5G&nbsp;Millimeter-Wave&nbsp;Beamforming&nbsp;System using&nbsp;Substrate&nbsp;Integrated&nbsp;Waveguide

Noorlindawaty Md Jizat; Zubaida Yusoff; Arevinthran A/L Nallasamy; Yoshihide Yamada

doi:10.12688/f1000research.73224.1

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Research Article

5G Millimeter-Wave Beamforming System using Substrate Integrated Waveguide

[version 1; peer review: 2 approved with reservations]

Noorlindawaty Md Jizat ¹, Zubaida Yusoff¹, Arevinthran A/L Nallasamy¹, Yoshihide Yamada²

PUBLISHED 23 Dec 2021

Author details Author details

¹ Faculty of Engineering, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, Selangor, 62300, Malaysia
² Communication Systems and Network (CSN i-Kohza) MJIIT,UTM, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kampung Datuk Keramat, Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur, 54100, Malaysia

Noorlindawaty Md Jizat
Roles: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Methodology, Software, Writing – Original Draft Preparation

Zubaida Yusoff
Roles: Project Administration, Supervision, Validation, Writing – Review & Editing

Arevinthran A/L Nallasamy
Roles: Methodology, Software

Yoshihide Yamada
Roles: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis

OPEN PEER REVIEW

REVIEWER STATUS

This article is included in the Research Synergy Foundation gateway.

Abstract

Beamforming is a key element of 5G that uses advanced antenna technologies to focus a wireless signal to a defined direction. Butler Matrix (BM) as a beamforming network is used to control the beam direction by utilizing the amplitude and the output phase. A particular technique for designing BM is through substrate integrated waveguide (SIW), which is used to realize the bilateral edge wall vias where the waveguide mode propagates through to support the current flow and reduce the loss of surface wave. Unlike conventional BM, the proposed design requires only hybrid couplers and phase shifter without any crossover. In this BM structure, the SIW hybrid coupler is designed, with two phase shifters of -90°, and one phase shifter of -180° to control the amplitude and phase shifting. This results in an optimized transmission amplitude and output phase difference. The BM also circumvents any crossover, to provide minimal losses. The hybrid coupler exhibits Sii and Sij characteristics at 28 GHz, with values of -27.35 dB for return loss, -3.9 dB for insertion loss, -3.2 dB for coupling, and -26.54 dB for the isolation. In the BM design, high transmission efficiency is observed where the return loss is less than -10 dB, while minimal transmission amplitudes are obtained within the values of ‒6 ± 3 dB. The three-port BM is designed using SIW with minimal loss and the phase difference at each respective output port of the BM shows values of 0°, -120°, and 120°. The three consecutive beams with the gains of 11.1 dBi for port 1 excitation, 9.06 dBi for port 2 excitation and 10.4 dBi for port 3 excitation is achieved when the antenna array is fed to the BM, and each of the radiated beams has beam angles of 0, -27 and 27 degrees.

Keywords

Millimeter-wave, substrate integrated waveguide, Butler Matrix, Three-ports, 5G, antenna array, radiation pattern

Corresponding author: Noorlindawaty Md Jizat

Competing interests: No competing interests were disclosed.

Grant information: Internal Grant form Multimedia University with project number: MMU/RMC/GRPROP/IR FUND/2020/16410 | Multimedia University
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Copyright: © 2021 Md Jizat N et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite: Md Jizat N, Yusoff Z, A/L Nallasamy A and Yamada Y. 5G Millimeter-Wave Beamforming System using Substrate Integrated Waveguide [version 1; peer review: 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2021, 10:1311 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.73224.1) First published: 23 Dec 2021, 10:1311 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.73224.1) Latest published: 23 Dec 2021, 10:1311 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.73224.1)

Introduction

An antenna with tracking capability is required in various applications, including 5G wireless communication in millimeter wave. However, in millimeter wave, high path loss arises, which increases quadratically with the frequency, ∝ f², as defined by Friis’ law.¹ To overcome this issue, beamforming and multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) systems are reported to be the key components of 5G systems that are to be deployed in 2020 and years to come.²^–⁴ Multibeam antenna arrays automatically identify the most effective data delivery, while reducing interference for nearby users. Multibeam antenna arrays with passive beamforming are practically chosen due to their small size, low cost, and high gain.⁵^–⁷

