A Corrugated All-Metal Vivaldi Antenna for 5G Phased Array Applications

Abstract: In this paper, a corrugated Vivaldi phased array antenna in the 28 GHz frequency band is proposed for 5G communication applications. The presented configuration features an all-metal antipodal antenna structure with a broad bandwidth ranging from 26 to 30 GHz and beam steering capabilities from -30 to +30 degrees. The proposed antenna consists of a 4x4 array configuration, where each element has dimensions of 6.46x6.46x14.25 mm, resulting in an overall antenna structure with dimensions of 25.84x25.84x14.25 mm. The corrugation method is applied to minimize surface currents, resulting in a reduction in interelement mutual couplings. Therefore, the return loss in the array structure for central elements is decreased, and the antenna gain and radiation efficiency are improved. Moreover, the improved radiation efficiency allows for higher power transmission and reception from an antenna, resulting in potentially higher data rates and better performance.