On-glass automotive diversity antenna and LNA design for S-band satellite digital radio

Selection combining diversity system with antennas mounted on windshield and backlite of a vehicle is proposed for satellite digital audio radio applications. Standalone exterior mount antennas on metallic vehicles perform well for satellite digital audio radio applications, but for composite body vehicles or interior mount antennas, antenna performance becomes a real issue. Proposed on-glass two-antenna diversity is one solution for such applications. The antenna correlation is calculated using the S-parameters of the antennas and found to be very low due to many wavelengths separation between the antennas. Design of low noise amplifier, which has sub 1 dB noise figure and good P1dB due to strong cellular signals, is also detailed. A diversity receiver is described and ride tests are performed to assess the performance of the diversity system in real-time, under weak satellite signal environment which is regarded as the most challenging reception condition.     

Hidden Automotive Antenna Performance and Simulation

A new printed antenna system mounted in an aperture in the roof of a car is evaluated for broadcast signal reception from 88-108 MHz. Results from simulations on the vehicle are compared with measurements. The overall performance of the antenna is also compared to common types of vehicle antennas, the roof monopole and a glass based antenna. Overall the average gain of the antennas was better than -3 dBi for vertical polarization and -10 dBi for horizontal while the input return loss was generally better than -2 dB before matching sections in the tuners and comparable with common automotive antennas. The antennas in the roof aperture offer an alternative place to mount antennas on automobiles     

Optimization of PIFA-IFA combination in handset antenna designs

As commercial needs have expanded the functions of the wireless cellular handsets, multiantenna development in one handset has become more and more common. This paper addresses a multiantenna solution for the wireless handset application. A planar inverted "F" antenna (PIFA) was designed as the main antenna of the handset to cover the 800 MHz band (824 MHz-894 MHz) and the 1900 MHz band (1850 MHz-1990 MHz). A side-mounted inverted "F" antenna (IFA) was designed as the 1575.42 MHz global positioning system (GPS) antenna. The location of the feed/ground pins of both antennas affected not only the total antenna efficiency, but also the polarization of the GPS IFA. The length of the GPS IFA affected the isolation between the two antennas and the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the PIFA at the 1900 MHz band. A three-dimensional efficiency measurement of the prototypes in both free space and against-head position will be presented. Measurement of SAR and its distribution will also be presented to demonstrate the impact of the IFA on the near field of the PIFA.     

Triple band planar inverted F antennas for handheld devices

Two novel triple band planar inverted F antennas (PIFAs) are presented. The first antenna is realised by housing a dual frequency L-shaped spur line loaded PIFA element within the lower resonance PIFA element. The second antenna is realised by embedding two single element PIFAs within a quarter-wave patch. For both antennas, an isolation of better than -15 dB between the feed ports and a good agreement between simulation and measurement results was obtained     

Extremely compact dual-band PIFAs for MIMO application

A MIMO structure consisting of two extremely compact planar inverted-F antennas (PIFAs) (λ/60 x (λ/20 x (λ/60) is proposed for GSM 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz wireless local area network applications. The miniaturisation of each antenna is achieved through a spiral-shaped PIFA and a capacitive load, forming a LC resonator. Both antennas have a good impedance bandwidth of 0.88?0.945 and 2.39? 2.48 GHz for 0.9 and 2.4 GHz band, respectively. The two PIFA antennas are polarised orthogonally to each other, and isolation better than 228 dB is achieved in both bands without any structure etched on the ground. The predicted results are compared with the measured data and good agreement is found.     

A compact planar inverted-F antenna with a PBG-type ground plane for mobile communications

The ground plane affects the characteristics of a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) significantly. Using the idea of the high-impedance surface to construct the ground plane, a new type of compact PIFA with a photonic bandgap type (PBG-type) ground plane is proposed. Both the traditional PIFA and the proposed antenna are analyzed using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method in detail. It is found that the two antennas have similar directivity pattern characteristics, but the size of the latter can be reduced obviously. The results also show that the bandwidth of a traditional PIFA is not greatly affected by the thickness of the metallic ground plane and that the shapes of the directivity patterns are not greatly affected by the ground plane under the small size condition. The operating-frequency band of the proposed antenna can be adjusted by changing the dielectric substrate thickness of the ground plane. They are suitable for mobile communication applications.     

Design and Performance Investigation of a Dual-Element PIFA Array at 2.5 GHz for MIMO Terminal

A study is described of a modified planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) operating in 2.5 GHz band on a printed circuit board (PCB) of a mobile phone handset. The antenna dimension is reduced substantially with a miniature ground plane and capacitive loading. While inheriting the attractive features of PIFAs, such as low profile, easy fabrication and low cost, the proposed antenna exhibits low coupling to the PCB. A dual-element PIFA array is implemented on a mobile handset PCB and the diversity performance of the dual-element PIFA array is evaluated in both simulation and measurement.     