Butler Matrix (BM) is a well-known and simple design used for forming multiple beams with a linear array, where it can form orthogonal beams, and has a high beam crossover level. In this regard, a BM circuit has been found to be effective in developing alternative beams in various beam antenna-array systems.⁸^–¹¹ Since BM allows beam tracking for the selected users while suppressing unwanted signal, it has been identified as a preferred solution for 5G communication networks.¹²^–¹³

However, due to the four hybrids, four phase shifters and two crossovers in the conventional BM, the transmission line adds undesired effects, such as insertion loss.¹⁴ Substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology has been widely utilized due to its simple feeding network and low insertion loss.¹⁵^–¹⁷ The SIW can control the aperture width to ensure that the system is tightly coupled. A new generation of high frequency integrated circuits, the SIW, as a type of rectangular dielectric-filled waveguide produced in a planar substrate with arrays of metallic vias or slots to produce bilateral edge walls, is a good candidate for generating low sidelobe antenna arrays.

In this work, a low loss SIW hybrid coupler is to be designed by realizing bilateral edge walls which control the current flow. The BM is to be designed by connecting the hybrid coupler with two -90° phase shifters and one phase shifter of -180°, with the respective reference to get the accurate output phase shift. This matrix is advantageous as it circumvents the crossover design, which is commonly used in the conventional design. The diameter and the pitch of the SIW via-hole is to be carefully designed to control the coupling throughout the BM path, to get a promising return loss and minimum transmission amplitude. The structure should be compact and low loss, which makes the BM suitable to be used in the beamforming application for the millimeter wave at 28 GHz.

Methods

In this design, the substrate of Rogers R04350B, with a thickness of 0.254 mm, dielectric constant of 3.66 and loss tangent, (tan δ) of 0.0037, is chosen due to their excellent performance at higher frequencies. See underlying data¹⁸ for this section.

Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW)

According to Mohd Shukor et al.,¹⁹ a lower loss tangent is required in the substrate to ensure low dielectric loss and low dielectric absorption.

Q-factor due to the dielectric, Q_D, is expressed in H. B. Jeon et al. (1) with a value of 302.56, where ε_eff, λ₀ and α_d are the effective dielectric constant, the wavelength in the air and the dielectric loss, respectively.

(1)

Q_{D} = 27.3 \frac{\sqrt{ε_{eff}}}{α_{d} λ_{0}}

In the SIW configuration, an array of via holes is arranged in array configuration to create the mutual side walls and operate as a rectangular waveguide enabling the current to flow through it. Figure 1 shows the SIW structure, which has a via hole that is shorted in both planes to provide vertical current routes. Since these vertical metal fences are replaced by through via holes, the SIW propagation modes are comparable to those of rectangular waveguides.²⁰^–²¹ The SIW components in this segment have a via hole with a diameter of d and pitches of a and p, which represent the distance between the pairs of holes. With the optimized dimensions of the diameter and the pitches of the SIW into the coupler design, the proposed structure can fulfil the operational bandwidth at 28 GHz for millimetre wave.

Figure 1. SIW structure with the diameter, d and pitch, a and p.

As explained by Balanis,²² the resonance frequency was determined as shown in previous studies (2-4), where the width and length of the SIW cavity are appropriately optimized to accommodate the TE₁₀ mode propagation. The SIW cavity's width and length are represented by w_eff and l_eff in the analysis:

(2)

f_{r} = \frac{c}{2 π \sqrt{μ_{r} ε_{r}}} \sqrt{{(\frac{π}{w_{eff}})}^{2} + {(\frac{π}{l_{eff}})}^{2}}

(3)

w_{eff} = w - \frac{d^{2}}{0.95 p}

(4)

l_{eff} = l - \frac{d^{2}}{0.95 p}

Based on (5-6), pitch should be kept short to reduce the leakage loss between nearby holes, where d is denoted as the diameter and p as the pitch (the distance between centre to centre of adjacent via holes).

