Antenna Technologies for 6G – Advances and Challenges

This paper presents an overview on the main features and functionalities of the upcoming 6G that have direct implications on antenna technologies. We review the advances of key antenna technologies that are vital to deliver those 6G functionalities with high performance. These include hybrid antenna arrays, analogue multibeam antennas, multiband antenna collocation, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, reconfigurable antennas, antennas for in-band full duplex (IBFD), mm-wave and THz antennas, wearable antennas and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to antenna designs. We outline major challenges and, where appropriate, offer potential solutions and research directions.