Tightly Embedded Modular Antenna-in-Display (MAiD) into The Panel Edge of Display with Dual-Polarization for 5G Smartphones

This study introduces a novel modular antenna-in-display (MAiD) concept for advanced smartphone antenna modularization. It focuses on dual-polarization integration in a compact space within the display panel, essential for millimeter-wave 5G smartphones operating in the n257 and n258 bands of FR2. The adaptable MAiD is compatible with various displays, including foldable and slidable types. The MAiD ingeniously utilizes the display panel’s dead space (DS), a narrow 300 μm area, for antenna placement. This innovation is integrated into the same layer as the touch sensor. We propose two 1 × 4 antenna array configurations within the DS for dual-linear polarization, enhancing capacity through selection diversity. The antennas, named antenna-in-display parallel to dead space (AiD-pDS) and antenna-in-display normal to dead space (AiD-nDS), are fabricated with a 50 μm-thick Polyimide film. Their design allows embedding in a 0.03 λ
₀
width of the DS. The MAiD achieves impressive 10-dB return-loss bandwidths of 26.7–28.6 GHz and 24.5–28.1 GHz, with measured bore-sight gains of 9.041 dBi and 8.824 dBi for AiD-pDS and AiD-nDS, respectively. It maintains over 12 dB cross-polarization level, demonstrating its effectiveness for modern smartphone technologies.