(5)

d < \frac{λ_{g}}{5}

(6)

p \leq 2 d

Butler Matrix (BM)

Figure 2 shows the signal path through three input and three output ports of the BM and Figure 3 (a), (b), and (c) illustrate the signal flow when the input is fed into In (I), In (II) and In (III), respectively. When the signal is fed into In (I), it passes through Coupler (II) and is divided into two outputs, where the first signal passes through Phase Shifter (I) producing an output signal of -180° at Out (I). The other signal passes Coupler (III) and Phase Shifter (III) producing an output signal of -180° at Out (II). The signal from Coupler (II) is coupled in Coupler (III) and produces an output of -180° at Out (III). The result obtained show the phase difference between these three output ports is 0°.

Figure 2. 3 × 3 BM Schematic Diagram.

Figure 3. 3 × 3 BM signal flow when input is fed to (a) In (I) (b) In (II) (c) In (III).

When the signal is fed into In (II), the signal passes to each of the couplers and passes through the phase shifter according to the signal path. The first signal produces an output signal of -270° at Out (I). The signals to Out (II) produces an output signal of -90° and -360°. The superposition of the two signal vectors (-90°, -360°) formed at output port Out (II), results in an output signal value of -30°. Similarly, the signal from In (II) to the Out (III) passes through two different paths, where the first signal produces an output signal of -90° while the other signal, results in an output signal of -180° at Out (III). The superposition of the signal vectors (-90°, -180°), results in an output signal value of -150°. Thus, the phase magnitude of the signals obtained at each output port when Port 2 is fed are -270°, -30° and -150°. The equal phase difference results obtained when In (II) fed is +120°.

The input signal fed to In (III), produces an output signal of -360° at Out (I) when it passes through Coupler (I), Coupler (II) and Phase Shifter (I). The superposition of the signal vector of - 180°, -270 results in an output signal value of -240° at Out (II). At Out (III), output signal of -120° is produced from the superposition of the signals (-180°, -90°). The phase magnitude of the signal obtained at each output port when In (III) is fed are -360°, -240° and -120°. The output phase difference obtained when Port 3 is fed is -120°.²³

Results

SIW hybrid coupler

The design of the SIW hybrid couplers shown in Figure 4 (a) is conducted using electromagnetic software, Computer Simulation Technology (CST) (The open-source version of this software is available at CST STUDIO SUITE Student Edition | 3DEXPERIENCE Edu (3ds.com). The phase delay of the coupler signal is 90°, and this is due to the quarter wavelength line at the coupler branch with 50-ohm impedance. The signal flow is depicted in Figure 4 (b), where the input signal is equally split to each respective output ports. In this design, the W aperture dimension controls the value of the coupling to be 3 dB. When a signal is fed into Port 1, it is distributed uniformly to Ports 2 and 3, while Port 4 is isolated because it does not receive power. When all ports are matched, power entering Port 1 is evenly distributed across Ports 2 and 3, with a 90° phase shift between these outputs. No power is connected to Port 4, because the signal is out of phase.

Figure 4. Topology of (a) SIW Coupler Structure (b) Surface Current Distribution.

Equation (7) can be used to determine the coupling factor, where the W aperture dimension is 2.78 mm, the pitch is 1mm, and the diameter of the air hole is 0.3 mm. The results of the hybrid are shown in Figure 5 in terms of return loss, S₁₁, insertion loss, S₂₁, coupling, S₃₁, isolation, S₄₁, and output phase difference. The simulation shows that the values of -27.35 dB for return loss (S₁₁), -3.9 dB for insertion loss (S₂₁), -3.2 dB for coupling (S₃₁) and -26.54 dB for isolation (S₄₁) indicate a high transmission efficiency. The coupling factor implies that the output signal is distributed evenly between the output ports, and that the phase difference between the two output ports is 93 degrees. The coupling equation (7) is shown below:

(7)

Coupling = 10 log \frac{P_{1}}{P_{2}} = - 20 log \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} dB

Figure 5. Coupler (a) S-Parameter (b) Output Phase.

Phase shifter

The phase shifter is designed in the BM to control the output beams radiated by the patch antennas. Three phase shifters are designed with phase differences of -90° and -180°, as shown in Table 1. In reference to the structure, phase shifter I and phase shifter II are designed with the hybrid coupler as the reference, while phase shifter III is designed with the respective transmission line as the reference. Each length dimensions of the phase shifter is controlled to produce accurate phase difference between the output ports, ∡ (P (4,3)) and the input ports, ∡ ((P (2,1)) which are -180° and -90°, respectively. The width of the microstrip transmission line used in the phase shifter has width dimension of 0.7826 mm, indicates 50 ohms impedance. The matched impedance of the transmission line is used to prevent losses occurring when integrated with the antenna array feed.

