Investigation of Frequency and Polarization Tunable Monopole Antenna for 5G-Enabled Smart Street Networks

Key words:  5G-NR  reconfigurable patch antennas  PIN diode  TDD B40 band  TDD N41 band  N78 band

Abstract:

In this article, a frequency and polarization tunable antenna is designed and prototyped for TDD B40, TDD NR N41, and N78 band 5G advanced communications. Frequency and polarization tunable properties are achieved here by adding five SMP1345-079LF PIN diodes at different locations of the radiating patch and by optimizing the structure. At first, the antenna is designed in HFSS and then it is evaluated under various atmospheric circumstances through MATLAB simulation based environment in existence with foliage and rain. Even with atmospheric losses, the antenna can maintain a descent received power level below -100 dB, making it well-suited for next generation wireless applications. The designed antenna resonates at 2.3, 2.5, 3.5, and 5.5 GHz with PIN diode ON/OFF conditions. The key challenge here is to design a reconfigurable antenna with tunable capabilities to operate across major LTE/NR bands, including 5.5 GHz Wi-Fi, in both on and off conditions, and to validate it in real-world scenarios with multiple environmental factors. The proposed antenna and its array with balanced performance characteristics and beam steering capabilities are found to be an appropriate candidate for outdoor smart street advanced 5G communications.