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Next-Generation Antenna Technologies for Wireless Communications and Beyond
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Next-Generation Antenna Technologies for Wireless Communications and Beyond

A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Microwave and Wireless Communications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2026 | Viewed by 5456

Editor

Dr. Zahra Hamzavi-Zarghani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Microwave and Photonic Engineering, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria
Interests: antennas; electromagnetics; metasurfaces

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid evolution of wireless communication technologies, the demand for advanced antenna systems is becoming essential. The next generation of wireless networks, including 5G, 6G, and beyond, requires innovative antenna solutions that offer higher efficiency, enhanced bandwidth, and reconfigurability. Moreover, emerging applications in satellite communications, Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities, biomedical engineering, and automotive industries are pushing the boundaries of antenna design and implementation.

This Special Issue aims to bring together novel research and recent advancements in antenna technologies that will shape the future of wireless communications and to provide a broad framework on next-generation antennas, fostering discussions on challenges, trends, and breakthrough developments in the field.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Antenna designs for 5G, 6G, and beyond (massive MIMO, beamforming, reconfigurable antennas);
  • Applications of metamaterial and metasurfaces on antennas;
  • Dielectric and graphene-based antennas;
  • AI and machine-learning-driven antenna design and optimization;
  • Wearable and bio-integrated antennas for healthcare and IoT;
  • Miniaturized and ultra-wideband (UWB) antennas;
  • Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) antennas for smart environments;
  • Antenna technologies for satellite, UAV, and deep-space communications;
  • Terahertz and millimeter-wave antennas for high-speed communication;
  • Novel materials and fabrication techniques for enhanced antenna performance;
  • Energy-efficient and self-powered antenna systems.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Zahra Hamzavi-Zarghani
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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.

Keywords

  • next-generation antennas
  • wireless communication systems
  • 5G and 6G antenna technologies
  • reconfigurable and smart antennas
  • metamaterial
  • metasurfaces

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 7961 KB  
Article
A Compact Single-Resonator Dual-Port Circularly Polarized MIMO Dielectric Resonator Antenna for 28 GHz Applications
by Sumer Singh Singhwal and Ladislau Matekovits
Electronics 2026, 15(5), 977; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15050977 - 27 Feb 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 681
Abstract
A compact dual-port circularly polarized (CP) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) for 28 GHz applications is presented. A single cross-shaped dielectric resonator is excited by two orthogonal microstrip feeds, supporting hybrid orthogonal modes that enable CP radiation at both ports without [...] Read more.
A compact dual-port circularly polarized (CP) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) for 28 GHz applications is presented. A single cross-shaped dielectric resonator is excited by two orthogonal microstrip feeds, supporting hybrid orthogonal modes that enable CP radiation at both ports without requiring perturbation cuts, parasitic elements, or decoupling structures. The fabricated prototype exhibits a measured 10 dB impedance bandwidth and 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth that fully cover the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-allocated 28 GHz band (27.5–28.35 GHz). Port isolation remains better than 15 dB, and the antenna exhibits a peak gain of approximately 7.6 dBi with radiation efficiency exceeding 93%, within a compact 40 × 47 mm2 footprint. MIMO performance is verified through envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), diversity gain (DG), and total active reflection coefficient (TARC). The results demonstrate that the proposed single-resonator dual-port CP DRA provides an efficient and integration-friendly solution for compact mmWave MIMO applications in next-generation 5G/6G terminals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Next-Generation Antenna Technologies for Wireless Communications and Beyond)
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11 pages, 1411 KB  
Article
Compact Four-Port Ku-Band MIMO Antenna with Enhanced Isolation Using Modified DGS for Early-Phase 6G Applications
by Behrooz Rezaee, Arezoo Abdi, Sara Javadi and Wolfgang Bösch
Electronics 2026, 15(1), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15010094 - 24 Dec 2025
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 744
Abstract
This paper presents a compact four-port multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna operating in the Ku-band around 13 GHz, targeting early-phase 6G upper-midband front-end applications. The proposed antenna employs orthogonally arranged short-ended square patch elements combined with a modified defected ground structure (DGS) to achieve [...] Read more.
This paper presents a compact four-port multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna operating in the Ku-band around 13 GHz, targeting early-phase 6G upper-midband front-end applications. The proposed antenna employs orthogonally arranged short-ended square patch elements combined with a modified defected ground structure (DGS) to achieve high port isolation and compact footprint. A prototype fabricated on Rogers RO4350 substrate demonstrates good agreement between simulated and measured results. The antenna achieves |S11| < −10 dB over 12.9–13.1 GHz band, inter-port isolation exceeding 25 dB, and an envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) below 0.01. The measured realized gain reaches 7.02 dBi with a radiation efficiency above 80%. Compared with recent Ku-band MIMO antennas, the proposed design provides a 45% size reduction while maintaining high isolation at a close element spacing of 0.25λ0. The proposed antenna intentionally adopts a narrowband operating characteristic, reflecting a design trade-off that prioritizes compact size, high isolation, and low spatial correlation over wideband performance. These features make the antenna well suited for early-stage 6G-oriented front-end modules, fixed wireless access, backhaul links, and short-range sensing systems operating in the upper-midband frequency range. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Next-Generation Antenna Technologies for Wireless Communications and Beyond)
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Review

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28 pages, 4609 KB  
Review
Reconfigurable Antennas Enabled by Tunable Metasurfaces for Next-Generation Wireless Communications: A Review
by Zahra Hamzavi-Zarghani, Ladislau Matekovits and Wolfgang Bösch
Electronics 2026, 15(8), 1610; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15081610 - 13 Apr 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2946
Abstract
Reconfigurable antennas play a central role in next-generation wireless communication systems by enabling dynamic adaptation of operating frequency, radiation pattern, and polarization. Tunable metasurfaces have emerged as a powerful and compact approach to antenna reconfiguration, allowing electromagnetic wave manipulation through engineered, planar structures [...] Read more.
Reconfigurable antennas play a central role in next-generation wireless communication systems by enabling dynamic adaptation of operating frequency, radiation pattern, and polarization. Tunable metasurfaces have emerged as a powerful and compact approach to antenna reconfiguration, allowing electromagnetic wave manipulation through engineered, planar structures whose properties can be dynamically controlled. By embedding active devices or tunable materials within metasurface unit cells, antenna characteristics can be modified without altering the antenna geometry. This review provides a comprehensive overview of reconfigurable antennas enabled by tunable metasurfaces. We adopt a functionality-based classification that focuses on operating frequency, radiation pattern, polarization, and multifunction reconfiguration. An overview of major tunability technologies, including PIN diodes, varactors, MEMS, graphene and two-dimensional materials, and liquid crystal (LC) or phase-change materials, is first presented. Subsequently, metasurface-based reconfiguration strategies are discussed and compared for each antenna functionality, highlighting design principles, practical trade-offs, and limitations. The review concludes with an assessment of challenges and future research directions relevant to next-generation wireless communications and beyond. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Next-Generation Antenna Technologies for Wireless Communications and Beyond)
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