Table 1. Phase Shifter Configuration.

Beam steering BM

The proposed BM has a three input and three output matrices, where this system is designed to produce equal amplitude and phase at the output ports. Figure 6 illustrates the perspective view of the BM configuration, which has three elements for both the input ports and output ports. If the input ports are supplied with the signal, evenly distributed output signals are fed to each of the hybrid coupler and the phase shifter elements accordingly.

Figure 6. Perspective view of 3 ×3 BM.

The phase shift between adjacent output ports, once the input port is fed with signal, δ_i in (8), is generated by:

(8)

δ_{i} = \frac{2 πi}{N}

For i = ± (1/2), ± (3/2), ± (5/2), ± (N-1)/2.

The performance of the 3 × 3 BM is studied using S-parameter simulation. The input and output return losses, S_ii and S_ii, are shown in Figure 7, where i represents the input ports and j represents the output ports. The results show that the return loss values are below -10 dB (theoretical) indicating a high transmission efficiency and the bandwidth fulfilling the requirement of the millimetre wave at 28 GHz (from f₁ = 27.5 GHz, to f₂ = 29.5GHz). The transmission amplitudes show values of –6 ± 3 dB for each Sij respective input-output port in Figure 8.

Figure 7. Return loss S-Parameter (a) input ports (b) output ports.

Figure 8. Transmission Amplitude, Sij (a) Input Port 1 (b) Input Port 2 (c) Input Port 3.

SIW BM with patch antenna array

The SIW BM is connected to the planar antenna array to observe the radiation pattern. The element of the patch antenna is shown in Figure 9, where the dimensions are tabulated in Table 2. Figure 10 illustrates the return loss of the patch antenna at the interested bandwidth achieved below -10 dB. Three patch antennas are connected to the output of the BM, with λ₀ /2 spacing between each other at 28 GHz, as illustrated in Figure 11 (a). When a signal is fed into the input ports, it is distributed with equal amplitude and progressive output phase shift to these three patch antennas. The antenna array spacing is set at λ₀/2, which is equivalent to 5.357 mm at 28 GHz spacing, to provide a narrow beamwidth with reduced sidelobe.

Figure 9. Patch Antenna at 28 GHz.

Figure 10. Return Loss, S11 of the Patch Antenna, 28 GHz.

Figure 11. BM with Antenna Array at 28 GHz (a) perspective view (b) Current Distribution.

Table 2. Dimension Details for Figure 9.

Parameter	Dimension (mm)	Parameter	Dimension (mm)
W₁	7.15	L₁	9.13
W₂	4.70	L₂	3.40
W₃	0.23	L₃	1.14
W₄	0.78	L₄	2.29

The amplitude and phase excitation of each phase array antenna element are separately controlled to produce a radiated beam to the specific angle. The proposed structure, as seen at the center frequency, provides an equal power split from each input port, i (#1, #2, #3), to all output ports, j (#4, #5, #6). The current distribution is illustrated in Figure 11 (b,) when the input signal is fed into Port 1 (#1). The array factor can be influenced by the number of antenna elements, layout configuration, magnitude, minimum spacing, and relative phase. Equation 9 provides the equivalent phase shift across element, and 10 provides the BM beam direction, where d is the antenna distance and λ is the wavelength:

(9)

\emptyset_{p} = 2 πdsinθ / λ

(10)

sinθ = \pm \frac{λ}{d} \frac{ϕ_{p}}{360^{°}}

Three beams with 0°, 30° and -30° beam directions are achieved by R. J. Maiiloux.²⁴ The multibeam array antenna BM generates three different beams angles in its x-y plane, due to the progressive output from the BM. Figure 12 depicts the H-plane radiation patterns; when each of the three ports is fed individually, three beam outputs with maximum gains of 11.1 dBi, 9.06 dBi, and 10.4 dBi and angle directions of 0°, +27°, and -27° are generated.

Figure 12. SIW BM with Patch Antenna Array at 28 GHz when (a) Port 1 is fed (b) Port 2 is fed (c) Port 3 is fed.

