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Antenna Matching Within an Enclosure Part Il: Practical
Techniques and Guidelines
By Johnny Lienau, RF Engineer
June 2012
Antenna selection and placement can be a difficult task, and the challenges of implementing
the antenne are not over once it’s placed on the board. As previously discussed in Antenna
Matching Within an Enclosure Part |: Theory and Principle, the enclosure affects the antenna
match. The process of matching an antenna can be a very complicated process. Not only is an
in-depth knowledge of RF principles and components needed, but proper technique and
understanding of the antenna properties is required. Any error introduced into the
measurement while matching the antenna will ultimately reduce the effectiveness of the
antenna and its performance, For this reason, as much care should be taken in the setup of
your measurements as the actual matching process itself.
The most important factors in antenna tuning are proper connection to the PCB, calibration and
port extension of the network analyzer, and knowledge of the antenna to ground plane
relationship. These three factors must be taken into account when attempting to tune an
antenna for an enclosure, and will be covered in this paper. Tuning an antenna is not as easy as
simply connecting it to @ network analyzer and chasing the impedance around the smith chart.
Without doing the little steps right, itis easy to introduce error into the measurement and
improperly match the antenna.
Before matching can begin, a proper connection must be established to the PCB. There are
usually two methods for connecting to the PCB to match an antenna. The first is using a U.FL
connector. This involves finding an area big enough to place the connector down and an area
that allows for good grounding. It is often difficult to find enough room near the antenna trace
for this method; additionally care must be taken to make sure you don’t introduce additional
parasitic effects. The U.FL is typically only effective for tuning if the PCB was designed with
specific component pads for placement of the U.FL. The second, more common method is to
strip a thin coaxial cable and solder it directly to the trace line. This requires less space on the
PCB and is more flexible than placing a U.FLon the board.
When soldering a coaxial cable to the PCB, the inner conductor must be soldered to the
beginning of the trace and the outer shield well soldered to ground. Occasionally, itis not
possible to solder to the beginning of a trace (see Figure 1). This will give an inaccurate
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measurement of the antenna’s impedance. The RF signal propagates down both ends of the
trace at the same time, The signal will reach the end of the stub, reflect back, and interfere at
the solder point to give false impedance readings. To eliminate this problem, the trace behind
the solder point has been cut. The RF signal will now propagate down the cable and only to the
antenna. Similarly, as shown in the third picture of Figure 1, make sure there are no extra
lengths of trace line after solder point as well. This will result in the same reflections problem.
Trace is cut. RF signal will now flow down cable and straight to the antenna.
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Figure 1: Soldering a Cable to an Antenna Feed Trace
Small PCBs can be particularly difficult for tuning because of their ground plane size. This is @
common a problem with chip antennas because they are placed on very small boards. Wit
small ground plane, the outer conductor of the coaxial cable can act as the antenna ground
This causes currents to flow on the outer conductor of the cable. As a result, the cable actually
becomes part of the antenna and radiates. An easy way to test for this is by touching the
coaxial cable, if the S11 measurement on the network analyzer shifts significantly, this indicates.
a problem. This can be rectified by making sure the cable is well connected to ground. If this
still does not solve the issue, other methods including adding @ ferrite or routing the coaxial
cable different may help.
Figure 2: Trace F Antenna
After the cable has been properly attached to the antenna feed trace, the network analyzer
needs to be calibrated. The antenna in Figures 1 and 2is a trace F. This type is designed to be
tuned without matching components. The F has been intentionally created too long, and hence
tunes too low in frequency. The advantage to doing this is that the engineer can slowly trim the
end of the antenna and increase the resonant frequency. This technique can be used to tune a
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trace antenna in its final enclosure. Table 1 below documents the trimming and tuning of the F
antenna above, The desired frequency band is 2.4 GHz. This represents the most basic form of
tuning an antenna. The dimensions are being physically altered, which is changing the
impedance of the antenna, and consequently the load seen by the transmission line delivering
the RF signal.
This trace F antenna example was designed at LS Research. The overall dimensions for the feed
width, trace width, height, and feed location were determined through simulation. The final
step of tuning by trimming the overall length can be done on a bench, but optimization of the
antenna dimensions for bandwidth and Return Loss should be done by an experienced antenna
designer.
