Ultralow Profile, Low Passive Intermodulation, and Super-Wideband Ceiling Mount Antennas for Cellular and Public Safety Distributed Antenna Systems

Abstract

This paper presents an ultralow profile, low passive intermodulation (PIM), and super-wideband in-building ceiling mount antenna that covers both the cellular and public safety ultra high frequency (UHF) band for distributed antenna system (DAS) applications. The proposed antenna design utilizes a modified 2-D planar discone design concept that is miniaturized to fit into a small disc-shaped radome. The 2-D planar discone has an elliptical-shaped disc monopole and a bell-shaped ground plane, a stub at the shorting path, with asymmetrical structure and an additional proximity coupling patch to maximize the available electrical path to support the 350 MHz band range. The proposed design maximizes the radome area with a reduction of about 62% compared to similar concept type antennas. Besides, the proposed design exhibits an improved radiation pattern with null reduction compared to a typical dipole/monopole when lies at the horizontal plane. A prototype was manufactured to demonstrate the antenna performance. The VSWR and radiation pattern results agreed with the simulated results. The proposed antenna achieves a band ratio of 28.57:1 while covering a frequency range of 350–10000 MHz. The measured passive intermodulation levels are better than −150 dBc (2 × 20 Watts) for 350, 700 and 1920 MHz bands.

A Mechanical Modelling and Simulation Method for Resolving PIM Problems in Antennas

“…The source where PIM is generated can be identified by various tests. At present, the main test methods for identifying PIM sources are the reverse PIM test, distance-to-PIM test, high-power test, and vibration modulation method [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. The tests of these methods are very efficient, and each has a range of applicability.…”