It is possibly the smallest antenna in the world
20 May 2015
Antenova Ltd, manufacturer of antennas and RF antenna modules for M2M, is announcing the Weii, a new miniature ceramic antenna for all 2.4GHz, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee and ISM applications.
While all of Antenova’s antennas and antenna module products are small surface mounted devices, this antenna is the smallest that Antenova has created so far. It is designed specifically for the consumer, IoT and M2M markets, and measures just 1.00mm x 0.5mm x 0.5mm. The company believes it could actually be the smallest antenna in the world.
Antenova’s Director and VP of Sales, Colin Newman, explains how Antenova has miniaturised the antenna: “Ceramic antennas offer low dielectric losses and high isolation. Our engineers have used this technology to greatly reduce the antenna volume without sacrificing performance. The challenge in building antennas for today’s small consumer devices is to achieve high isolation and frequency selectivity while maintaining good efficiency. This antenna is resistant to detuning from environmental effects, and combining this with its ultra-small size, makes it ideal for today’s wearable products.”
The Weii is an omni-directional, SMD mounted dielectric antenna that can be used to add wireless connectivity to any small electronic device, for example wearables, headsets, medical devices, PNDs, dongles and sensors.
A ceramic antenna offers several advantages for these emerging applications. Its extraordinarily tiny footprint is ideal for the new, scaled-down PCBs that are being developed for consumer devices in M2M. It offers a highly efficient antenna that is powerful over indoor ranges, and that performs well when sited close to the human body.
Antenova takes a unique approach to the design of antennas, which it calls “Design For Integration” (DFI). Because the antennas are always embedded within a customer’s design, the successful operation of the customer’s device depends upon obtaining the correct performance from the antenna when it is placed on the PCB, therefore Antenova is designing its antennas with this difficult RF integration in mind.
The Weii is designed to be easily integrated into all kinds of PCB designs and various ground plane sizes – it has been engineered so that it can simply be dropped into the design, using CAD footprint files which are provided free of charge. And to ensure that customers can harness the antenna successfully and achieve the optimal performance of the antenna, Antenova provides engineering assistance along with advice on RF design layout and the integration of the antenna, and customer support.
The antennas are available through distributors worldwide. Please see www.antenova-m2m.com for more details, or contact us to request a sample board for the Weii antenna.