Conclusions

In this paper, the BM has been designed using the SIW technique, where the width aperture is used to control the coupling value. The 3 x 3 BM, which is small and compact, can be used to steer the beam to the selected users, when integrated with the antenna arrays. The simulation of the SIW BM with the patch antennas shows promising results in terms of the return loss, transmission amplitude, gain, and the radiation pattern, without any compromise on the size. The system develops three beams to the angles of 0°, + 27° and -27°, with respective gains of 11.1 dBi, 9.06 dBi, and 10.4 dBi. The beamforming network of the BM with antenna array has a compact size of (45.93×21.5) mm². Because the system is small and low loss, it is suitable for placement in the base station of 5G communication networks.

Data availability

Underlying data

Figshare: The data for the design of 5G Millimeter-Wave Beamforming System using Substrate Integrated Waveguide is listed.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14883285.v2¹⁸

This project contains the following underlying data:

• Data file 1. (Hybrid S-Parameter)
• Data file 2. (Hybrid S-Parameter (Phase))
• Data file 3. (BM Return Loss S-Parameter (a) input ports)
• Data file 4. (BM Return Loss S-Parameter (a) output ports)
• Data file 5. (BM Transmission Amplitude, Sij input port 1)
• Data file 6. (BM Transmission Amplitude, Sij input port 2)
• Data file 7. (BM Transmission Amplitude, Sij input port 3)
• Data file 8. (Patch Antenna S-Parameter)

Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Zero “No rights reserved” data waiver (CC0 1.0 Public domain dedication).

Author contributions

NMJ: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Methodology, Software, Writing – Original Draft Preparation; AA/LN: Methodology, Software; ZY: Project Administration Supervision, Writing – Review & Editing, Validation, YY. Conceptualization, Formal Analysis.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank everyone, especially from Research Management Centre MMU Cyberjaya, SAP ID MMU/RMC/GRPROP/IR FUND/2020/16410, Faculty of Engineering, Multimedia University (MMU Cyberjaya), and Malaysia and Communication Systems and Network (CSN i-Kohza), MJIIT, UTM KL.

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Version 1

VERSION 1 PUBLISHED 23 Dec 2021

Author details Author details

¹ Faculty of Engineering, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, Selangor, 62300, Malaysia
² Communication Systems and Network (CSN i-Kohza) MJIIT,UTM, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kampung Datuk Keramat, Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur, 54100, Malaysia

Noorlindawaty Md Jizat
Roles: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Methodology, Software, Writing – Original Draft Preparation

Zubaida Yusoff
Roles: Project Administration, Supervision, Validation, Writing – Review & Editing

Arevinthran A/L Nallasamy
Roles: Methodology, Software

Yoshihide Yamada
Roles: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis

Competing interests

No competing interests were disclosed.

Grant information

Internal Grant form Multimedia University with project number: MMU/RMC/GRPROP/IR FUND/2020/16410 | Multimedia University
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Published: 23 Dec 2021, 10:1311

https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.73224.1

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© 2021 Md Jizat N et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Md Jizat N, Yusoff Z, A/L Nallasamy A and Yamada Y. 5G Millimeter-Wave Beamforming System using Substrate Integrated Waveguide [version 1; peer review: 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2021, 10:1311 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.73224.1)

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Reviewer Report 27 Feb 2024

Chun Geng, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Approved with Reservations

https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.76864.r244610

A novel 3×3 Butler matrix (BM) is designed employing substrate integrated waveguide (SIW). The proposed design requires only hybrid couplers and phase shifter without any crossover. In this BM structure, the SIW hybrid coupler is designed, with two phase shifters ... Continue reading

A novel 3×3 Butler matrix (BM) is designed employing substrate integrated waveguide (SIW). The proposed design requires only hybrid couplers and phase shifter without any crossover. In this BM structure, the SIW hybrid coupler is designed, with two phase shifters of -90°, and one phase shifter of -180°. The phase difference at each respective output port of the BM shows values of 0°, -120°, and 120°. Finally, by integrating the antenna array, a three-port multibeam antenna is realized. More comments are listed as follows.

