A Novel Design of Microstrip Arrays for Relay-Based Wireless Network

A relay station (RS) is a smart transceiver used under a 4G wireless network in order to extend network’s coverage and capacity. It uses an antenna system that includes an antenna for connecting the relay with the end users (access link) and the RS with the base station (backhaul link). In this paper, a 7.9dBi access and 11.4dBi backhaul antennas are presented for the frequency range of 3.3 to 3.8GHz. The antennas are simulated and fabricated, and relevant measured results in terms of return loss and radiation pattern are presented and analyzed. Considering that the planes of those two antennas are positioned in an angle ω (omega), two antenna configuration geometries are tested in terms of coupling. The experimental results of S21 for several values of the angle ω showthat the interaction between the radiating elements is dependent on their relative position. Simulated and experimental results are in good agreement, showing coupling typically less than −40dB. A comparison in terms of coupling between the proposed antennas and commercial ones proves that the suggested antennas provide 10dB lower coupling.