Modeling and Design of Improved‐Gain Wideband Magneto‐Electric Dipole Antenna for Micro‐BTS Applications.

A wideband Magneto‐Electric Dipole (MED) antenna with high gain is proposed for the 700/800/850/900 MHz frequency bands for cellular network applications. The antenna comprises a half‐wavelength bow‐tie‐shaped dipole, an elongated magnetic loop and a ground reflector with four Elevated Ground Planes (EGPs) at reflector's corners. The EGPs enhance the antenna gain and Front‐to‐Back Ratio (FBR), which is a promising technique in the MED antenna design. The antenna is excited by a Γ ${\Gamma }$‐shaped coupling element. An analytical model of the proposed antenna is developed by employing Schelkunoff's model for dipole antennas and the transmission line theory complemented by radiation resistance corrections. The antenna design is validated with full‐wave numerical simulations. The antenna is fabricated using cut and bent metallic plates and tested in an anechoic chamber. The analytical, numerical and experimental results are in a good agreement. The experimental results confirm that the proposed MED antenna with dimensions of 1.44λ×1.44λ×0.27λ $1.44\lambda \times 1.44\lambda \times 0.27\lambda $ achieves a bandwidth of 61.53% (623.1–1176.8 MHz) for VSWR<1.5 $VSWR< 1.5$ and a stable gain of 9.8 ± $\pm $ 1.9 dBi. By employing the EGPs, the realized peak gain and FBR are enhanced by 0.52 dBi and 1.1 dB, respectively. Plain Language Summary: This study presents a novel Magneto‐Electric Dipole (MED) antenna design with improved bandwidth and gain characteristics tailored for the cellular network access across several frequency bands. As a distinctive feature, this MED antenna includes a ground reflector with Elevated Ground Planes (EGPs) at its corners to enhance its gain and Front‐to‐Back Ratio (FBR). Additionally, in this work we propose a new equivalent circuit for MED antennas based on the Schelkunoff's model for electric dipoles and the transmission line theory improved by radiation corrections. The performance of the MED antenna and the developed models are validated through numerical simulations and experimental testing. This research showcases advancements in MED antenna modeling and design aimed at increased performance and capacity of cellular networks. Key Points: Development of an analytical model for the proposed antenna using Schelkunoff's model for dipole antennas and transmission line theoryEGPs are utilized to enhance antenna gain and FBR, representing a promising technique in MED antenna design [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]