Compact dual-band antenna based on CRLH-TL for WWAN/LTE terminal applications

In this article, a compact dual‐band antenna based on composite right/left‐handed transmission line (CRLH‐TL) is proposed for WWAN/LTE wireless terminal applications. By using 2 symmetrical CRLH structures, the proposed antenna can easily produce 2 wide separate operating frequency bands with a compact size of 25 × 25 × 6 mm3. Additionally, a pair of matching strips is introduced on both sides of the feeding line to further improve the impedance characteristics of the terminal antenna. The experimental results demonstrate the proposed antenna is capable of working over the frequency ranges of 0.66‐1.06 GHz and 1.68‐2.88 GHz with |S11| < −6 dB, which can cover the bands of LTE700, GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS, LTE2300, and LTE2500 for wireless terminals. Moreover, the multiple input multiple output (MIMO) operating performance of the proposed antenna element is also studied, and an enhanced isolation between the antenna elements is obtained by utilizing the defected ground structures and grounded branches.