Design of directional 4-port hexagonal shaped slotted MIMO antenna for 5 G communication systems

In this paper, a novel 4-port slotted hexagonal Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna is designed and analyzed for high-frequency 5 G millimeter-wave applications operating in the 33–42 GHz band. The key challenges addressed include achieving compact size, high isolation, and enhanced performance metrics such as gain, efficiency, and diversity in the dense spectral range of next-generation wireless systems. To overcome these challenges, the proposed antenna incorporates symmetrically slotted hexagonal patches and optimized feed network geometry to reduce mutual coupling without additional decoupling structures. The design is validated through full-wave simulations and experimental measurements. The proposed MIMO antenna exhibits excellent performance with a wide impedance bandwidth, low Envelope Correlation Coefficient (ECC < 0.03), and high radiation efficiency (up to 95 %) across the operating band. Additionally, a peak gain exceeding 9.4 dBi and low Channel Capacity Loss (CCL < 0.27 bits/s/Hz) are achieved, confirming the antenna's suitability for high-data-rate 5 G applications. The consistency between simulated and measured results validates the practical feasibility and robustness of the design. This work offers a compact, high-performance MIMO antenna solution for future 5 G and beyond communication systems.