Compact fully metallic multi-mode waveguide antenna for cellular communications

The needed isolation between elements for high-performance beam steering array antennas is a challenging task especially when the distance between the antenna elements is reduced. To tackle this problem, the authors report a multi-port multi-mode single-antenna with beam steering capability (+/- 7 deg) suitable for cellular communications. The multi-port multi-mode characteristic of the proposed antenna enables size reduction and better taper efficiency than antenna arrays operating in the 3.3-3.7 GHz cellular band. The reported antenna exploits four Transverse Electric modes to modify the half-power beamwidth of the radiation from 20 degrees to 41 degrees as required in cellular communication.