Mutual Coupling Reduction Using a Protruded Ground Branch Structure in a Compact UWB Owl-Shaped MIMO Antenna

A compact ultra-wideband (UWB) multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) antenna with high isolation is designed for UWB applications. The proposed MIMO antenna consists of two identical monopole antenna elements. To enhance the impedance matching, three slots are formed on the ground plane. The arc structure as well as the semicircle with an open-end slot is employed on the radiating elements the fact which helps to extend the impedance bandwidth of the monopole antenna from 3.1 up to 10.6 GHz, which corresponds to the UWB band. A ground branch decoupling structure is introduced between the two elements to reduce the mutual coupling. Simulation and measurement results show a bandwidth range from 3.1 to 11.12 GHz with |S11_|<−15 dB, |S21_|<−20 dB, and ECC < 0.002.