A 2-D Self-Decoupling Method Based on Antenna-Field Redistribution for MIMO Patch Antenna Array

In this letter, a novel method of 2-D self-decoupling at both
E
- and
H
-planes is proposed based on the field-redistributed TM
₁₂
-mode circular patch antenna. At first, it is demonstrated the marginal field of a patch is the main cause of coupling, and the
E
-plane-coupled (
H
-plane-coupled) array suffers from electric (magnetic) coupling. Then, it is discovered for the first time that the TM
₁₂
-mode circular patch antenna is immune to the
H
-plane coupling because its fields are null at two marginal regions along
H
-plane. After that, the slot-loading for sidelobe reduction is further developed for field reshaping, and two cascaded slots help to generate two new marginal weak-field regions along the
E
-plane. The initial strong electric coupling in the
E
-plane is thus eliminated. In particular, the proposed self-decoupling method is applicable for larger-scale 2-D arrays with arbitrary element numbers, and it is demonstrated by 1 × 4
E
-/
H
-plane-coupled arrays and the 2 × 2 arrays. At last, a prototype of a 2 × 2 high-isolation multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) array with 0.2 mm patch-to-patch separation is fabricated and measured. The array can achieve intrinsic high isolation of more than 20 dB, element gain of 10.7 dBi, and cross-polarization level below −20 dBi without using any extra decoupling network.