Advanced Antennas and Propagation for Next-Gen Wireless

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will showcase recent advancements and emerging trends in antenna design and electromagnetic wave propagation for current and next-generation wireless systems, including 5G, 6G, IoT, satellite communication, and wearable electronics. As the demand for high data rates, low latency, and reliable wireless connectivity continues to grow, there is a pressing need for innovative antenna systems and accurate propagation models that support compact, energy-efficient, and high-performance communication devices.

This Special Issue requests high-quality original research, comprehensive review articles, and application-oriented studies that focus on cutting-edge antenna technologies, such as reconfigurable antennas, MIMO systems, metamaterials, RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces), and miniaturized and flexible antennas, along with novel propagation modeling techniques in dynamic, complex, or challenging environments (e.g., urban, vehicular, body-centric, and satellite scenarios).

In contrast to the traditional literature that often focuses on single-band or static antenna systems, this Special Issue will emphasize multifunctional, frequency-agile, and environment-adaptive designs, seeking to integrate them with realistic wave propagation analysis using modern simulation and measurement techniques.

By consolidating research from academia and industry, this Special Issue will provide a forward-looking perspective on how antenna and propagation innovations are enabling the future development of ubiquitous, intelligent, and sustainable wireless communication systems.

Topics of interest:

• Compact and multiband antennas for 5G/6G;
• MIMO and beamforming antennas;
• Wearable and flexible antenna systems;
• Metasurfaces and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs);
• Antenna design for IoT and satellite applications;
• Propagation modeling in complex environments;
• Channel characterization for wireless body area networks (WBANs);
• Electromagnetic simulation and measurement techniques;
• Machine learning in antenna design and propagation modeling.

Scope

This Special Issue focuses on the latest developments in advanced antenna technologies and wave propagation techniques that enable high-performance, next-generation wireless communication systems. It highlights innovations in antenna design, integration with smart systems, and the accurate modeling of electromagnetic wave behavior across diverse applications and environments.

This Special Issue’s scope includes both theoretical and experimental studies on the following:

• Multiband, MIMO, and reconfigurable antennas;
• Wearable, flexible, and miniaturized antenna systems;
• Metamaterials, metasurfaces, and RIS-based antenna platforms;
• Wave propagation modeling in urban, indoor, satellite, and body-centric environments;
• Channel characterization and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC);
• Machine learning and optimization in antenna and propagation design;
• Measurement techniques and simulation methods;

The Special Issue encourages interdisciplinary contributions discussing wireless communication, electromagnetics, materials science, and signal processing.

Purpose

This Special Issue’s purpose is as follows:

• Advance the understanding and development of modern antenna and propagation solutions that meet the performance and miniaturization needs of 5G/6G, IoT, satellite, wearable, and body area networks;
• Bridge the gap between innovative antenna engineering and practical deployment in real-world environments;
• Provide a platform for researchers and industry professionals to share recent breakthroughs, methodologies, and emerging applications;
• Contribute to the ongoing scientific discourse by contextualizing current innovations in relation to the existing literature, particularly focusing on multifunctional and adaptive systems, which are increasingly vital to the evolution of smart wireless ecosystems.

This Special Issue will serve as a valuable supplement to the existing literature by addressing current gaps and emerging needs in the design and application of advanced antenna systems and wave propagation models. While existing research extensively covers traditional antenna structures and basic propagation theories, there is a growing need for studies that undertake the following:

• Integrate multifunctional, compact, and environment-adaptive antennas suited for complex, real-world scenarios (e.g., wearable, vehicular, and urban communications);
• Investigate the role of metamaterials, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), and MIMO architectures in enhancing spectral efficiency and coverage for 5G, 6G, and beyond;
• Provide accurate and scalable propagation models for evolving deployment environments, such as ultra-dense networks, body-centric networks, and indoor mmWave/THz applications;
• Apply AI and machine learning to optimize antenna design and predict propagation behavior, which is still an under-represented area in current publications.

By compiling the latest innovations and interdisciplinary approaches, this Special Issue will offer a comprehensive and updated resource for researchers, engineers, and practitioners. It will not only reinforce established knowledge but also extend the frontier of what is currently available in the literature, encouraging the transition from theoretical studies to real-world implementations.

Dr. Jayshri Kulkarni
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Electronics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• advanced antennas
• wave propagation
• mimo systems
• reconfigurable antennas
• metamaterials and metasurfaces
• reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs)
• millimeter-wave (mmWave)
• terahertz (THz) communication
• 5G and 6G wireless networks
• wearable antennas
• flexible electronics
• body-centric wireless communication
• wireless body area networks (WBANs)
• channel modeling
• propagation in complex environments
• antenna miniaturization
• beamforming
• machine learning in antenna design
• electromagnetic simulation
• IoT antennas
• smart antenna systems