A Graded Index All-Dielectric Lens for Field Decorrelation and Decoupling of a Wideband MIMO Antenna

In this paper a broadband graded index all-dielectric (GID) lens that enables field decorrelation and decoupling of closely spaced wideband multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna elements, is presented. Reduction in correlation coefficient rho for field decorrelation and port decoupling is realized by tilting the individual antenna element radiation patterns away from each other and by suppressing the surface wave propagation inside the antenna substrate through judicious control of the permittivity profile of the GID lens using the concept of transformation electromagnetics (TE). The permittivity profile of the GID lens is designed using air-hole technology and is fabricated by additive manufacturing. To validate the proposed concept, six different examples of lens loaded wideband patch-based MIMO antenna elements arranged in two different orientations are investigated. Simulated and measured results verify the effectiveness of the proposed technique, which constitutes the reduction in rho for both isotropic and non-isotropic propagation environments along with port-isolation enhancement without reducing the fractional bandwidth (FBW) in all of the six tested cases. Further results indicate a wide FBW having a minimum of 8.5% and a maximum of 33%, while radiation patterns with no extra backward radiation are obtained.