Millimeter-wave multi-mode circular antenna array for uni-cast multi-cast and OAM communication

This paper investigates uni-/multi-cast and orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode data transmission in orthogonal directions by the utilization of a new circular antenna array, operating at 28 GHz. In the horizontal plane the proposed antenna array operates as multimode transmitter (i.e., it provides broad-, uni- and/or multi-cast communication), while in the vertical direction OAM transmission occurs (i.e., it is capable of generating up to 15 spatially orthogonal OAM modes). Antenna array is designed using twelve, low-complexity, electromagnetically coupled microstrip patch antennas with high radiation efficiency. Each of these can transmit power of equivalent order of magnitude in both horizontal (i.e., broadside radiation pattern) and vertical direction (i.e., endfire radiation pattern) over electromagnetic waves of orthogonal electric components. This property leads to the formation of uni-/multi-cast and OAM modes in the horizontal plane and vertical direction, respectively. Antenna was tested through full-wave electromagnetic analysis and measurements in terms of impedance matching, mutual coupling and radiation pattern: good agreement between simulated and measurement results was observed. Specifically, it presents up to 8.65 dBi and 6.48 dBi realized gain under the uni-cast (in the horizontal plane) and OAM mode (in the vertical plane), respectively. The proposed antenna array is perfect candidate for high spectral efficiency data transmission for 5G and beyond wireless applications, where orthogonality in communication links and OAM multiplexing is a requirement.