5G Base Station Antenna Array With Heatsink Radome

A 5G base station antenna array with a frequency selective surface (FSS) radome is designed. The radome consists of a 1 mm thick metal layer and a 2.2 mm thick dielectric layer. The antenna array can effectively radiate within the operating frequency band and suppress out-of-band interference due to the utilization of FSS. More importantly, the metal layer of the FSS radome is in direct contact with a metal reflector, enabling efficient conduction of heat from the interior of the radome to the outside, thereby improving the base station’s heat dissipation capability. To validate the applicability of the designed heatsink radome in the base station, a
$1 \times 4$
base station antenna array is also designed. Simulation and measurement results demonstrate the antenna array with the radome achieves a working frequency band with a voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of less than 1.5, covering the range of 3.3–3.8 GHz. The design also achieves a gain of 13.8 ± 0.6 dBi, axial cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) greater than 20 dB, and XPD greater than 10 dB within ±60°. Compared to a pure dielectric radome, the proposed heatsink radome reduces the maximum temperature of the base station by 12.5 °C.