Printed circuit antennas for indoor millimeter-wave wireless LANs

Abstract

Interest is growing in indoor cellular communications systems using very small cell sizes (tens of meters) to meet the demand for wideband wireless networks. Millimeter-wave systems are atiracilve because they offer large bandwidths and small size. Achieving high data rates requires efficient and adaptive antenna systems. Antenna radiation patterns should be shaped for best cell illumination and capable of being altered to cope with multipath and changing propagation conditions. Microstrip ring slot and annular rings offer potential for low cost beam shaping and steering. They are compatible with MMIC technology making integration easy and are low cost. A brief discussion of antenna requirements is given. The operation of these microstrip antennas is presented along with a description of low cost adaptive arrays.