Compact and Broadband Substrate Integrated Dielectric Resonator Antenna Suitable for 5G Millimeter-Wave Communications

To date, few broadband DRAs can cover n257, n258, n260, and n261 bands with a small physical footprint (e.g., < 0.4 lambda(0)x0.4 lambda(0)x0.15 lambda(0), where lambda 0is the free-space wavelength at 28GHz).This article proposes a compact and broadband substrate-integrated dielectric resonator antenna (SIDRA)suitable for 5G millimeter-wave band applications. Four operating modes from three resonators, including TE111 and TE131 modes from the DR, slot mode from the H-shaped feeding slot, and patch mode from the inserted ring patch, are excited to achieve a bandwidth of 61.9% (24-45.5 GHz) with a compact size of 0.37 lambda(0)x0.37 lambda(0)x0.125 lambda(0). The proposed DRA can be extended to an array with similar to 0.5 lambda 0elementinterval to obtain wide-angle beam scanning capability. A 1x4 SIDRA array was simulated, achieving beam-scanning area of +/- 45(degrees )and +/- 32(degrees )at the frequencies of 28 / 39 GHz. Further, the DRA array was fabricated and tested. It offers a measured 10-dB bandwidth (|S11|<=-10 dB) of similar to 60.4% (23.5-43.7 GHz),in which the gain varies between 10.1 to 12.5 dBi.