Gps antenna design software

Each of these and other applications require PCB antennas that reduce the physical footprint and cost while maintaining performance.

In addition, PCB antenna designs must also respond to frequency requirements that range from the typical 2. Depending on the type of antenna and the space constraints, the type of traces used for PCB antennas include straight traces, inverted F-type traces, meandered traces, circular traces, or a curved trace that has wiggles.

The two-dimensional structure of the PCB antenna requires design software such as Altium Designer to ensure that the structure meets the specifications given by the manufacturer.

Manufacturers may offer PCB antennas as already fabricated components that include cables and connectors. With the array of available PCB antenna options, a team can add to system design or customize an antenna according to electrical and mechanical requirements.

PCB antenna designs range from basic microstrip patches to combinations of microstrip patches, striplines, and coplanar waveguide CPW transmission lines. Some designs may combine different types of transmission lines within the same PCB antenna. Choosing a PCB antenna design depends on the application. A wireless mouse does not need the same RF range and data rate that other applications may require. Sensors and devices connected to the Internet of Things require larger RF ranges and higher data rates.

Newer PCB antenna designs feature dual-band and multiple-frequency band coverage as a response to system applications that require wideband frequency ranges or multiple applications served by the same antenna. Because of the variation in RF ranges, designs that have the same power requirements often have different layouts and apply different principles for antenna design. Regardless of the application, the design of the antenna and the RF layout has the greatest impact on performance.

In addition, PCB antenna designers must follow layout guidelines for the RF traces, observe best practices in PCB stackup and grounding, provide power supply decoupling, and select the proper RF passive components.

Differences in design and product requirements establish the need for PCB antenna design software. As an example, some high-frequency applications that do not require higher gain use monopole PCB antennas that consist of a microstrip patch formed on one side of a circuit laminate separated from a larger ground plane by a dielectric.

Other applications may require higher gain at certain frequencies and use multi-layer configurations. In either instance, the wavelength of the target operating frequency has a direct relationship with the size of the patch. Every antenna must match with a signal feed that has a typical characteristic impedance of 50 ohms.

The return loss of an antenna indicates the quality of the matching by showing the quantity of incident power dB reflected by the antenna because of a mismatch. An infinite return loss shows that the antenna matches the signal feed. Perfect antenna designs radiate all energy without any reflection.

The bandwidth of an antenna measures the frequency response of the antenna. To place this in a different perspective, the bandwidth measures the ability of the antenna to match the signal feed over the entire band of interest. When considering the operation of a BLE device, the greatest losses occur at 2.

You can get all three required parameter values just by entering the Frequency for which you want to design this antenna. Here, you also get the flexibility to get the results in CM or Inches by pressing the respective button. This software also contains a detailed guide to set up antenna along with a diagram for more clarity. The main letdown of this software is that it does not let you save the results. Quagi Antenna Design is another useful antenna design and analysis software for Windows.

It is mainly used to design Quagi antennas. Quagi antennas with a metallic and non-metallic boom can also be designed through this software. Plus, it lets you calculate the wiring , elements , and boom lengths for a perfectly arranged antenna.

In this software, you just need to enter only Frequency in MHz to get all necessary parameter values to build this antenna. Some of the necessary parameters that this software provides as results are Directors length , Reflector length , Spacing between elements , etc. The default measuring unit for the resultant parameters is in CM centimeter , but you can change it to Inches by pressing the Convert To Metric button. Plus, you can obtain the right set of parameters for Metallic and non-metallic antennas by selecting the respective options.

The results of all parameters can be saved as a PDF document. Overall, it is a simple software to use, but you must know the basic understanding in order to build the antenna. It is mainly used to help you learn about Yagi-Uda antennas. You can easily get all the important parameters which are required to build this antenna.

In this software, you are first required to input the Frequency in MHz and number of elements and their diameters. If the elements are tapered, you should input the smallest and largest diameters. Here, you can also select number of elements you want in the antenna by selecting 2 elements , 3 elements , or multi-element options.

The multi-element option provides result for up to 21 elements. All the results are in Feet , you can change it to centimeters by pressing Convert To Metric button. Decimal feet to inches calculator are also available in it through which you can convert decimal feet to accurate feet and inch values. Use of this software is pretty easy but you need some expertise about antenna parameters and their design to fully understand this software.

Quad Antenna Design is one more free antenna design and analysis software for Windows. This type of antenna is quite similar to Yagi-Uda antenna but instead of using a straight element, this antenna uses a square , round, or some other shaped closed looped elements. Figure 1 - GPS antenna 3D structure. The Perfect Electric Conductor surfaces Zero thickness of the antenna are built thanks to the Split line feature of Solidworks. All dimensions are in mm. As we can see, the size of the antenna is very small which makes it a good candidate for the nature of the intended applications GPS for mobile devices.

The feed of the antenna is located beneath the board of the four split surfaces. We select its bottom surface for the port assignment. The dielectric of the board is TMM 13 and the feed coax is assigned the material Duroid Positional data, routing directions, and other navigation may be displayed using maps or other proprietary methods. Types of GPS receivers vary from the professional survey and precision receivers to the commonly available Portable Navigation Devices PNDs used inside vehicles or integrated as part of smartphones or wearables.

Sound GPS antenna design is vital because the GPS signal from the celestial constellation of satellites is not particularly strong. The antenna , therefore, plays a unique role in the final performance of a GPS enabled device. Phase center is important for GPS location as the position reported by a receiver typically refers to where the antenna captures the signal, known as the electrical phase center. GPS antennas are usually high-efficiency antennas of ohm impedance , making them compatible and well-matched with commonly available coaxial cable transmission lines.

The near hemispherical radiation pattern of these antennas means that the satellite signal can be received in any direction across the arc of the sky, from zenith to horizon.

In the US, the Federal Communications Commission FCC specifies limits of the amount of power that can be supplied to GPS antenna but within legal limits, these antennas have high gain , low directivity, and signal losses kept to an absolute minimum.

Voltage Standing Wave Ratio VSWR , the measure of the efficiency of transmission of electromagnetic energy from source to the antenna should be as low as possible but is acceptable at a ratio of or less. Positioning and orientation of the antenna should be optimized for good sky visibility at all times.

Poor visibility leads to positional drift and degradation inaccuracy of the navigational device. The mounting of these antennas is therefore of especial importance. They are most often patch antennas or quadrifilar antennas more on these further on. An optimal signal is obtained by positioning the whole device rather than the antenna alone. They are larger, higher gain, and are most often used in situations where a receiver with an internal antenna cannot pick up the signal as they can be readily mounted.

Multiplying the number of helices, as in a quad-helix antenna, where four helices are used, can increase the gain of the final antenna unit. These low profile antennas are able to be embedded in materials like plastic and ceramic as part of an external antenna or within a GPS device. This improves the sensitivity of the antenna.

An LNA shall be located close to the antenna with as little connecting feedline as possible to limit signal loss. LNAs work to amplify the radio navigation signal without altering or degrading it with amplifying any noise present.

For optimal performance, LNA gain is usually at least 15 decibels and the Noise Factor of this type of amplifier is strictly limited to less than 1 decibel. Unlike a generic amplifier, the signal to noise ratio should not be worsened by an LNA.

Active GPS antennas have additional power requirements which will be drawn from the receiving device's batteries. To save power the LNA should only be active when the antenna is in use. These simple antennas do not have an LNA or alternate means of signal amplification and therefore do not require supplementary power.

The cable length should be kept short, under 1 meter 3. Paired antenna systems are known as reradiating antennas.