Planar, compact ultra-wideband polarisation diversity antenna array

A new compact multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna array is presented. The antenna array initially consisted of two monopoles placed side by side at a distance of 4 mm. A strong mutual coupling was observed so the design was modified by rotating the second radiator at 90° at a distance of 1 mm. Wideband isolation is achieved by exploiting polarisation diversity of antenna elements. Simulation in HFSS and printed prototype results validate the high isolation, over 21 dB on the entire 2.5–12 GHz frequency range. A prototype was fabricated on a low loss substrate of Rogers TMM4 measuring 23 × 39.8 mm2. To evaluate the diversity performance, the envelope correlation coefficient was calculated resulting below −20 dB, thus ensuring good diversity performance. The compactness of the proposed UWB-MIMO design is finally compared against alternative solutions already present in the literature.