A Novel Wideband Beamforming Antenna for 5G Applications by Eliminating the Phase Shifters and Crossovers from the Butler Matrix

In this study, a novel Switched Beam Antenna (SBA) system is proposed and experimentally validated for C-band applications. The system is made up of a 4 × 4 Butler matrix, whose outputs are connected to four square-looped radiator antenna elements. The originality of the proposed work depends on the construction of a miniaturized beamforming network with minimal complexity, low loss, and low expense. Moreover, designing a system with a broad frequency range enables its use in a variety of applications. Miniaturization is achieved by eliminating the crossover and integrating the 45◦ shifter into the 90◦ hybrid coupler, as well as tilting the antenna array (i.e., making the Butler matrix output and the feed line of the antenna element orthogonal). The simulated results of the phase difference between the suggested Butler matrix outputs closely match the -45◦-135◦ theoretical calculations. The SBA measured results show a wide bandwidth and low insertion loss of 63.64% (4.21-8.14 GHz) and -4:89 dB, respectively. Four orthogonal beams are produced by the proposed structure's input ports 1-4 when they are excited. These beams are aligned at angles of -10◦, 60◦, -60◦, and 10◦ at 5.7 GHz. © 2023, Electromagnetics Academy. All rights reserved.