Stepped-fat Dipole Antenna for TV 3.0 Design and Outdoor Tests

Abstract This article describes a two-element antenna designed in a Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTTB) Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) 2×2 front antenna in the 470 to 700 MHz band. It is based on a planar, canonical, fat-dipole element with low-cost and robust characteristics. Both antenna elements are fed directly by a coaxial connector, without a balun, and have been optimized to provide low coupling, improving their combined diversity gain. The array occupies an area of 0.76λ2o x 0.51λ2o (907 cm2) at the center frequency wavelength. Measurements of the antennas in outdoor urban environments are presented with a technology proponent for the project, the Advanced Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting - Terrestrial (ISDB-T), in 8 urban sites in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The results showed that the proposed MIMO 2×2 antenna operates effectively in outdoor applications, is robust, has a low development cost, and has a low degree of mutual coupling.