5G SIW-Based Phased Antenna Array With Cosecant-Squared Shaped Pattern

In this article, a concept of a phased antenna array based on substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology for 5G base stations is proposed. The array has a cosecant radiation pattern in the vertical plane for uniform illumination in a sector area. The array itself consists of 16 SIW traveling wave subarrays of 12 slot-coupled microstrip patch antennas associated with a pair of reflection-canceling vias and phasing elements to get the tapered distribution both in amplitude and phase for the cosecant-shaped radiation pattern. The array is designed to be operational at 28 GHz with a bandwidth of more than 10%, a candidate mm-wave frequency band for 5G. The phased antenna array supports wide-angle scanning of +/−60° in azimuth and exhibits good active impedance properties. The array design is successfully verified experimentally.