Shared-Aperture Three-Antenna Module Using a Single Floating Metal With Small Clearance for 5G Mobile Terminals

To address the contradiction between the extremely limited antenna space and the numerous antennas within 5G mobile terminals, shared-aperture multiple antennas have become a hotspot in recent years. Most shared-aperture antennas have only two elements. This letter proposes the first shared-aperture three-antenna module using a single floating metal without any additional decoupling measures, further improving antenna space usage efficiency. Two dipole modes are excited on the floating metal using coupled feeding approach, and they are decoupled by selecting the proper port distance. The third antenna, a T-shaped monopole, is introduced by directly feeding the floating metal at its midpoint. Because the third monopole is orthogonal to the two dipoles, it does not affect the matching and isolation conditions of the former two dipoles. Consequently, three antennas consisting of two dipoles and a T-monopole are realized on a single narrow floating metal with small clearance, and real aperture sharing is achieved. The measured result has verified the proposed strategy. The proposed design has great potential for application in real 5G mobile terminals.