CELLULAR 5G AND V2X ANTENNAS DESIGN FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS

The work presented in this dissertation involves investigation and development of antennas and antenna systems that can contribute to autonomous vehicles realization. The antennas targeted in this work are namely Fifth Generation (5G) cellular antennas and Vehicle to Everything (V2X) antenna. The studies conceived in this work followed a scientific approach which starts by accurately simulating the antennas using three dimensional Electromagnetics (EM) solver High Frequency Simulator System (HFSS) software on one meter rolled edges GND. Then antenna and antenna systems were measured on one-meter GND inside anechoic chamber and also measured either on the top of vehicle roof or at the vehicle’s windshield. Phase one of this work starts by presenting a multi-wideband branched monopole antenna that covers 5G cellular bands between 617MHz- 5000MHz. This antenna utilizes two arms and L-Shape slot structure to provide coverage for low, mid, and high 5G cellular bands and also to reject Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) frequency bands. The antenna has compact size, light weight, low cost, and excellent gain characteristics at the solid angle facing cellular base station communication towers. The design, simulated, and measured results were presented and discussed in detail. Phase two of this work uses the element developed in phase one to construct high order Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) structure in order to boost overall system throughput, capacity, and data rate. Three MIMO systems configurations were studied, the first two are 2x2 5G cellular MIMO systems with similar individual antenna elements and opposite antennas orientations whereas the third configuration is a 4x4 5G cellular MIMO system. The individual antennas performance, diversity radiation pattern, and correlation between antennas were reported and discussed for all three MIMO configurations. Phase three of this work presents a V2X cavity-backed slot antenna that can be mounted in the vehicle’s windshield or rear-view mirror. The antenna is GND independent, and it provides excellent below horizon performance allowing the vehicles to communicate with other objects of less height. The antenna can be used as a building block to implement a full V2X system that provides null-free omnidirectional coverage at V2X solid angle of interest while providing aesthetic look for the vehicle which makes it very attractive in the automotive industry. The antenna was simulated and measured, and its radiation pattern, gain, and efficiency were presented and discussed in detail.