Steerable array antenna using a 2 × 2 butler matrix for 5G applications

Abstract

This paper presents the design of a beam steerable array antenna based on branch line coupler (BLC) at 28 GHz frequency band for fifth generation (5G) wireless applications. The array is designed using Rogers RT/duroid 5880 substrate material of 0.254 mm thickness and dielectric constant of 2.2. The designed antenna has six elements array and is fed by a BLC which serves as a beamformer to obtain the beam scanning ranging from -16 to +16 degrees. The maximum gain of 14.5 dBi and a wideband that cover from 25.2 GHz to 32 GHz was obtained by measurement. The proposed antenna is applicable to 28 GHz frequency band proposed for 5G wireless communications. All simulated and measured results are clearly presented.