The description of the transmission process of the Butler matrix from the input port to the output port is verbose and confusing, please express it clearly.
The dimensional labelling in Fig. 4(a) is not clear and is not conducive to understanding, please make the dimensional labelling more visible. The surface current distribution in Fig. 4(b) is confusing, please revise the size of the arrow and a strength marker is needed to make it clearer.
The title of the y-axis in Fig. 5(b) should not be “phase difference”, which does not correspond to the actual meaning of the solid line.
The meaning of the diagrams in Table 1 is confusing, please replace them with representation of figures and explain the specific meaning of the figures, respectively.
For the configuration of the 3×3 BM, the results of the isolation coefficients and the output phase differences corresponding to each input port does not show in this paper, please add the mentioned results if possible.
The radiation performances of the patch antenna element are not given in this paper, please add and describe them if possible.
The radiation patterns of the final multibeam antenna in curved form are not given in this paper, please add and describe them if possible.
BMs have been developed extensively, please compare the proposed design with other similar BM designs to prove its value.
Only simulated results were shown in this paper. If possible, please realize the fabrications and compare the simulated and the measured results.
References in this paper need to be updated.
Please centre all figures and tables and make all figures clearer if possible.

Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?

Partly
Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?

Yes
Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?

Partly
If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?

Partly
Are all the source data underlying the results available to ensure full reproducibility?

Partly
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results?

Partly

Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.

Reviewer Expertise: multibeam antennas, beamforming networks and mm-wave antenna arrays.

I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard, however I have significant reservations, as outlined above.

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Reviewer Report 19 Feb 2024

Suleiman Aliyu Babale, Bayero University Kano, Kano, Nigeria

Approved with Reservations

https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.76864.r238985

COMMENTS

There are a lot of existing designs on Butler matrix (BM). The author should clearly indicate the differences between the existing designs, and this proposed design.
The explanations on the progressive output phase

COMMENTS

There are a lot of existing designs on Butler matrix (BM). The author should clearly indicate the differences between the existing designs, and this proposed design.
The explanations on the progressive output phase difference related to Figure 3 are not clear and look ambiguous. Please provide additional marks at the input and the output of each component for clarity. You may use ABCD…for this purpose. For example, when a signal is fed at In(I), it gets divided into two equal parts at B and C with an output phase difference of (90°, or 180°) or whatever.

https://f1000research.s3.amazonaws.com/supplementary/73224/27c57381-90a8-4547-b1e4-710c3f2e8922.png

After the explanation, kindly provide a summary table for the flow.

Is there any mathematical model and theoretical background of the coupler used? If they exist, kindly provide them.
As this is a special type of BM with 3 inputs and 3 outputs, what are the branch line impedances of the couplers used to form the BM?
Place a strength marker for the surface current distribution for Fig. 4 as you did in Fig. 11. Also, if possible, readjust the arrow size to be more visible.
Kindly explain the result of Figure 5 (b). Preferably, give the phase difference instead of the various phases.
From Figure 7 and several others, how do you establish the theoretical value of -10 dB?
No information on how the patch antenna was designed. What are the L’s and the W’s of table 2?
Generally, more discussions are needed for all the results presented.
There is a need for a comparison against other existing Butler matrices.
Only simulation results were presented in this work. Kindly make fabrications, measure the results, and compare the simulated and the measured results.
The references need to be updated.

Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?

Partly
Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?

Yes
Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?

No
If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?

Partly
Are all the source data underlying the results available to ensure full reproducibility?

No
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results?

Partly

Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.

Reviewer Expertise: Antennas and Microwave devices such as Butler matrix, filters etc

I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard, however I have significant reservations, as outlined above.

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Version 1 23 Dec 21	read	read

Suleiman Aliyu Babale, Bayero University Kano, Kano, Nigeria
Chun Geng, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

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Reviewer Report

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27 Feb 2024 | for Version 1

Chun Geng, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

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Approved With Reservations

A novel 3×3 Butler matrix (BM) is designed employing substrate integrated waveguide (SIW). The proposed design requires only hybrid couplers and phase shifter without any crossover. In this BM structure, the SIW hybrid coupler is designed, with two phase shifters of -90°, and one phase shifter of -180°. The phase difference at each respective output port of the BM shows values of 0°, -120°, and 120°. Finally, by integrating the antenna array, a three-port multibeam antenna is realized. More comments are listed as follows.