A Frequency Tuning Method for a Planar Inverted-F Antenna

A novel method is presented for electrically tuning the frequency of a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA). A tuning circuit, comprising an RF switch and discrete passive components, has been completely integrated into the antenna element, which is thus free of dc wires. The proposed tuning method has been demonstrated with a dual-band PIFA capable of operating in four frequency bands. The antenna covers the GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, PCS1900 and UMTS frequency ranges with over 40% total efficiency. The impact of the tuning circuit on the antenna's efficiency and radiation pattern have been experimentally studied through comparison with the performance of a reference antenna not incorporating the tuning circuit. The proposed frequency tuning concept can be extended to more complex PIFA structures as well as other types of antennas to give enhanced electrical performance.     

A novel low SAR water-based mobile handset antenna

The effect of mobile phones on human health is becoming a serious concern in the last decade. This paper suggests a novel water-based cellular phone antenna for reducing the electromagnetic wave radiation toward human head. Two antennas are considered: a single band PIFA operating at 1.8 GHz, and a dual band PIFA operating at 900 MHz and 1.8 GHz. The specific absorption rate (SAR) is decreased up to 0.6 W/kg by limiting the propagation of near electromagnetic fields toward the human head and therefore reducing the current density distribution. The reduction of SAR is carried out by introducing an U-edge wall made of an absorbing water material at each corner of the ground plane.     

Built-in folded monopole antenna for handsets

A built-in folded monopole antenna for handsets (BFMA) is introduced and investigated. The characteristics of the BFMA are compared with those of a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA), which is one of the conventional handset antennas. As a result, it has been confirmed that the BFMA has smaller size and wider bandwidth compared with the PIFA.     

Frequency-reconfigurable two-port antenna for mobile phone operating over multiple service bands

A frequency-reconfigurable antenna for a mobile phone with small volume is proposed. The proposed antenna consists of a planar inverted F-antenna (PIFA) with volume of 4times36times5timesmm³ and a monopole antenna embedded in the same space. The two antennas are excited by two separate feeds with a common ground plane. A switch is used in the PIFA for frequency-reconfigurable operation. The PIFA can cover either LTE (698-806-MHz) or GSM900 (880-960-MHz) depending on the state of the switch. The monopole antenna can cover either PCS1900 (1.85-1.99-GHz) and m-WiMAX (3.4-3.8-GHz) or WLAN 802.11a (5.15-5.35-GHz) depending on the state of the switch. The antenna gain is in the range of -1.99-0.61-dBi over 700-MHz-2-GHz bands and 2.39-4.62-dBi over the bands higher than 3-GHz. The proposed antenna is shown to have good radiation characteristics.     

Miniaturization of Dual‐Band PIFA for Wireless LAN Communication

In this letter, a simple method for reducing the size of a dual‐band planar inverted‐F antenna (PIFA) is described. This method is based on a coupling capacitor connected in parallel to the PIFA feed conductor. The proposed antenna occupies a small ground clearance of 10 mm×5 mm and is able to provide ?10‐dB impedance bandwidths of 120 MHz and 760 MHz for 2.45‐GHz and 5.5‐GHz wireless local area network applications, respectively. The measured antenna efficiencies are 71.8% and 73.6%, averaged over the 2.45‐GHz and 5.5‐GHz frequency bands, respectively.     

Surface mount end-fire antenna package

A novel low-cost package concept is presented whereby an end-fire antenna module can be surface mounted such that it radiates in a direction normal to the backplane to which it mounts. The packaging method features the use of conducting castellations in the edge of the multilayer antenna module to form a very broad band transition. An example transition is described and measurements of a prototype presented. Applications to Vivaldi-type active antennas are presented.     

A Tunable Via-Patch Loaded PIFA With Size Reduction

A novel tunable planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) is described. A via-patch is introduced under the main radiating element to create a capacitive coupling effect and lower the operating frequency. The antenna size is reduced by half when compared to the conventional PIFA. Incorporating with an L-shaped opening on the ground plane, the proposed via-patch loaded PIFA exhibits a 10-dB return-loss bandwidth of 8.91% for 2.4 GHz ISM band applications. In the proposed approach, the capacitive patch is connected to the ground through a via while a coaxial feed is directly connected to the radiating element. This is different from other capacitive-loading, size-reduction schemes in which the capacitive patch is connected to the coaxial feed, thus not able to provide frequency tuning. By simply replacing the via in our antenna with a screw and adjusting the height of the via-patch by turning the screw, a tuning range of 0.8 GHz from 2.5-3.3 GHz can be achieved. This makes the proposed PIFA a convenient tunable small antenna. Both simulation and measurement results are presented together with parametric studies on the via-patch and L-shaped opening ground plane     

