Graphene-Based Miniaturized Wideband Patch Antenna With Integrated Heat Dissipation Function for Mobile Terminals

Passive antennas and active components are both crucial for mobile terminals. The performance and lifespan of active components are affected by ambient temperature, but the internal environment of mobile terminals is constrained, making heat dissipation challenging. Traditional mobile antennas cannot assist in heat dissipation and this letter proposes a heat-dissipation mobile antenna that integrates a heat dissipation function and can be attached to the terminal back cover by resorting to graphene film with both high electrical and thermal conductivities. In accordance with mobile antenna design guidelines, lumped components are used to achieve miniaturization. The realistic heat dissipation scenarios inside a mobile terminal are modeled and the heat source of System-on-Chip (SoC) is taken as an example. The antenna performance and heat dissipation effects of the graphene and copper patches are compared. The results show that the graphene patch achieves nearly identical antenna performance as the copper patch: the measured -10-dB impedance bandwidth is 4.8%, the average efficiency is -2.1 dB, and the broadside gain is 5.6 dBi. It also exhibits a significantly enhanced cooling effect, with a maximum temperature reduction of 3.6 °C and a more uniform temperature distribution. The proposed strategy shows great potential to be applied in mobile terminals.