Investigations on Stub-Based UWB-MIMO Antennas to Enhance Isolation Using Characteristic Mode Analysis

Abstract

In this article, very compact 2 × 2 and 4 × 4 MIMO (Multiple-Input and Multiple output) antennas are designed with the help of Characteristics Mode Analysis to enhance isolation between the elements for UWB applications. The proposed antennas are designed with Characteristic Mode Analysis (CMA) to gain physical insight and also to analyze the dominant mode. To improve isolation and minimize the mutual coupling between radiating elements, elliptical shaped stubs are used. The dimensions of the 2 × 2 and 4 × 4 MIMO antennas are 0.29λ0 × 0.21λ0 (28 × 20 mm2) and 0.29λ0 × 0.42λ0 (28 × 40 mm2), respectively. These antennas cover the (3.1 GHz–13.75 GHz) UWB frequency band and maintain remarkable isolation of more than 25 dB for both 2 × 2 and 4 × 4 antennas. The impedance bandwidth of the proposed 4 × 4 MIMO antenna is 126.40% from 3.1 GHz to 13.75 GHz, including X-Band and ITU bands. The proposed 4 × 4 antenna has good radiation efficiency, with a value of more than 92.5%. The envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), diversity gain (DG), mean effective gain (MEG), and channel capacity loss (CCL) matrices of the 4 × 4 antenna are simulated and tested. The corresponding values are 0.0045, 9.982, −3.1 dB, and 0.39, respectively. The simulated results are validated with measured results and favorable agreements for both the 2 × 2 and 4 × 4 UWB-MIMO antennas.