Microstrip-Fed Bandwidth Enhancement of a mm-Wave PIFA Antenna for 5G Mobile Communication
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Date
2026-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
With the rapid evolution of 5G mobile communication, achieving wideband performance in millimeter-wave (mmWave) antennas has become critical for ensuring high data rates and reliable connectivity. This research investigates bandwidth (BW) enhancement techniques for a 28 GHz planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) designed for 5G smartphone applications. The conventional PIFA exhibits limited impedance bandwidth and moderate radiation performance, with a VSWR of 1.8, gain of 3.37 dB, and radiation efficiency of 74.7%. To overcome these limitations, several BW enhancement methods—including height (h) improvement, width (Ws) optimization, slot loading, defected ground structure (DGS) implementation, and parasitic element integration—are systematically evaluated. Simulation results demonstrate that structural modifications such as slot loading and DGS significantly broaden the impedance bandwidth up to 841 MHz, compared to the conventional PIFA, while maintaining acceptable radiation efficiency (61–64.5%) and gain (2.69–3.54 dB). The DGS and parasitic techniques achieve the lowest VSWR (≈1.07–1.11), improved angular beamwidth, and stable main lobe directions, indicating enhanced radiation characteristics suitable for 5G mobile devices. Parametric analyses reveal that subtle geometric adjustments, including substrate height and patch width tuning, can further optimize the antenna’s impedance matching and radiation performance. The comparative study confirms that the proposed BW enhancement strategies effectively extend the operational bandwidth by up to 14.3% while maintaining satisfactory gain and efficiency, making them promising candidates for compact mmWave PIFA designs in 5G mobile communication systems. These findings provide valuable guidelines for designing high-performance wideband mmWave antennas, balancing impedance bandwidth, radiation efficiency, and gain for next-generation mobile applications.
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PIFA, DGS, EBG, AMC, 5G, SLOTLOADING, BW