An Electronically Beam-Steerable Wideband Antenna Array for 5G handheld devices in Ka-band

This paper presents an electronically beam-steerable antenna array printed on two layers homogeneous stackup Rogers 5880 substrates. The whole design consists of an antenna array printed on the top layer and connected to a microstrip transmission line printed on the lower substrate by a via. A 5x1 passive parasitic patches printed on the top layer and deployed on both sides of the driven array are used to steer the main lobe. Simulated results show that the prototype can operate in a wide frequency range 25-44 GHz with a S11 below -9.8 dB (approximate to -10 dB) and a peak gain varying from 12.7 to 13.1 dBi. Six switchable beams in the azimuth plane in the range -12 degrees to +12 degrees are achieved. Moreover, the overall dimensions of the prototype are 26.8x20x0.725 mm(3). Due to its compact size, the antenna can be embedded on the top compartment of the chassis of a mobile phone.