Binary phase-controlled multi-beam-switching antenna array for reconfigurable 5G applications

• Main Authors: Vedaprabhu Basavarajappa, Beatriz Bedia Exposito, Lorena Cabria, Jose Basterrechea
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2019-07-01
• Series: EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking
• Subjects: Multi-beam antenna; Beam-switching; Massive MIMO; Millimetre wave; 5G
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13638-019-1508-z

Abstract The paper presents a two-phase state based multi-beam-switching scheme implemented on a custom-designed 4 × 4 antenna array operating with a bandwidth of 1.5 GHz around 14 GHz. The antenna array and the beam-switching scheme have been experimentally validated. A phasing network designed to produce two phase states is used to experimentally validate the beam-switching and five beam states are presented, though this can be extended to other configurations using the split beam as a building block to construct multiple beams. The antenna can find potential use in multi-user millimetre-wave massive MIMO scenarios which require simultaneous multiple beams along selective directions.