TELKOMNIKA (Telecommunication Computing Electronics and Control)
Vol 23, No 6: December 2025

Metamaterial-enhanced four-port MIMO antenna for 5G communications at 28/38 GHz

Remili Fatima (University of Mohamed El Bachir El Ibrahimi-Bordj Bou Arréridj)
Bouttout Farid (University of Mohamed El Bachir El Ibrahimi-Bordj Bou Arréridj)
Djellid Asma (University of Mouhamed Boudiaf M'
Sila)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Dec 2025

Abstract

This work presents a novel compact four-port multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO) antenna enhanced with metamaterial unit cells for 5G millimeter-wave (mmWave) applications at 28 and 38 GHz. Compact MIMO antennas at mmWave bands often suffer from high mutual coupling, which degrades isolation and diversity performance. To address this, the proposed design integrates metamaterial loading around each radiating element to effectively suppress coupling, enhance isolation, and improve overall efficiency. The antenna, measuring 27×27×0.8 mm³, is implemented on a flexible FR4_epoxy substrate (εr=4.4), enabling compatibility with portable and embedded devices. Full-wave simulations performed in both ANSYS high-frequency structure simulator (HFSS) and computer simulation technology (CST) studio suite confirm the effectiveness of the approach, achieving an exceptionally low envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) (0.0001), a fivefold reduction in channel capacity loss (CCL), and a wide impedance bandwidth of 25.90–34.93 GHz with |S11| below −10 dB in both operating bands. The design also exhibits stable directional gain and low sidelobes. Compared with recent compact MIMO antennas reported in the literature, the proposed configuration offers significantly improved isolation, bandwidth, and mechanical flexibility. These features make it a strong candidate for integration into high-capacity 5G modules, portable terminals, and compact internet of things (IoT) communication systems.

Copyrights © 2025






Journal Info

Abbrev

TELKOMNIKA

Publisher

Subject

Computer Science & IT

Description

Submitted papers are evaluated by anonymous referees by single blind peer review for contribution, originality, relevance, and presentation. The Editor shall inform you of the results of the review as soon as possible, hopefully in 10 weeks. Please notice that because of the great number of ...