Multi-Band Resonant Photonic Crystal Antenna for 5G Applications

Extended reality (XR) is bridging the gap between virtual and real-world interactions enabling users to interact in realistic virtual worlds, removing physical obstacles, and establishing shared areas that promote greater comprehension and teamwork. The growing demand for high-frequency 5G communication systems supporting these new applications motivates the need of compact and efficient antennas capable of operating at millimeter-wave frequency bands. This work explores how the use of photonic crystal (PhC) leverages the properties of a multi-band antenna operating within the 27.0 GHz and 41.49 GHz resonant bands. The High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) software is utilized in this paper to outline a comprehensive design and modeling approach for the proposed microstrip patch antenna.The design process involves optimizing the geometry and periodicity of the PhC structure to obtain resonant modes at the desired frequency bands by exploiting its bandgap properties, whilst enabling high quality resonances within the targeted frequency bands. The electromagnetic simulations and numerical analysis results demonstrate that the designed multi-band PhC-based antenna achieves a gain of 9.57 dBi. The resonant modes exhibit high quality factors, resulting in improved radiation efficiency. The proposed PhC-based antenna compact size, high gain, and multiple resonant bands make it suitable for a wide range of applications, including next-generation wireless communication systems supporting XR, radar systems, or satellite communications in the upper frequency bands.