The description of the transmission process of the Butler matrix from the input port to the output port is verbose and confusing, please express it clearly.
The dimensional labelling in Fig. 4(a) is not clear and is not conducive to understanding, please make the dimensional labelling more visible. The surface current distribution in Fig. 4(b) is confusing, please revise the size of the arrow and a strength marker is needed to make it clearer.
The title of the y-axis in Fig. 5(b) should not be “phase difference”, which does not correspond to the actual meaning of the solid line.
The meaning of the diagrams in Table 1 is confusing, please replace them with representation of figures and explain the specific meaning of the figures, respectively.
For the configuration of the 3×3 BM, the results of the isolation coefficients and the output phase differences corresponding to each input port does not show in this paper, please add the mentioned results if possible.
The radiation performances of the patch antenna element are not given in this paper, please add and describe them if possible.
The radiation patterns of the final multibeam antenna in curved form are not given in this paper, please add and describe them if possible.
BMs have been developed extensively, please compare the proposed design with other similar BM designs to prove its value.
Only simulated results were shown in this paper. If possible, please realize the fabrications and compare the simulated and the measured results.
References in this paper need to be updated.
Please centre all figures and tables and make all figures clearer if possible.

Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?

Partly
Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?

Yes
Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?

Partly
If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?

Partly
Are all the source data underlying the results available to ensure full reproducibility?

Partly
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results?

Partly

Competing Interests

No competing interests were disclosed.

Reviewer Expertise

multibeam antennas, beamforming networks and mm-wave antenna arrays.

I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard, however I have significant reservations, as outlined above.

Respond to this report

Responses (0)

Back to all reports

Reviewer Report

8 Views

19 Feb 2024 | for Version 1

Suleiman Aliyu Babale, Bayero University Kano, Kano, Nigeria

8 Views Cite this report Responses(0)

Approved With Reservations

COMMENTS

There are a lot of existing designs on Butler matrix (BM). The author should clearly indicate the differences between the existing designs, and this proposed design.
The explanations on the progressive output phase difference related to Figure 3 are not clear and look ambiguous. Please provide additional marks at the input and the output of each component for clarity. You may use ABCD…for this purpose. For example, when a signal is fed at In(I), it gets divided into two equal parts at B and C with an output phase difference of (90°, or 180°) or whatever.

https://f1000research.s3.amazonaws.com/supplementary/73224/27c57381-90a8-4547-b1e4-710c3f2e8922.png

After the explanation, kindly provide a summary table for the flow.

Is there any mathematical model and theoretical background of the coupler used? If they exist, kindly provide them.
As this is a special type of BM with 3 inputs and 3 outputs, what are the branch line impedances of the couplers used to form the BM?
Place a strength marker for the surface current distribution for Fig. 4 as you did in Fig. 11. Also, if possible, readjust the arrow size to be more visible.
Kindly explain the result of Figure 5 (b). Preferably, give the phase difference instead of the various phases.
From Figure 7 and several others, how do you establish the theoretical value of -10 dB?
No information on how the patch antenna was designed. What are the L’s and the W’s of table 2?
Generally, more discussions are needed for all the results presented.
There is a need for a comparison against other existing Butler matrices.
Only simulation results were presented in this work. Kindly make fabrications, measure the results, and compare the simulated and the measured results.
The references need to be updated.

Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?

Partly
Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?

Yes
Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?

No
If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?

Partly
Are all the source data underlying the results available to ensure full reproducibility?

No
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results?

Partly

Competing Interests

No competing interests were disclosed.

Reviewer Expertise

Antennas and Microwave devices such as Butler matrix, filters etc

I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard, however I have significant reservations, as outlined above.

Respond to this report

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[6] 6. Zhang N, Yin H, Wang W: Hybrid beamforming for millimetre wave massive MU-MIMO systems with IQ imbalance. Communications IET. 2019; 13(6): 776–785. Publisher Full Text

[7] 7. Payami S, Sellathurai M, Nikitopoulos K: Low-Complexity Hybrid Beamforming for Massive MIMO Systems in Frequency-Selective Channels. Access IEEE. 2019; 7: 36195–36206. Publisher Full Text

[8] 8. Yang YK, Sim CY, Yang G: A novel 28 GHz beam steering array for 5G mobile device with metallic casing application. IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag. 2018; 66(1): 462–466. Publisher Full Text

[9] 9. Kim S, Yoon S, Lee Y, et al.: A Miniaturized Butler Matrix Based Switched Beamforming Antenna System in a Two-Layer Hybrid Stackup Substrate for 5G Applications. Electronics. 2019; 8: 1232. Publisher Full Text

[10] 10. Jizat NM, Yamada Y, Yusoff Z: Radiation Pattern of Array Antenna with the Dual-Layer Butler Matrix. 2020 IEEE International RF and Microwave Conference (RFM). 2020; 1–4.

