Antenna component and methods

• US 20080088511A1
• Filed: 09/17/2007
• Published: 04/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pulse Finland Oy (Yageo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pulse Finland Oy (Yageo Corporation)
• Inventors: Annamaa, Petteri, Koskiniemi, Kimmo, Sorvala, Juha
• Granted Patent: US 8,378,892 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/700MS
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0407 Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40

Abstract

An antenna component (200) with a dielectric substrate and two radiating antenna elements. The elements are located on the upper surface of the substrate and there is a narrow slot (260) between them. The antenna feed conductor (241) is connected to the first antenna element (220), which is connected also to the ground by a short-circuit conductor (261). The second antenna element (230) is parasitic; it is galvanically connected only to the ground. The component is preferably manufactured by a semiconductor technique by growing a metal layer e.g. on a quartz substrate and removing a part of it so that the antenna elements remain. In this case the component further comprises supporting material (212) of the substrate chip. The antenna component is very small-sized because of the high dielectricity of the substrate to be used and mostly because the slot between the antenna elements is narrow. The efficiency of an antenna made by the component is high.

Claims

1-18. -18. (canceled)

19. A device for use in an antenna apparatus, the device comprising:

a dielectric substrate;

a first conductive element positioned on the upper surface of said dielectric substrate;

a second conductive element positioned on the upper surface of said dielectric substrate such that the second conductive element is separated from the first conductive element by a region; and

at least one electrical contact point disposed on each of said first and second conductive elements.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein said region comprises a width of 0.5 mm or less.

21. The device of claim 19, wherein the dielectric substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of quartz, gallium-arsenide, and silicon.

22. The device of claim 19, wherein the area of the dielectric substrate is between 2 and 3 mm², and said dielectric substrate comprises a thickness of 100 μ

m.

23. The device of claim 19, wherein at least one of the first conductive element and the second conductive element comprise gold.

24. The device of claim 19, wherein at least one of the first conductive element and the second conductive element comprise a thickness of 2 μ

m.

25. The device of claim 19, wherein the dielectric substrate is adapted to be attached to a dielectric support plate.

26. The device of claim 25, wherein the dielectric support plate comprises a thickness of 0.3 mm.

27. The device of claim 19, wherein the first conductive element and the second conductive element each comprise the shape of a right-angled triangle, wherein said region separates the hypotenuse of the first conductive element from the hypotenuse of the second conductive element.

28. The device of claim 19, wherein said region separates the first conductive element from the second conductive element by a rectangular alternating pattern.

29. The device of claim 19, wherein the first conductive element comprises an area smaller than the area of the second conductive element.

30. The device of claim 19, wherein said device is adapted to be electrically coupled to a circuit board through said at least one electrical contact point.

31. The device of claim 30, wherein said circuit board comprises a feed conductor adapted to electrically couple the circuit board with said at least one electrical contact point.

32. The device of claim 30, wherein said circuit board comprises a ground conductor, said ground conductor comprising an adjustable dimension adapted for tuning an antenna.

33. A circuit board comprising:

a strip conductor adapted to be electrically coupled to a first electrical contact point positioned on the upper surface of an antenna component;

a signal ground adapted to be electrically coupled to a second electrical contact point positioned on the upper surface of said antenna component; and

a ground conductor adapted to be electrically coupled to a third electrical contact point positioned on the upper surface of said antenna component, said ground conductor comprising at least one adjustable dimension for tuning an antenna.

34. The circuit board of claim 33, wherein said signal ground comprises said ground conductor.

35. The circuit board of claim 33, wherein said at least one adjustable dimension comprises an adjustable length.

36. The circuit board of claim 33, wherein said at least one adjustable dimension comprises an adjustable width.

37. The circuit board of claim 33 further comprising a first region for situating said antenna component, wherein one side of said first region is separated from the ground plane of the circuit board by an empty region.

38. Antenna apparatus comprising:

a device comprising a first antenna element and a second antenna element, said first element and said second element disposed on the upper surface of a dielectric substrate, wherein a region separates the first antenna element from the second antenna element;

an antenna filter electrically coupled to said first antenna element; and

a low-noise amplifier electrically coupled to said antenna filter.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein said region comprises a width of not more than 0.5 mm, and said antenna filter comprises a film bulk acoustic resonator.

40. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein said antenna filter is electrically coupled to said first antenna element by electrical wiring.

41. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein said antenna filter is electrically coupled to said first antenna element by conductors situated on the surface of said dielectric substrate.

42. A method of operating an antenna, comprising:

receiving a signal at an active antenna comprising a first conductive element; and

re-radiating at least a portion of said signal at a parasitic element, said parasitic element comprising a second conductive element, wherein the second conductive element is separated from the first conductive element by a region comprising a width of 0.5 mm or less.

43. An antenna component for implementing an antenna of a radio device, which component comprises a dielectric substrate and a first and a second antenna element on the substrate surface, which first antenna element is to be fed by a feed conductor and to be short-circuited, and which second antenna element is a parasitic element to be short-circuited, getting its feed electromagnetically over a slot between the elements, wherein the first and second antenna elements are conductive areas on upper surface of the substrate, said feed conductor connects the first antenna element from its feed point to a contact pad at a level below the substrate, short-circuit of the first antenna element is implemented by a first short-circuit conductor, which connects the first antenna element from its short-circuit point to a second contact pad at the level below the substrate, short-circuit of the second antenna element is implemented by a second short-circuit conductor, which connects the second antenna element from its short-circuit point to a third contact pad at the level below the substrate, and the width of said slot is at most 0.5 mm.