PCB Antennas

PCB Antennas

PCB Antennas, as the name implies, are antennas integrated on the printed circuit board. Ground plane for PCB antennas are copper patches on the reverse side of the PCB. PCB antennas can be of different types like patch antennas and planar inverted F antennas (PIFA). Though there are different possible positions for the PCB antenna on the PCB, corner of the PCB is considered to be an optimal position. Corner position permits clearance in up to five spatial directions, with the antenna feed in the sixth direction. Design may change depending on the position of the antenna needed as per other circuit requirements.

It is important to keep other components on the PCB at a distance to avoid signal interference. Even mounting screws should not be there in the vicinity of the PCB antenna. The transmission line connecting the PCB antenna to the circuit components is a printed trace on the PCB. Impedance matching of the transmission line to the output circuit is needed to avoid reflected power as in regular antennas. PCB antennas are often used in the GHz range of frequencies, though it can be used in VHF range as well.