Side edge printed eight-element compact MIMO antenna array for 5G smartphone applications

A compact eight-element antenna array based on loop antennas to be utilized in 5G mobile applications is presented in this paper. The individual antenna elements are installed on the side frames of the main circuit board. The array operates over LTE 42 (3.4-3.6 GHz) band with a compact size of 9.5x3 mm(2). The performance parameters that characterize the proposed array such as, isolation (>14.8 dB), Envelop correlation coefficient (ECC<0.1) are presented. The proposed array has decent channel capacity of 41 bps/Hz. The effects of installing battery and plastic frame have been discussed. In addition, the user's hand proximity effect on the proposed antenna array performance is presented. The array design was fabricated and its radiation characteristics are experimentally verified. The simulated and measured results are in good agreement with each other.