Unified Design: Sub-6 GHz Conformal Patch Antennas Integrated with Millimeter-Wave Reflector for Fixed Wireless Access Terminals

The integration of sub-6 conformal patch antennas with a mm-wave reflector is proposed in this paper as a compact multi-band antenna solution. Using the concept of shared aperture antenna, patch antennas are placed on the surface of a reflector to obtain a dual frequency band antenna without increasing the total volume of the system. The key aspect of the design is the use of a substrate thickness for the patches that is an integer multiple of 0.5λ
₀
at the reflector operating frequency, to obtain in-phase reflections and minimize disturbance to reflector operation. As a proof-of-concept, a 28 GHz off-axis reflector antenna with a sub-6 dual-band U-shaped conformal patch antenna has been designed, simulated, manufactured, and measured.