A novel low-loss planar PRGW crossover design for 5G applications

In this paper, a planar 0-dB crossover using printed ridge gap waveguide (PRGW) technology is proposed and designed for millimeter-wave applications. PRGW as a quasi-TE mode is considered as the modern guiding technology at high frequencies and for the 5G and other upcoming communications. A prototype of the proposed PRGW crossover working around 30 GHz is fabricated and measured to validate the simulated results. Comparing simulated with measured results, a good agreement is observed. The measured results demonstrate that the designed crossover offers an insertion loss of better than 0.5 dB over the whole operating frequency bandwidth from 29 to 31 GHz where the return loss level is better than 15 dB and the isolation level is less than −13 dB. Compared with the other reported crossover structures, the designed PRGW crossover features a wider bandwidth with a smaller and planar configuration.