The SWLP.2450.10.4.A.02 patent-pending 10mm SMT ceramic patch antenna is a breakthrough antenna in terms of size and performance. The smallest 2.4GHz patch available worldwide, it is ideally suited for 2.4 GHz applications such as Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi, ISM, and ZigBee. It was developed specifically for Bluetooth LE wearable applications to work directly on ground (except for feed area) and over metal, device environments which traditional chip antennas cannot operate in. The antenna also does not need ground plane clearance around it (except for feed area). It provides omni-directional coverage similar to chip antennas on small boards. The antenna exhibits 24.8% efficiency on a 12*16mm ground plane at 2455 MHz. If utilized on a 50*50 ground plane, efficiency will improve to 40% at 2455MHz.

Typical applications are:

• Wearables
• Tablets
• Hand-held devices
• USB dongles
• Smart home applications

The SWLP.2450.10.4.A.02 can be placed in any position on the device ground plane. Like all small antennas, frequency detuning or efficiency change can occur due to surrounding components and enclosure housing. Larger ground-planes increase peak gain and efficiency. Taoglas helps customers fine-tune the antenna for optimal performance through matching, correct board layout, transmission line design, and if necessary, custom antenna tuning for a MOQ. Many module manufacturers specify peak gain limits for any antennas that are to be connected to that module. Those peak gain limits are based on free-space conditions.

In practice, the peak gain of an antenna tested in free-space can degrade by at least 1 or 2dBi when put inside a device. So ideally you should go for a slightly higher peak gain antenna than mentioned on the module specification to compensate for this effect, giving you better performance. Upon testing of any of our antennas with your device and a selection of appropriate layout, integration technique, or cable, Taoglas can make sure any of our antennas’ peak gain will be below the peak gain limits. Taoglas can then issue a specification and/or report for the selected antenna in your device that will clearly show it complying with the peak gain limits, so you can be assured you are meeting regulatory requirements for that module.

For example, a module manufacturer may state that the antenna must have less than 2dBi peak gain, but you don’t need to select an embedded antenna that has a peak gain of less than 2dBi in free-space. This will give you a less optimized solution. It is better to go for a slightly higher free-space peak gain of 3dBi or more if available. Once that antenna gets integrated into your device, performance will degrade below this 2dBi peak gain due to the effects of GND plane, surrounding components, and device housing. If you want to be absolutely sure, contact Taoglas and we will test. Choosing a Taoglas antenna with a higher peak gain than what is specified by the module manufacturer and enlisting our help will ensure you are getting the best performance possible without exceeding the peak gain limits. Contact your regional Taoglas sales office for support.