Antenna Booster Technology for Wireless Communications
Being surface-mounted and chip-like in nature, the antenna booster fits seamlessly in an electronic printed circuit board the same way as any other electronic component such as an amplifier, filter or switch. It can be assembled with a conventional pick-and-place machine, making the manufacture and design of the new generation of IoT and mobile or wireless devices much simpler, faster and more effective.
Starting with the theory and fundamentals behind the design of antenna boosters and matching networks, the authors present several architectures and show the readers how to put the theory into practice to design antenna systems on wireless platforms and multiband design for wireless device operations with optimized matching networks either passive or active.
Written by two experts in the field, Antenna Booster Technology for Wireless Communications offers key insights into the principles and applications of antenna boosters for researchers from academia and industry, as well as lecturers and advanced students, engineers involved in antenna and electronics design, and developers of antenna, radio frequency, wireless and microwave technologies.
Inspec keywords: UHF antennas; capacitors; multifrequency antennas; antenna radiation patterns; antenna accessories
Other keywords: antenna radiation patterns; UHF antennas; capacitors; multifrequency antennas; microstrip antennas; satellite communication; monopole antennas; software radio; antenna accessories; printed circuits
Subjects: Radio links and equipment; Printed circuits; Antennas; Education and training; General electrical engineering topics
- Book DOI: 10.1049/PBTE100E
- Chapter DOI: 10.1049/PBTE100E
- ISBN: 9781839533006
- e-ISBN: 9781839533013
- Page count: 554
- Format: PDF
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Front Matter
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1 Introduction
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This chapter serves as an essential and fundamental introduction to understanding the crucial role of antennas in wireless devices. It lays the foundation for comprehending the subsequent chapters focused on Antenna Booster Technology. Written from a basic perspective, the chapter includes concise technical details, making it a simple yet comprehensive introduction suitable for a wide range of professionals in the wireless communications field who require knowledge of embedded antennas.
This chapter is highly recommended for non-antenna experts, from electronics engineers to business executives, marketing professionals, and sales personnel. It provides valuable insights for those seeking a better understanding of antennas' significance in wireless communication. Additionally, antenna experts can easily navigate to refresh essential concepts utilised throughout the book.
The chapter is divided as follows: the impact of small and multiband antennas on society is described (Section 1.1). Radiofrequency (RF) components, including antennas, are introduced to understand the essential elements in transmitting and receiving information in wireless devices (Section 1.2). The role of an antenna in a telecommunication system is explained to analyse its impact on a communication link (Sections 1.3 and 1.4). An introduction to simulation tools, including full electromagnetic solvers and microwave simulators, is given (Section 1.5). Section 1.6 presents measurement equipment such as vector network analysers, reverberation, and anechoic chambers. A description of typically small and multiband antenna techniques and Antenna Booster Technology is addressed in Section 1.7. Section 1.8 explains the wireless device design approach when embedding Antenna Booster Technology compared to a classic antenna route. All book chapters are introduced in Section 1.9. The conclusion part summarises the main findings (Section 1.10). Besides the contents, a list of exercises is proposed at the end of the chapter (Section 1.11), as well as references for further reading (References).
The chapter has the following objectives:
1. Know the RF components that play a role in the communication chain. Besides the antenna, other components are discussed, for instance, matching networks, inductors and capacitors, conductors, substrates, ground planes, transmission lines, tunable components, transceivers, filters, multiplexers, and amplifiers.
2. Basic antenna parameters (reflection coefficient, bandwidth, efficiency, radiation pattern, polarisation, gain) and their impact on wireless communication, such as range.
3. Limitations on bandwidth and efficiency of small antenna systems.
4. To familiarise yourself with simulation and measurement design tools.
5. Understand Antenna Booster Technology compared to other classic antenna technologies to design wireless devices.
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2 State of the art
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This chapter reviews strategies to design small and multiband antennas for wireless devices. Familiarising yourself with different techniques to design small and multiband antennas is essential.
The chapter has the following objectives:
1. Familiarise yourself with small and multiband antenna designs based on adding intelligence to the antenna geometry.
2. Understand the role of matching networks combined with antennas.
3. Understand how several antennas can be combined to enhance the frequency band of operation.
4. Learn how the ground plane plays a significant role in the radiation process.
5. Know metal rim antennas.
6. Acquaint yourself with the role of tunable radio frequency components in designing reconfigurable multiband antennas.
7. Introduction to Antenna Booster Technology.
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3 Antenna boosters: fundamentals
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This chapter introduces Antenna Booster Technology to lay the foundations for the following chapters on designing wireless devices with antenna boosters.