Slot-monopole antenna system for energy-density reception at UHF

A new type of energy-density antenna is proposed for mobile telephony in the 800-1200-MHz range using a slot-monopole antenna (SMA) configuration. To mount the antenna on a mobile two orthogonally crossed slot antennas backed by a shallow cavity placed on the roof were found to be most suitable for receiving the magnetic field components, whereas a monopole attached to the base of the cavity and designed as a sleeve antenna is utilized to probe the electric field component. A prototype of the SMA system is manufactured, and its dimensions and design characteristics are presented. The radiation pattern, the input impedance of each of the three sections of the antenna system, and the isolation characteristics between all the sections of the SMA are measured and discussed.     

Tuning techniques for planar inverted-F antenna

User terminals of modern mobile communication systems require efficient, low profile antennas, capable of broadband and multi-band operation. In that respect, planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) designs have emerged that explore the trade-off between the height above the ground-plane and the achievable effective bandwidth. Further possible bandwidth enhancements are studied, as is multi-band operation by switching and tuning the resonant frequency of the PIFA, while maintaining a low height above the ground plane     

Single-feed dual-band planar inverted-F antenna with U-shaped slot

The development of small integrated antennas plays a significant role in the progress of rapidly expanding wireless communication applications. This paper describes a novel dual-band planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) for wireless local area network applications. The proposed PIFA uses single feed only. A novel top-plate geometry, a U-shaped slot, is discussed. An example is given for this novel slot shape for frequency bands of 2.4 and 5.2 GHz. Simulation based upon the method of moments (MoM) is used to model the performance of the antenna. Comparisons with results measured on fabricated antenna structures are provided for simulations validation.     

Hidden antennas for vehicles

The introduction of new telematics and broadcast systems into vehicles has led to a requirement for multiple antennas that can be hidden from view. This paper commences by presenting the results of simulations to identify the components of a car's structure that influence the radiation pattern of a printed VHF antenna on the rear windscreen. Two dual-band antenna designs are then presented for operation in the 900 and 1800 MHz telephone bands. The first is a planar inverted-F antenna that can be concealed in the bumpers, the second a hybrid structure based on the top-loaded monopole principle and mounted beneath the vehicle's roof.     

Dual-band printed dipole antenna with parasitic element for WiMAX applications

Recently, wireless communication has grown exponentially worldwide. The wireless system that is currently popular is the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) system, which operates in the 2.5?2.7, 3.3?3.8 and 5.2?5.8 GHz frequency bands; the standard that defines interoperability across these bands is IEEE 802.16a/d/e/2004 [1]. Because of this, broadband and multiband antenna designs have become important in wireless applications. Recently, various antenna designs such as those of microstrip line, coplanar waveguide, and PIFA dipole antennas have been presented in the literature. In [2], a novel miniature end-loaded planar open-sleeve dipole (ELPOSD) antenna was presented; it was demonstrated to have a large bandwidth and a short length. A printed dipole antenna with U-slotted arms was proposed in [3]. With the aid of an embedded U-shaped slot, it can generate a new resonant mode at 5.2 GHz. In [4, 5], printed dipole and monopole antennas with parasitic elements were presented. The experimental results show that parasitic strips can be coupled with dipole antennas in order to give rise to additional resonance modes. A broadband printed dipole antenna with a stepshaped feed gap was proposed in [6]. The wide operating band is controlled by the different lengths of the radiation arms. Thus, it was demonstrated that a dipole antenna with parasitic elements has the ability to realise multiband or broadband operation.     

Dual-resonant π-shape with double L-strips PIFA for implantable biotelemetry

A compact -shape with a double L-strips planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) is proposed for implantable biotelemetry in the Medical Implant Communication Services band (MICS band). The antenna occupies a volume of only 643 mm³ (22.5 22.5 1.27 mm), operating frequency at 402 MHz. Utilising the -shape with the double L-strips PIFA structure can excite dual-resonate frequencies that control the dual-resonant frequency at 375 and 427 MHz to obtain the broad bandwidth of 80 MHz (362 442 MHz) at return loss of 10 dB. To demonstrate the performance of the implantable antenna more efficiently, the simulating skin fluids are also developed by varying alcohol concentration with salts. Thus, provided is a miniature, broadband implantable PIFA for biotelemetry with medical devices.