Journal of Science Technology Engineering and Management-Advanced Research & Innovation ISSN 2581-4982 Vol. 1, Issue 3, August 2018 1 Design and Analysis of 28 GHz Millimeter Wave Antenna Array for 5G Communication Systems Dheeraj Mungur & Shankar Duraikannan Asia Pacific University, Technology Park Malaysia, Bukit Jalil 5700, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia mungurdheeraj@gmail.com Abstract: Microstrip patch antennas with significant attributes such as low cost, light weight, low profile and compatible with Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit are used widely in mobile communication. This paper presents the design of 28 GHz microstrip patch array antenna. The patch is designed using the substrate Rogers RT Duroid 5880 with a dielectric constant ɛr = 2.2 and a thickness of 0.254 mm. The overall dimension of single patch is 14.71 mm x 7.9 mm x 0.254 mm. A quarter-wave transformer is incorporated and a lumped port is used to excite the antenna having an input characteristic impedance of 50 Ω. And further the design performance of a 2 x 1 and 4 x 1 array is evaluated on Roger Duroid 5880 without and with reflective materials for gain enhancement. The gain of the 2 x 1 array is of 10.20 dB and the 4 x 1 is 13.55 dB. Furthermore, the proposed design performance is evaluated on different types of substrate and with varied substrate thickness. The comparative analysis clearly indicates the influence of the substrate parameters in the antenna performance and gives an appropriate insight into the choice of substrate for the antenna design. Keywords: Microstrip Patch Antenna, Patch Array, 28GHz, Millimeter Wave, Array Antenna, 5G. 1. Introduction Microstrip patch antenna was created in the early 1950s and 20 years later, the research and development of microstrip antenna grew along with the development of printed circuit board [1]. Due to its low profile and small size, it found various application in different fields. It is widely used for civilian and military application. For example, radio frequency identification (RFID), mobile system, surveillance system, vehicle collision avoidance system, broadcast radio, satellite communications, missile guidance, radar systems and remote sensing [1][2]. On the other hand, microstrip patch antenna suffers losses such as conductor, dielectric and radiation which result in narrowing the bandwidth and lowering the gain. Many research were made and it was seen that when changing the shape of the antenna patch, it improves its bandwidth [3]. Microstrip patch antenna is a printed antenna consisting of a radiating patch usually on the upper side of the substrate and a ground plane on the opposite side. The patch is generally made from copper, silver or gold and it can take different shapes also. This type of antenna has several advantages such as being light weight, low cost, low volume, low profile, compatible with MMIC designs and fabrication is easy [4][5]. Microstrip patch antennas contribute to a high antenna quality factor, Q which represents the losses related to the antenna and a large Q lowers its efficiency and narrows the bandwidth [6]. Microstrip patch antennas contribute to a high antenna quality factor, Q which represents the losses related to the antenna and a large Q lowers its efficiency and narrows the bandwidth. Nevertheless, the use of photonic gap can minimize surface waves [7]. Other problems such as lower power handling capacity and low gain can be overcome by using an array configuration for the elements. Several microstrip patch array antennas are designed to mitigate the limitations [8]-[14].