RF antenna embedded on PCB

Community PCB Design
1

Hello everybody!

I’d like to open a disccussion here… It’s kind of complicated I think, or at least I don’t know anybody who knows muhc about it and I couldn’t find much information around…

I was wondering if any of you know how to desing a RF antenna with tracks in the PCB… I mean, how to “draw” the tracks in order to make it work as a RF antenna for a certain wavelength/frequency…

But first of all… is it possible to do that? I guess it should be…

For example, a GPRS antenna…

What do you thnk? :?:

2

It’s quite possible and I’ve actually got one I bought somewhere for GSM. It works quite well. Designing one isn’t trivial.

Leon

3

Well it’s good to know it’s possible…

I imagine it wouldn’t be easy because of the high freq and the parasit capacitance and inductance of the board…

But as you said, Leon, it’s not inpossible… Although, I migth be flying too high…

4

I believe you want to know how to make what’s called “microstrip” antennas. Wikipedia may be able to give you a better start than I can give:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microstrip_antenna

edit: there’s a link at the bottom for a tutorial how to make them.

5

Yes, that’s kind of what I was talking about…

But I was also interested in other shapes, all microstrip antennas I saw are rectangular (patch)…

I don’t know if it’s possible but what about other shapes? like a “sinuous path” or maybe spiral…

6

SebaS:
Yes, that’s kind of what I was talking about…

But I was also interested in other shapes, all microstrip antennas I saw are rectangular (patch)…

I don’t know if it’s possible but what about other shapes? like a “sinuous path” or maybe spiral…

Its really an art and many books are written on it. I remember seeing articles that “artificial intelligence” can be used in a trial and error with simulations with each iteration until the best design won:

http://www.google.com/search?&q=microwa … tnG=Search

7

SebaS:
Yes, that’s kind of what I was talking about…

But I was also interested in other shapes, all microstrip antennas I saw are rectangular (patch)…

I don’t know if it’s possible but what about other shapes? like a “sinuous path” or maybe spiral…

Google “fractal antenna”.

-Dave Pollum