An L-Sleeve L-Monopole Antenna Fitting a Shark-Fin Module for Vehicular LTE, WLAN, and Car-to-Car Communications

An L-sleeve L-monopole (LSLM) antenna fitting a shark-fin module is proposed for vehicular long-term evolution (LTE) communication. Starting with classical sleeve monopole antennas, a low-profile evolution is introduced to explain the working principle of the LSLM. The influence of the ground plane, placement position, and bent of the LSLM is analyzed to fit different shark-fin modules. Designed prototypes (the LSLM and bended LSLM) cover the frequency range of 698-2700 MHz (VSWR < 3), which would serve major LTE standards. One tab monopole antenna covering the frequency range of 5-6 GHz can be integrated into the shark-fin module and provide services for wireless local area network and car-to-car communications. Low mutual coupling (lower than -23 dB) between the two antennas is achieved in the frequency range of 698-6000 MHz without any additional filters, and the design method is presented for better understanding the underlying physics. The proposed antenna is fabricated on an affordable printed circuit board, which is useful for vehicular applications.