Theoretical and Experimental Investigations of Microstrip Patch MIMO Antennas for Wireless Communications

Abstract

This thesis explores the design and performance evaluation of multiple-input multipleoutput (MIMO) antenna systems for wireless communication applications. The rapid evolution of wireless communication technologies, particularly the advent of fifth generation (5G) and the promise of future advancements (e.g., sixth generation (6G)), has necessitated the development of sophisticated antenna systems to meet the increasing demands for higher data rates, lower latency, and improved network capacity. This thesis explores the design, optimization, characterization, and performance analysis of MIMO antennas tailored for sub-6 GHz to millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequencies, aiming to address the challenges and opportunities presented by 5G and beyond. Moreover, this thesis also explores the analysis of the specific absorption rate (SAR) for various human body parts. SAR needs to be analyzed for health precautionary. Moreover, this thesis introduces various novel designs with different ports for MIMO antennas for mm-wave, 5G, and beyond applications. The proposed designs leverage cheapest, easily available, and advanced materials, such as FR-4 epoxy, and Isola FR408, Rogers materials (Rogger RO4003 (tm), Rogger RO4232 (tm), Rogger RO4232 (tm), Rogger RT/duroid 5870 (tm), Rogger RT/duroid 5880 (tm), Rogger RT/duroid 6002 (tm),) and high-permittivity substrates with moderate thickness to achieve compact design of MIMO antennas. The designs maintain the robust performance in challenging propagation environments and attain less propagation losses. Various MIMO antenna configurations, beamforming techniques, and polarization diversity strategies are explored to maximize the channel capacity and mitigate the impact of mm-wave channel impairments.