Integrated Electrically Small Monopole and Slotted Array Antenna Design for Next-Generation Microwave and mm-wave Wireless Systems

Abstract This paper presents a novel co-design approach for wireless applications, integrating mm-wave and microwave technologies. The design features two antennas where a slotted waveguide array is fabricated using 3D-printing technology with an AlMg10Si alloy resonating at mm-wave frequency band, while a printed monopole antenna resonating at microwave frequency band shares a common ground plane with the slotted waveguide array. The electrically small printed monopole is realized on an FR4 substrate, is suitable for WLAN bands, and achieves ease of integration with the antenna at the Ka-band owing to the low profile. The co-design approach is particularly advantageous for wireless applications as it enables the seamless integration of different frequency bands, enhancing system versatility and performance. The antenna achieves dual frequency band operation covering the Impedance bandwidth of 15.27% (5.08–5.92) and 14.56% (26.48–30.64) at microwave and Ka-band frequencies, respectively. The innovative use of materials and advanced fabrication techniques also underscores the design's potential for diverse high-performance wireless applications.