Ethertronics Inc., a provider of standard and customized embedded antenna solutions for wideband and multi-band wireless devices, introduced two new miniaturized ceramic antennas: an innovative GPS/Bluetooth version and a GPS antenna, which provides the industry’s highest levels of efficiency while minimizing ground clearance and component “keep out” areas. Designed to address the challenges associated with incorporating multiple RF-functions into mobile devices, both antennas include Ethertronics’ patented Isolated Magnetic Dipole™ (IMD) technology.
As one of the industry’s smallest ceramic antennas, Ethertronics’ miniature GPS antenna measures 8x3x1.3 mm with a volume of less than half that of competing vendors. Additionally, the high-selectivity of the antenna’s RF response eliminates the need for additional filters for removing UMTS- or AWS-band signal interference.
Measuring 12x3x1.3 mm, the dual-band, dual-feed GPS/Bluetooth combination antenna provides unparalleled performance in an extremely small package. By utilizing the high RF-isolation properties of its IMD technology, Ethertronics combined two secondary antennas into a single small package, while maintaining each separate antenna’s high performance characteristics – and in a package with a 35-percent size reduction from an earlier model.
Like Ethertronics’ other Savvi™ Line ceramic antennas, these new antennas are designed for high performance in efficiency, isolation and selectivity. Given their small size and innate ability to resist de-tuning, a single ceramic antenna can be successfully placed into PCBs of various sizes or in many different locations on the PCB without impairing reception, enabling flexibility in customer’s antenna placement decisions while still meeting time-to-market constraints.
“Given market pressures to pack many features into devices, manufacturers are faced with a challenge of making it all work without degrading performance,” said Jeff Shamblin, vice president of research and development for Ethertronics. “As a result, antenna capabilities and placement becomes more important. Since handset manufacturers and mobile operators cannot compromise performance for design aesthetics, antennas such as our new GPS and GPS/Bluetooth versions are needed for better coverage, clearer reception and longer range efficiency.”