A Compact Broadband Dual-Polarized Antenna Array for Base Stations

A compact ±45° dual-polarized broadband antenna array is proposed in this letter for base stations. For the sake of structural simplicity, low profile, and ease of mass production, printed dipoles are adopted as the dual-polarized antenna element. To achieve the broadband performance, radiators are designed to be spline-edged bowties, and they are fed by tapered transmission lines. Moreover, to improve the symmetry and stability of the radiation pattern, the Pawsey stub baluns are used to balance the antenna structure. Finally, an eight-element antenna array prototype backed by a folded reflector is fabricated and measured. The compact antenna array has a broad bandwidth of 68% (1.427-2.9 GHz) with a voltage standing-wave ratio less than 1.5 and stable radiation properties to provide international mobile telecommunication services over 2G/3G/LTE systems and Land S-bands released recently.