Analysis of Graphene Antenna Properties for 5G Applications

The incoming 5G technology requires antennas with a greater capacity, wider wireless spectrum utilisation, high gain, and steer-ability. This is due to the cramped spectrum utilisation in the previous generation. As a matter of fact, conventional antennas are unable to serve the new frequency due to the limitations in fabrication and installation mainly for smaller sizes. The use of graphene material promises antennas with smaller sizes and thinner dimensions, yet capable of emitting higher frequencies. Hence, graphene antennas were studied at a frequency of 15 GHz in both single and array elements. The high-frequency antenna contributed to a large bandwidth and was excited by coplanar waveguide for easy fabrication on one surface via screen printing. The defected ground structure was applied in an array element to improve the radiation and increase the gain. The results showed that the printed, single element graphene antenna produced an impedance bandwidth, gain, and efficiency of 48.64%, 2.87 dBi, and 67.44%, respectively. Meanwhile, the array element produced slightly better efficiency (72.98%), approximately the same impedance bandwidth as the single element (48.98%), but higher gain (8.41 dBi). Moreover, it provided a beam width of 21.2 degrees with scanning beam capability from 0 degrees up to 39.05 degrees. Thus, it was proved that graphene materials can be applied in 5G.