This is Aurora Andújar and I have been working with Virtual Antenna™ technology for the last 12 years. I would like to help you as much as possible with the antenna integration inside your MangOH Yellow based project. My first recommendation is starting your design with the antenna. If you start by embedding the antenna you can easily optimize the antenna performance to achieve the best possible efficiency. Selecting the right placing of the antenna on the board and also the surrounding components will help in optimizing the coverage of your IoT device.
I am here to start whenever you feel like. Please post your questions here!
Is there a comparison list of all the different antennas somewhere? I’ve clicked through all of the PDFs and i still don’t understand why I’d use (for example) a RUN mXTEND versus a BAR mXTEND when they both cover the same frequency.
Does the DUO mXTEND actually cover frequencies up to 5Ghz? The user manual states that it is “specifically designed for providing worldwide Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Bluetooth (BT) performance.” There are no application notes for anything such as WiFi or 3G/4G/5G.
Are there CAD files for the footprints anywhere? I can only find footprints online for the TRIO mXTEND.
Thank you very much for your inquiries. See the answers to your questions below:
The RUN mXTEND and the BAR mXTEND offer very similar electromagnetic performance. The main difference between them just relies in their form factor. The RUN mXTEND is 12 mm x 3 mm x 2.4 mm, whereas the BAR mXTEND is 10 mm x 3.2 mm x 3.2 mm.
So you are developing a new IoT device based on mangOH Yellow and you want to make sure you gest as much performance as you can from its embedded cellular connectivity chip antenna , right? Here there are some tips that can help boosting your signal in a very significant way (e.g. +10dB in the low frequencies):
Chose the optimum antenna placement:
Place the antenna and the feeding line, i.e. the line connecting the antenna with the RF module, as close as possible to a corner of your PCB.
Enlarge the clearance area:
Enlarge the clearance area, particularly the distance of your chip antenna to the edge of the ground layer. Much better results are obtained if the clearance area is free from any electronic components, conductive traces, and ground plane in any PCB layers. For instance, a significant improvement can be obtained if the clearance area is 12 mm x 38 mm or larger.
Layout for the matching network components:
Place pads for the matching network compatible with high Q 0402/0603 SMD components, as close as possible to the antenna feed point. Arrange components over the ground plane area, not in the clearance area. This provides a degree of freedom to tune the antenna once the design is finished and all the elements of the system (batteries, displays, covers, etc.) are in place.
Optimize PCB inner layers:
Avoid any ground plane or trace layer underneath or over the pads area. Place them at a distance larger than 1 mm with respect to pads.
… and in general, remember to start your wireless design by embedding your antenna first! That will make your design experience and certification process much smoother and easier.
Happy to help in your designs if you need so. Also, remember you can always consider using the following online tool to optimize your design: