Targeting 3G mobile data market with small FPC antennas

Louise Davis

Antenova Ltd, manufacturer of antennas and RF antenna modules for M2M, is targeting the fast increasing 3G mobile device market with two new flexible printed circuit board antennas for 3G and MIMO.

Both antennas operate at GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900 and WCDMA2100 and will provide full coverage of the 3G bands in all world regions.

The two new FPC antennas are designed to be mounted inside a small mobile or wearable device, and are supplied with a cable and a connector so that they are very easy to integrate into a design. At just 0.15mm thick, they can be curved or folded, to fit into tight spaces. They have a ready applied adhesive with a peel-off strip making them easy to fix inside the casing of a product.

Antenova is offering these two very similar antennas in two sizes because the performance of the antennas is related to the size of the PCB where they are used.

The first antenna, named Avia, part number SRFC025, measures 71mm x 12.5mm x 0.15mm, and is suitable for use in products like smart meters, Femto/Pico base stations, tracker devices, remote monitoring, and POS terminals.

The second antenna, Armata part number SRFC011, measures just 30mm x 28.5mm x 0.15mm and is suitable for smaller applications such as OBD-II units and other in-vehicle devices.

Both antennas come in a choice of three cable lengths, with options to customise the cable length and connector type.