The chapter has the following objectives:
1. What is an antenna booster?
2. To understand the design of either single-band or multiband wireless with antenna boosters.
3. The basic design steps.
4. Why a small antenna booster can be efficient and provide bandwidth.
5. To determine the impact of the position and size of an antenna booster on bandwidth and efficiency.
6. The role of the ground plane size as well as the impact of ground clearance on bandwidth, efficiency, and radiation patterns.
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4 Antenna booster technology for single-band operation
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This chapter introduces Antenna Booster Technology for wireless devices requiring a single-band operation. The term single-band refers here to a single-frequency region, for example, a continuous frequency region [f 1, f 2]. In many situations, wireless devices require operation at a single frequency region. Some others require multiband operation, including another frequency region [f 3, f 4] spaced from the first region. The topic of designing wireless devices embedding antenna boosters for multiband operation is addressed in Chapter 5, where many concepts learnt in this chapter will be helpful. The chapter will be instructive in understanding the design of wireless devices with antenna boosters and matching networks. As discovered in Chapter 3, the matching network is a crucial player in the architecture of antenna booster technology; it maximises the transfer of power from a generator to the antenna booster system and, as a result, to free space, and vice versa. As we will learn, this design methodology drastically differs from the classic antenna design, which relies on shaping the geometry of an antenna. In fact, the design of wireless devices with antenna boosters looks more like a microwave engineering design rather than an antenna engineering one. Thanks to the non-resonant nature of antenna boosters, the design process is streamlined and efficient, allowing for both human and machine engineering approaches. This simplification significantly enhances accessibility for wireless designers, eliminating the requirement for specialised expertise in antenna design.
The chapter has the following objectives:
1. Design simple matching networks for single-band wireless devices embedding antenna boosters.
2. Know the impact of component tolerances in S 11 and total efficiency to design robust matching networks.
3. Understand how the quality factor (Q) of the components of the matching network impacts the performance.
4. How the bandwidth of a wireless device embedding antenna boosters can be enhanced with matching networks.
5. Scale the designs shown in the chapter to any frequency band.
6. Learn how a matching network can be reused across a broad set of wireless devices with ground planes of different sizes.
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5 Antenna booster technology for multiband operation
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This chapter introduces Antenna Booster Technology for wireless devices requiring a multiband operation. The term multiband refers here to frequency bands divided into at least two different frequency regions, for example, a first frequency region [f 1, f 2] and a different frequency region [f 3, f 4], with a frequency gap between both regions. For example, a first frequency region [f 1, f 2] = 698-960 MHz and a second frequency region at [f 3, f 4] = 1710-2690 MHz. This is referred to hereafter as multiband. In a similar manner as in Chapter 4, the multiband operation is achieved not by shaping the geometry of a complex antenna but by using antenna booster architectures in combination with matching circuits. Besides matching networks, other circuits, such as resonators and filters, are used for the multiband operation. The concepts and design explained throughout the chapter can be extended to frequency regions other than the ones shown here.
The chapter has the following objectives:
1. To understand the design of multiband wireless devices with antenna boosters using multiband matching networks.
2. To get familiar with the design of automatic multiband matching networks.
3. To know the impact of the ground plane on achieving multiband performance.
4. To realise that the quality factor of components of the matching network and tolerance should be considered to achieve efficient and robust designs.
5. To be aware of the frequency range of operation of lumped inductors and capacitors.
6. To be able to design multiband matching networks with distributed elements.
7. To be able to scale designs to any frequency range.
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6 Antenna booster technology for multi-radio applications
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This chapter introduces Antenna Booster Technology for multi-radio applications. Multi-radio refers to an antenna system needing operation at different radio protocols, each of which can be a single band or multiband. For example, a first radio provides operation at two frequency regions [f 1, f 2] and [f 3, f 4] as discussed in Chapter 5, a second radio provides operation at [f 5, f 6], and a third radio at [f 7, f 8]. For instance, the first radio may provide operation for cellular communications, the second for geolocalisation, and the third for short-range communication. In this example, the radiofrequency may comprise a multi-radio transceiver or three independent transceivers. One way or the other, with the knowledge we have so far, we need one antenna booster for each frequency region. The question is: can we have a single antenna booster for multi-radio operation? This question is addressed in this chapter.
