Abstract:
In this paper, a switched multibeam multi-sector array antenna is proposed to provide 3-D coverage for vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) under 5G-IoT application framework. The multi-sector design is optimized using a quality-conscious communication area synthesis process to achieve $\mathbf {360}^\circ$ coverage in azimuth. Each sector of the design has two microstrip array antenna (MAA) to obtain coverage in the upper and lower halves of the elevation region. The proposed antenna is designed to enhance frequency-dependent beam squint phenomena exploited to achieve multibeam coverage in the elevation region. The simulation results of the proposed antenna having $\mathbf {3\times 2}$ size of MAA indicates the achieved desired radiation characteristics, and a prototype of the same operating in WLAN band ($\mathbf {5.15-5.825}$ GHz) is fabricated for verification. The experimental results show the maximum realized gain is $\mathbf {7.85}$ dBi and the beam tilt of $\mathbf {10.8}^\circ$ to $\mathbf {46.8}^\circ$ in elevation is achieved at central frequencies $\mathbf {5.15}$ GHz and $\mathbf {5.825}$ GHz, respectively. The coverage obtained is $\mathbf {360}^\circ$ in azimuth and $\mathbf {93.6}^\circ$ in elevation. The signal to interference ratio is measured around the antenna, which shows interference suppression of more than $\mathbf {10}$ dB achieved between the MAAs of alternate sectors. Moreover, the port isolation is better than $\mathbf {26}$ dB. Hence, sixteen simultaneous beams utilizing frequency re-use can be operated in the 3-D space around the access point to communicate with multiple drones/vehicles and IoT nodes to realize a smart vehicular application.
