5G Antenna Materials and Ensuing Challenges

Fifth Generation (5G) communication tools are extremely important for the modern society, especially when more and more of our activities are organized in such a way as to be carried out rapidly and more efficiently even if they are to take place from a distance. There are many possibilities, using different advanced materials, to fulfill the high demand of the antennas with different functionalities. Investigation on the characteristics of the material used in this application is a starting point to be really able to manage in a proper way the performance of the antenna. Understanding the most important characteristics allows designing material with low or even controlled dispersion that intrinsically will increase the performance of the antenna. The present chapter reports some fundamental elements belonging to such a wide-ranging topics used up to date, even if it does not target to fully cover all features about any material used in this field. The aim of the present chapter is to present different challenges in designing 5G communication tools, starting from the selection of the appropriate material up to their production methods. It also includes some aspects related to the multidisciplinary face of such research developments in order to highlight the necessity of the participation of many scientific figures to attain enhanced characteristics of the future communication systems. Additionally, an insight into future communication networks from material point of view is provided. Some of the major challenges in THz communications, body implant antennas and wearable antennas are discussed also.