The chapter has the following objectives:
1. To understand the design of multi-radio architectures for antenna boosters for two radios.
2. To scale the concept for designing architectures for any number of radios.
3. To become familiar with multiplexers for antenna boosters.
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7 Reconfigurable multiband architectures for wireless devices embedding antenna boosters
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Wireless devices, such as smart meters, trackers, and sensors, need connections at multiple frequency bands with low power consumption and thus require multiband and efficient antenna systems. At the same time, antennas should be small to easily fit in the scarce space in wireless devices. Small, multiband, and efficient operation is addressed here with antenna boosters featuring volumes less than 90 mm3 for operating at 698-960 MHz and some bands in a higher frequency range comprising 1710-2690 MHz. As studied in previous chapters, antenna boosters excite currents on the ground plane of the wireless device and do not rely on shaping complex geometric shapes to obtain multiband behaviour but on designing a multiband matching network. This approach results in a simpler, easier, and faster method than designing a new antenna for every device. Furthermore, since the multiband operation is achieved through a matching network, frequency bands can be configured and optimised with a reconfigurable matching network. Two kinds of reconfigurable multiband architectures with antenna boosters are presented. The first includes a digitally tunable capacitor (DTC) and a second one with radiofrequency switches, also called SPNT (Single Pole N-Throws). Results show that antenna boosters with reconfigurable architectures feature multiband behaviour and tiny sizes compared with other prior-art techniques.
The chapter has the following objectives:
1. Understand when reconfigurable matching networks are required instead of passive solutions.
2. Know two types of microwave devices that allow tunability: the DTC and the SPNT.
3. Design tunable architectures with DTC and SPNT with antenna boosters for achieving reconfigurable frequency bands.
4. Understand how reconfigurable antenna booster architectures can provide multi-radio performance.
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8 Wireless devices embedding antenna boosters near conductive bodies
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The integration of small, multiband antennas into wireless devices has become increasingly appealing. However, when these devices are located in proximity to conductive bodies, such as a smart meter with a metallic enclosure, their performance in terms of bandwidth and efficiency can be significantly compromised. This chapter presents a novel technique aimed at addressing this issue and achieving optimal bandwidth and efficiency values for multiband wireless devices situated near conductive bodies. By implementing this technique, wireless devices can overcome the negative effects caused by their close proximity to the conductive body, thereby ensuring competitive performance. In particular, the analysis focuses on the 824-960 MHz and 1710-2690 MHz frequency ranges for two wireless platforms with 120 mm × 60 mm and 60 mm × 60 mm ground planes, both being electrically close (less than λ/30 at 824 MHz) above a conductive flat body.
The chapter has the following objectives:
1. Know the impact of a conductive body electrically close to a wireless device on the reflection coefficient and total efficiency.
2. Mitigation techniques to minimise the impact of detuning and efficiency reduction due to the conductive body.
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9 Matching network synthesis considering pad layout
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This chapter addresses the design of multiband matching networks for antenna boosters from a practical perspective. This chapter considers the pad layout when synthesising a matching network. Pads to allocate the SMD (Surface Mounted Device) components of the matching network alter the impedance since pads are short transmission lines. Therefore, the matching network should be designed considering the pad layout to minimise changing the values of the components of the matching network when it is physically implanted in a wireless device.
The chapter has the following objective:
1. To understand and put into practice the matching network synthesis from the electromagnetic simulation domain as well as from the physical domain, including the pad layout to allocate the components of the matching network.
2. To know which components impact a particular frequency region to simplify the fine-tuning of the matching network if needed.
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10 Antenna booster technology versus other antenna technologies
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This chapter compares the performance of antenna boosters with self-resonant antennas, FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) antennas, and microstrip patch antennas. The comparison is not only made in terms of passive parameters such as total efficiency but also in terms of TRP (Total Radiated Power), TIS (Total Isotropic Sensitivity), and finally, TTFF (Time To First Fix) in the case of satellite communications.
The chapter has the following objectives:
1. To evaluate the performance in terms of total efficiency, TRP and TIS of a wireless device embedding an antenna booster and a self-resonant antenna.
2. To assess the advantages of antenna booster technology compared to a monopole antenna for single-band operation in terms of bandwidth, efficiency, and reuse across different device sizes.
3. To compare the size of an antenna booster for multiband performance with other antenna techniques.
4. To show the advantages of antenna booster technology compared to FPC antennas.
5. To demonstrate the relevance of quasi-isotropic radiation patterns of wireless devices embedding antenna boosters compared to microstrip patch antennas. In particular, what is the impact of TTFF on the reception of satellite signals?
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11 From zero to hero in antenna booster technology
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This chapter summarises the essentials of antenna booster technology.
The chapter has the following objectives:
1. Review the definition of an antenna booster and the architecture of an antenna booster system.
2. Refresh the basic steps to design a wireless device for single to multiband operation compared to a self-resonant antenna approach.
3. Revisit the role of the ground plane.
4. Consolidate the main techniques to design single, multiband, multi-radio, and reconfigurable solutions with antenna boosters.
5. Remind yourself of the effect of the pad layout for simplifying the integration of an antenna booster into a wireless device.
6. Summarise the benefits of antenna booster position, ground clearance, and ground plane length.
7. Present industrial examples of antenna booster products and wireless devices embedding antenna boosters.
8. Provide all you must know on one page.
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Back Matter
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