[11] 11. Sakakibara K, Mizuno Y, Kikuma N, et al.: Millimeter-wave 4×4 Butler matrix for feeding circuit of multi-beam antenna using finline in multilayer substrate. 12th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP 2018). 2018; 1–4.

[12] 12. Howard DD: Tracking radar. Radar Handbook. 2nd ed. ch. 18. Skolnik MI, editor. McGraw-Hill; 1990.

[13] 13. Prakash V, Dahiya S, Kumawat S, et al.: Design of 4×4 Butler Matrix and its Process Modeling Using Petri Nets for Phase Array Systems. Progress In Electromagnetics Research C. 2020; 103: 137–153. Publisher Full Text

[14] 14. Yang Q, et al.: A Low Complexity 16 ×16 Butler Matrix Design Using Eight-Port Hybrids. IEEE Access. 2019; 7: 177864–177873. Publisher Full Text

[15] 15. Alrushud K, Gómez V, Podilchak SK: Planar Quasi-End-Fire Antenna Design using SIW Technology for CubeSats and Other Small Satellites. 2021 15th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP). 2021; 1–5.

[16] 16. Chiu TY, Li CH: Low-Loss Low-Cost Substrate-Integrated Waveguide and Filter in GaAs IPD Technology for Terahertz Applications. IEEE Access. 2021; 9: 86346–86357. Publisher Full Text

[17] 17. Sun Q, Ban YL, Lian JW, et al.: Millimeter-Wave Multibeam Antenna Based on Folded C-Type SIW. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 2020; 68(5): 3465–3476. Publisher Full Text

[18] 18. Md Jizat N: 5G Millimeter-Wave Beamforming System using Substrate Integrated Waveguide. figshare. Dataset. 2021. Publisher Full Text

[19] 19. Mohd Shukor NA, Seman N: 5G planar branch line coupler design based on the analysis of dielectric constant, loss tangent and quality factor at high frequency. Sci. Rep. 2020; 10: 16115. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text

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[22] 22. Balanis C: Antenna Theory Analysis and Design. Wiley; 1997.

[23] 23. Wu B: 3X3 Butler Matrix and 5X6 Butler Matrix. Guangzhou, Guangdong 510700 Patent EP 3 024 297 A1, 25 05 2016.

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5G Millimeter-Wave Beamforming System using Substrate Integrated Waveguide

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Methods

Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW)

(1)

Figure 1. SIW structure with the diameter, d and pitch, a and p.

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

Butler Matrix (BM)

Figure 2. 3 × 3 BM Schematic Diagram.

Figure 3. 3 × 3 BM signal flow when input is fed to (a) In (I) (b) In (II) (c) In (III).

Results

SIW hybrid coupler

Figure 4. Topology of (a) SIW Coupler Structure (b) Surface Current Distribution.

(7)

Figure 5. Coupler (a) S-Parameter (b) Output Phase.

Phase shifter

Table 1. Phase Shifter Configuration.

Beam steering BM

Figure 6. Perspective view of 3 ×3 BM.

(8)

Figure 7. Return loss S-Parameter (a) input ports (b) output ports.

Figure 8. Transmission Amplitude, Sij (a) Input Port 1 (b) Input Port 2 (c) Input Port 3.

SIW BM with patch antenna array

Figure 9. Patch Antenna at 28 GHz.

Figure 10. Return Loss, S11 of the Patch Antenna, 28 GHz.

Figure 11. BM with Antenna Array at 28 GHz (a) perspective view (b) Current Distribution.

Table 2. Dimension Details for Figure 9.

(9)

(10)

Figure 12. SIW BM with Patch Antenna Array at 28 GHz when (a) Port 1 is fed (b) Port 2 is fed (c) Port 3 is fed.

Conclusions

Data availability

Underlying data

Author contributions

Acknowledgements

References

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