First Meeting with Mobile Phone Base Station Antennas
Phone Base station antennas are one of the most important components. They are responsible for the transmission of signals between wired and wireless antennas in the antenna feeder system. The high-power wired signals transmitted from the base station are radiated by the antenna and converted into wireless signals. Low-power wireless signals are received by the antenna and then sent into the internal system of the base station for processing and conversion.
Phone Base station antennas are everywhere—you can see them almost everywhere you look.Wherever there is a mobile signal, there is a base station antenna.
These station antenna excited on the roof, on the mountain peak, atop the iron tower, in the tree…except these high position, they is else installed In the hallway, in the elevator, in the underground garage and so on.
Main components of phone base station antennas:
Because 4G and 5G signals are mainly used, we can generally see two types of mobile phone base station antennas: 4G LTE antennas and 5G antennas.
4G antennas are mostly long, flat, directional antennas.A single base station typically features multiple antennas facing different directions—usually three—with each antenna covering a 120-degree directional range.
Antennas are mounted at elevated positions; to facilitate communication with mobile phones, they are installed with a specific downtown angle—an angle that, for some antennas, can be adjusted manually or electrically to meet varying ground coverage requirements.
To accommodate different frequency bands, an antenna unit may integrate radiating elements for multiple bands, or antennas for different bands may even be mounted side-by-side facing the same direction.
The main components of a 4G antenna include: connectors, a reflector, isolation elements, radiating elements, feeder lines, a phase shifter (optional), and the housing.
5G antennas—also known as Massive MIMO antennas—integrate arrays of 16, 32, 64, or more transceiver units, resulting in a relatively wide form factor. Their key components include the antenna array, miniature filter array, TR modules (incorporating PA, LNA, and calibration components), shielding covers, power modules, and the housing.
At this stage, the device can no longer be referred to simply as a “5G antenna”; instead, it is properly designated as an AAU (Active Antenna Unit).
Key technical parameters of base station antennas:
Generally, an antenna delivers maximum power at its center frequency; power delivery decreases as the frequency deviates from the center, a characteristic used to define the antenna’s frequency bandwidth. There are two common definitions:
- 1. The frequency bandwidth within which antenna gain drops by no more than 3 dB;
- 2. The operating bandwidth defined by a specified Standing Wave Ratio (SWR). Mobile communication systems typically use the latter definition—specifically, the bandwidth within which the antenna’s input SWR is ≤ 1.5.
Antenna matching specifications:
1. SWR/Return Loss:
An antenna is a single-port network; SWR and return loss values are measured at the connector port, while the other end radiates into free space. Better SWR/return loss metrics indicate superior signal transmission or reception capabilities.
2. Isolation:
This refers to the ratio of a signal in one polarization received by an antenna element configured for a different polarization. It typically refers to the isolation between the two polarizations in a dual-polarization antenna.
3. Third-Order Intermodulation (PIM3):
Harmonic signals generated by the mixing of two or more frequencies within a non-linear RF circuit. Intermodulation signals transmitted by the antenna can degrade receiver sensitivity; PIM3 is tested across the entire frequency band, and the maximum value is recorded.
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