High-performance 28 GHz antenna array design for millimeter wave 5G systems

Abstract

This paper presents the design and performance evaluation of compact 28 GHz microstrip antenna arrays for millimeter-wave (mmWave) fifth generation (5G) wireless communication applications. The proposed antennas are implemented on a Rogers RT/duroid 5880 substrate with a relative permittivity of 2.2 and a thickness of 0.508 mm and were evaluated using full-wave electromagnetic simulations in Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio. Starting from a single antenna element, several scalable array configurations, including 1×2, 1×4, 1×8, and 2×8 structures, were designed to improve antenna gain and radiation directivity while maintaining good impedance matching characteristics. The novelty of this work lies in the development of compact scalable antenna arrays using a simple feeding network configuration to achieve progressive gain enhancement with reduced structural complexity. The simulation results show that the antenna performance improves as the number of array elements increases, achieving a maximum gain of 16.2 dB at 28 GHz with satisfactory return loss, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), and radiation behavior. In addition, the proposed arrays provide an appropriate trade-off between gain, bandwidth, and compact size, making them suitable candidates for future high-data-rate mmWave 5G communication systems.