Millimeter-Wave Integrated Antenna Systems for 6G Wireless Communications

Doctoral thesis, 2026

Future 5G and 6G communication networks are expected to operate with large amounts of data at high data rates. To achieve this, wireless systems are moving toward millimeter-wave frequencies, providing larger bandwidths and thereby enabling faster wireless links and more detailed sensing. However, the signals, propagating at these frequencies, attenuate rapidly, while available electronics suffer from limitations on power generation. This requires advancements in antenna-system architectures and electronics integration.

This doctoral research develops electronically beam-steering antenna systems for two characteristic applications. The first is wireless backhaul, where highly directional links connect base stations to the core network. Such links require very high antenna gain and transmitter power. However, high antenna gain operates with narrow beams, which leads to misalignment due to the mast swaying caused by environmental conditions. The proposed solution addresses this issue using a transmitter architecture utilizing joint power combining from active electronics and beam steering with a high-gain reflector antenna fed by an electronically controlled feed.

The second application is short-range communication, where antennas are required to scan over wide angular ranges to reach different devices and avoid interference. Therefore, a compact W-band phased-array antenna was developed to address the need for wide-angle beam steering over a wide operating frequency band.

Together, these developments demonstrate practical paths for combining antennas, high-frequency electronics, packaging, and beam-steering technologies. They provide hardware platforms for future millimeter-wave communication systems, ranging from powerful long-distance backhaul links to compact and flexible antennas for high-speed communication.