Dual-Band Dual-Polarized Wearable Button Array With Miniaturized Radiator

A dual-band dual-polarized wearable array is proposed, based on a miniaturized innovating button radiator topology. The diameter of the rigid button is only 19.5 mm (0.29 λ at 4.5 GHz), which optimizes the users' comfort, and makes it the smallest up to date in literature. The operational bands are 4.50-4.61 GHz and 5.04-5.50 GHz. The antenna thus covers the 4.5-4.6 unlicensed future 5th generation (5G) communication band for the internet of things (IoT), and the 5.1-5.5 GHz wireless local area network (WLAN) band, respectively. Two orthogonal linear polarizations are obtained in each band. A low mutual coupling between the button antenna elements (below -18 dB) and between the two ports within each element (below -20 dB) is achieved, guaranteeing a good diversity performance. The envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) and the specific absorption rate (SAR) performance are also analyzed. In order to demonstrate the robustness of the button antenna and to mimic realistic situations, a more complicated asymmetrical ground plane model of the button antenna is studied for the first time. A prototype of a two-element button array has been fabricated. The measurement results match well with the simulations. A 10-element button array is studied within the context of a 3-D channel model, taking into account the button element's radiation pattern. A high achievable spectral efficiency (SE) is obtained.