A dual-band high-gain magneto-electric dipole antenna array for millimeter-wave applications

In this article, a compact dual-band magneto-electric dipole (MED) antenna array with high gain is proposed, which is fed by a 1-to-4-way feeding structure composed of substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) aperture-coupled. The dual-band MED antenna consists of a pair of U-shaped patches of different sizes used as electric dipoles and two pairs of vertical metalized vias work as magnetic dipoles. By analyzing the working mode of the MED unit at each resonance frequency and the complementary principle of radiation patterns, the dual-band characteristics of the antenna are further illustrated. Measured results of the fabricated antenna array show that -10 dB impedance bandwidth is 12.5% (from 22.5 to 25.5 GHz) with a peak gain of 11 dBi in the low-frequency band and 5.9% (from 40.5 to 42.9 GHz) with a peak gain of 10.5 dBi in the high-frequency band. Moreover, the radiation patterns in E-and H-planes are almost symmetrical at two operating bands with the maximum gain in the z-direction. The proposed dual-band MED antenna array has the merits of high gain, easy integration and simple structure.