-Wave.
Turning into this research antenna arrays have attracted
emerging attention in many applications related to wireless
communications, designing array antenna technology a
cornerstone of electrical engineering. The rapid expansion
of technology in modern radio systems, such as those meant
for the upcoming deployment of 5G networks operating at
sub-centimeter and millimeter-wave frequencies, antenna
arrays are compulsory to meet progressively more stringent Figure 1 Antenna geometry a) front view b) side view
specifications in terms of architecture complexity, as well as
broadband behavior, high-gain multi-beam characteristics,
and low scan losses [2]. In literature, many techniques have
been utilized to accomplish beamforming [3] [4] [5] [6]. The
simpler and widely used technique is to be extending the
element pattern of the array can improve the coverage [3].
16x16 array technique is applied in [4] using metal walls.

978-1-6654-9106–8/22/$31.00 ©2022 IEEE

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 B. Reflection coefficient
In figure 3 work band is being reported that starts from
28.2GHz to 29.2GHz. The figure also illustrates that the
designed antenna is radiating at 28.8GHz. Similarly, it also
illustrates that the proposed antenna not only expands the
bandwidth but also sufficiently supports the communication
operations in the Ka-band of the mm-wave frequency range
for 5G and B5G. The simulated results shown in figure 3
confirm that antenna is resonating at 28.8GHz with a -10 dB
impedance bandwidth of 1GHz and the return loss lesser
Figure 2 Current distribution of the designed antenna array than -10 verifies that the designed antenna is resonating at
28.8GHz within the ka-band.

II. ANTENNA DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

The suggested antenna geometry comprises of a 26 mm x 6
mm rectangular sheet of dielectric material (dielectric
constant = 3, loss tangent 0.0009, thickness 1.574 mm) that
is backed by a conducting ground plane and topped with 6
radiating patch elements. The antenna is feed using a
microstrip line feeding technique. This feeding method was
employed because the microstrip line feeding technique
enhances the bandwidth whereas the fabrication is easier as
compared to the other feeding techniques [14]. On the other
hand, the Roger RO3003 has magnificent features like easy
accessibility, low cost and remains stable in different
environments, it is better known for cores with better high-
frequency properties and is less lossy at high-frequency Figure 3 Reflection coefficient response of antenna
applications [15][16]. The composition of the designed
antenna is exhibited in figure 1 and the physical
measurements are illustrated in table 1. The excited
elements are rectangular which are placed above the
substrate and are linked via a thin transmission line,
although every single section of the feed line connecting the
five radiating elements and the leading supplier has a length
of 2600 µm and width of 300 µm. The ground plan place
under the substrate, it has a length and width comprises of
26x6 mm. The feed point for each antenna is balanced from
the center of the patch in the horizontal direction as this was
found to be the location of the best return loss results. The
antenna design and important simulated results were
extracted using CST Microwave Studio® because of its
user-friendly interface and Finite Integration Technique
(FIT) for the computation of Maxwell’s equations [17].
III. ANTENNA PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION
The antenna performance is assessed based on free space Figure 4 Reference Impedance
parameters like matching of transmission line, S- parameters
or return loss which indicates the resonant frequency,
current distribution, the far-field pattern of E-plane H-plane,
and Gain.
A. Current distribution
Current distribution of the antenna is evident from the figure
2 that a traveling wave pattern is being formed where the
primary contributor is the middle section of the designed
antenna, and the radiation is approaching from the
microstrip line feeding port. The current distribution along
the radiating patches of the designed antenna is also
presented in figure 2.

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 material to fulfill the requirements of the 5G mobile
communication. The designed antenna is feed using a
microstrip line feeding method and it consists of six
radiating patches, each patch is connected using a
transmission line and the primary is connected to the port.
The antenna occupies a complete size of 26x6x1.574mm.
The performance of the antenna design presented in this
paper is evaluated in terms of -10 reflection coefficient,
impedance matching, current distribution, and radiation
pattern of E-plane and H-plane. The simulated results shown
in this article illustrate that the antenna is offering a -10 dB
impedance bandwidth of 1GHz on the frequency starts from
28.3GHz to 29.3GHz in Ka-band. Moreover, the antenna
Gain is noticed to be 9.19dBi which falls in the bracket of
high gain in the case of beamforming. The proposed model
is lightweight, low cost, and can easily be fabricated in bulk
for applications, it also has a modest feeding formation. The
size of the antenna is compact which makes it an appropriate
for future communication.
Figure 5 2-D E-plane pattern of radiations

C. Impedacne matching
Figure 4 exemplifies the perfect matching of the
transmission line at 42.5 Ω with negligible reactance. The
simulated results indicates that the designed antenna is
properly matched. Maximum power is being delivered to the
radiating patches with minimal losses.
D. Radiation pattern
Figure 5 and figure 6 shows the radiation pattern of 2-D far-
field of the antenna in ϕ = 0° and ϕ = 90° planes whereas the
3D radiation pattern of the antenna is displayed in figure 7.
The simulated results of 2D and 3D radiation pattern proves
that antenna has good radiation coverage in both planes. The
magnitude of the main lobe is 5.75 dBi, whereas the angular
width (3dB) is 84.6°. The main lobe is forming a beam
shaped as shown in the polar plot.
E. Gain and efficiency
The designed antenna carries a magnificent Gain profile at Figure 6 2-D H-plane pattern of radiations
the resonant frequency with a value of 9.19 dBi, efficiency
of this antenna is above the acceptance level with a value of
65% at the resonating frequency.

The simulated result of the designed antenna reported in this

paper evaluates that the antenna is offering profound
performance within the Ka-band with an excellent
impedance bandwidth and radiation coverage. Similarly
Gain of the presented antenna is excellent 9.19dBi which is
higher as compared to the design present in literature, the
comparison of the designed antenna is shown in table Ⅱ,
similarly the antenna efficiency is above the acceptance
level. The accomplishment of the presented antenna makes
it a suitable contender for communication under the concept
of 5G and beyond applications. Steering the beam using an
amended transmission line would be the next step in this
research work.
IV. CONCLUSION
A design of Roger-based six patch antenna array is designed
for mobile communication of next generation 5G networks. Figure 7 pattern of radiations at resonant frequency of 28.8GHz
Dielectric material ROGER 3003 is employed as a substrate

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