An efficient 5G patch antenna for small cell outdoor environment

A stepped C shaped patch with parasitic elements symmetrically placed along the width of the driven patch produces a moderate gain 8.24 dBi at center frequency 3.5 GHz and wide band from 3.29 to 3.71 GHz (12 %). It covers both n77 and n78 band of 5G New Radio (NR) frequencies ranging from 3.3–4.2 GHz and 3.3–3.8 GHz respectively. C-Band (3.4–4.2 GHz) used for 5G, satellite communications and wireless broadband and 3GPP LTE-42 band (3.4–3.6 GHz) used for Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G deployments. The proposed design has a planar structure with substrate height 3.2 mm and ground plane dimension 41 mm × 110 mm. Fabricated prototype is tested with measured S 11 of <−10 dB throughout the intended bandwidth and provides unidirectional radiation pattern used for small cell outdoor applications. The antenna has an excellent overall efficiency of 97.73 %. Therefore, the proposed antenna prototype is suitable for outdoor small cell with broad spectrum under 5G new Radio 1(nR1) band.