Corner-placement antenna for GNSS designs

27 July 2022 Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT

Antenova has added a new offering to its range of miniature surface mount designed (SMD) antennas and modules for GNSS applications. The new antenna, Agosti, measures 9,0 x 5,8 x 1,7 mm and operates with exceptional efficiency in a reduced space on a corner of a PCB.

The key advantage of the Agosti antenna is its small ground plane requirement. Most SMD antennas use the surface of the PCB around the antenna as a ground plane to radiate signal from, so it is the ground plane requirement not the physical dimensions of the antenna that defines the space it needs. Antenova’s radiated measurement results show Agosti operating well on small ground planes of 40 x 20 mm, 70 x 25 mm and 80 x 30 mm, making it a good choice for small form factor designs. Agosti also offers designers some additional layout options, as it is designed to be placed on a corner of their PCB.

Agosti is designed to integrate and co-exist with other antennas within the same device. On board diagnostics (OBDs) and trackers often use 4G/LTE with A-GPS for fall-back and the Agosti antenna has been tested with Antenova’s Pharoah antenna, which also has a small ground plane requirement. The two antennas have excellent isolation and can operate in close proximity to each other in a very small device without the 4G signal interfering with sensitive GNSS signals.

Antenova’s product marketing manager, Michael Castle says,“Small SMD antennas such as Agosti are an exciting alternative to the common delicate ceramic patch antennas used in GNSS designs. This is not just because the SMD antennas are significantly smaller, it is also because they provide omni-directional performance. Patch antennas are typically 12 or 14 mm square, are heavier than SMD antennas, and need a much larger ground plane and keep-out area. They also must be placed in the centre of a circuit board and only work well when they point at the sky. Antenova’s new generation of SMD antennas overcome all these limitations and perform well regardless of position and orientation of the device.”

Agosti’s small ground plane and good isolation make it ideal for small wearable devices, trackers and OBDs which move around freely. It offers the two key advantages of being both omni-directional and small.