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Without Trimming
Frequency Return Loss
2.4GHz 3.5.08
2.44 GHz -2.7 6B
2.48 GHz “2.148
After 1* Cut
Frequency Return Loss
2.4GHz -10.0 dB
2.44 GHz 7.208
2.48 GHz -5.4dB
Frequency Return Loss
2.4 GHz -16.5 dB
2.44 GHz -39.0 dB
2.48 GHz 714.9 4B
After Final Cut
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Figure 3: Trace Antenna Tuning
While the previous example relied on looking at an S11 measurement on a network analyzer,
most commonly an engineer will have to match an antenna via a discrete network of
and capacitors. Antennas that are purchased ‘off the shelf’ will require matching, the antenna
dimensions cannot be altered as with the F example above. In order to match an antenna with
components, an in depth knowledge of the Smith chart is needed to properly determine the
matching network.
ductors
When employing the use of matching components, the coaxial cable for measurement should
be soldered on before the matching network. In the F antenna example, since it was being
tuned without components, the coaxial cable had to be @ directly connected to the feed. As
shown below in Figure 4 and Figure 5, the cable is now placed before the matching network. In
addition to properly placing the cable, the port extension feature of the network analyzer is
needed. Since the Smith Chart will be used to determine the impedance of the antenna, the
reference plane for the measurement must be correctly set. Since the cable is soldered directly
to the board, you cannot calibrate to the end of it. A port extension must be applied to account
for the phase change of the additional length of cable not included in the calibration. This will
essentially move the calibration plane past the cable and to the end of the trace. If this is not
done, impedance measurements on the Smith Chart will not be correct.
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Inner conductor is soldered
to start of antenna match
Calibration plane is set to
here via port extension
Observe that the trace iS Quter shield of cable is well
cut to prevent reflections. Soldered to the PCB ground
Figure 4: View of Matching Pads and Cable Under a Microscope
With the port extension properly set, the antenna impedance must be measured so that 4
matching network can now be designed. An RF short should be used to bridge the gap in the
trace lines. However, whatever component is used to bridge the gap will inherently add some
of its own capacitance or inductance to the measurement. At frequencies under 1 GHz, a0
(Ohm jumper is may be used as a short. However, at higher frequencies, the 0 Ohm jumper
becomes inductive and will introduce error into the measurement. This is especially true for
anything above 1 GHz. The best thing to use to bridge the gap is capacitor that is resonant.
near your frequency of operation. This will eliminate most of its inductive or capacitive
qualities. For example, an 8.2pF Murata GRM 0402 capacitor is resonant at approximately 2.4
GHz. While it’s not a perfect RF short, it is much better than a 0 Ohm jumper or a glob of
solder. Both of the later alternatives will be inductive at higher frequencies. Also, the resonant
frequency of the capacitor will vary depending on the manufacturer, A 10pF Johanson 0402 L-
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Series capacitor is a good RF short at 2.4 GHz. Make sure to have a thorough understanding of
the components being used.
Without Matching With Matching
igure 5: Puck Antenna Board
Another key component that significantly affects the tuning and also radiated performance of
an antenna is the ground plane. Many antennas, particularly traces and chips, are dependent
on the shape and size of the PC B ground plane. The chip (or trace) is only half of the antenna,
the other half is the ground plane. Recalling the dipole diagram and current dis
the previous paper (Antenna Matching Within an Enclosure ~ Part 1), there is positive and
negative charge buildup on the antenna. This buildup of charge is ultimately what causes
current flow. Ina similar fashion, charge builds up on the trace antenna and on its
corresponding ground plane. There is current flow on the antenna due to this charge, but since
the ground plane is now partially responsible for the charge buildup it will also directly affects
the current distribution and ultimately the impedance and radiation of the antenna.
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Manufacturers for chip antennas commonly give recommended matching circuits, but these are
only valid if the PCB is the same size as the one the manufacturer tested with. Additionally,
testing at the manufacturer would have been done in free space, using the chip antenna within
an enclosure forces it to be re-tuned. Essentially, the recommended matching circuit is not
usable for most implementations and the antenna must be re-tuned. Additionally, the
orientation of the chip antenna with respect to the ground plane will affect tuning and
performance. The datasheet for the chip antenna will depict an orientation and keep out area.
This is should followed as closely as possible!
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The key to successfully matching an antenna is maintaining accuracy in the measurement.
Good grounding of the coaxial shield, proper solder location on the feed line, and knowledge of
your component are all very important. Small inaccuracies can easily result in an engineer
designing the wrong matching network for an antenna. This paper has covered some common
mistakes, but overall a good understanding of RF principles is the best tool for matching an
antenna
tion withou
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