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Antenna design optimization guide

How to optimize antenna design for successful IoT device development

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Antenna design considerations have been neglected for too long

Despite the far-reaching consequences of poor antenna design, antenna decisions are often neglected until the end of the development process – resulting in unnecessary compromises, delays, costs, and suboptimal siting that could have been avoided with better planning.

The antenna design process should start with consideration of the foundational requirements of the antenna. Developers can then narrow their focus based on the space available in the device, power resource, budget and performance requirements. The communication technology chosen should balance cost, power consumption, throughput and availability, and will determine the antenna type.

Quectel advocates and supports a four-stage approach – starting with consultation and evaluation, going through design and then testing and certification, before moving to the manufacturing phase. The consulting and evaluation stage covers a feasibility and architecture study, identification of potential risks and an initial proof of concept, concluding with antenna type selection. The next step is the design stage which decides placement, layout design and radiofrequency specification design. Multi-antenna design and optimization work follows, before concluding with a Gerber file review.

One way to assure smooth interaction of components is to select antennas from a vendor that can ensure antennas are integrated with modules and testing and certification services. Quectel offers solutions for the complete wireless RF front end, enabling vertical integration of antenna resources alongside complete antenna testing services and global one-stop engineering support.

The following stage is testing and certification which comprises antenna over-the-air (OTA) testing, interference mitigation and pre-OTA testing for certification. With the first three stages completed, the focus moves to manufacturing with production of an antenna sample, tooling and molding. This phase also includes assembly and production testing before moving to full-scale delivery.

Going far beyond simply selling products, then, Quectel’s antenna services extend from initial analysis, with services that include the electrical path from the antenna to the receiver and beyond, as well as mechanical and RF design support for devices with limited space. The service portfolio includes technical requirement analysis, device overview, antenna selection and integration recommendations. With precision now a priority for deployments, it’s time to pay greater attention to antenna design, beginning at the concept development phase. Learn how today by reading our free how-to guide.

Read our free how-to guide to learn more about:

Custom antenna design criteria

RF antenna simulations and OTA testing

Our end-to-end antenna services