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PIER PIER B PIER C PIER M PIER Letters PIER Photonics
2026-08-26
A Decoupling-Stub-Free Flexible MIMO Antenna with Ultra-High Isolation for Ka-Band Conformal Terminals
By
Chenmeng Wang,

    Dr. Chenmeng Wang

    School of Electronic and Information Engineering

    Liaoning Technical University

    China

    Homepage

Lingming Tong,

    Dr. Lingming Tong

    School of Electronic and Information Engineering

    Liaoning Technical University

    China

    Homepage

Wendong Yang

    Prof. Wendong Yang

    School of Electronic and Information Engineering

    Liaoning Technical University

    China

    Homepage

Progress In Electromagnetics Research C, Vol. 173, 20-30, 2026
doi:10.2528/PIERC26071404 | Google Scholar

Abstract
Devices such as drones and low Earth orbit satellites demand antennas that are lightweight, thin, and sufficiently flexible to conform to curved surfaces. At millimetre wave frequencies, however, closely placing multiple antennas inevitably introduces mutual coupling, which degrades communication quality. This paper presents a four element antenna array fabricated on a flexible polyethylene ter-ephthalate (PET) substrate, operating in the 26.21-29.64 GHz band. Unlike conventional approaches that rely on additional decoupling components, our design eliminates interference solely through a centrosymmetric four quadrant layout of the radiating elements, without any auxiliary structures. Measurements show that isolation among all four ports exceeds 46.95 dB; the envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) reaches as low as 0.0000312; and the diversity gain approaches the theoretical limit of 10 dB. The antenna maintains a radiation efficiency above 90% and a gain of 2.40-3.20 dBi, with stable coverage patterns across the entire band. With a thickness of only 0.12 mm, this flexible antenna offers a simple, low cost, high performance solution for conformal ap-plications. The work demonstrates that careful layout design can replace complex decoupling networks, providing a new pathway for lightweight, flexible, large scale antenna arrays in future 5G/6G communication systems.
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Citation
Chenmeng Wang, Lingming Tong, and Wendong Yang, "A Decoupling-Stub-Free Flexible MIMO Antenna with Ultra-High Isolation for Ka-Band Conformal Terminals," Progress In Electromagnetics Research C, Vol. 173, 20-30, 2026.
doi:10.2528/PIERC26071404
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