TOBY-L2 and MPCI-L2 series - System Integration Manual
UBX-13004618 - R07
Advance Information
Design-in
Page 89 of 158
o
Radiation performance depends on the whole PCB and antenna system design, including product
mechanical design and usage. Antennas should be selected with optimal radiating performance in
the operating bands according to the mechanical specifications of the PCB and the whole product.
o
It is recommended to select a pair of custom antennas designed by an antennas’ manufacturer if
the required ground plane dimensions are very small (e.g. less than 6.5 cm long and 4 cm wide).
The antenna design process should begin at the start of the whole product design process
o
It is highly recommended to strictly follow the detailed and specific guidelines provided by the
antenna manufacturer regarding correct installation and deployment of the antenna system,
including PCB layout and matching circuitry
o
Further to the custom PCB and product restrictions, antennas may require tuning to obtain the
required performance for compliance with all the applicable required certification schemes. It is
recommended to consult the antenna manufacturer for the design-in guidelines for antenna
matching relative to the custom application
In both of cases, selecting external or internal antennas, these recommendations should be observed:
Select antennas providing optimal return loss (or V.S.W.R.) figure over all the operating frequencies.
Select antennas providing optimal efficiency figure over all the operating frequencies.
Select antennas providing similar efficiency for both the primary (
ANT1
) and the secondary (
ANT2
) antenna.
Select antennas providing appropriate gain figure (i.e. combined antenna directivity and efficiency figure) so
that the electromagnetic field radiation intensity do not exceed the regulatory limits specified in some
countries (e.g. by FCC in the United States, as reported in the section 4.2.2).
Select antennas capable to provide low Envelope Correlation Coefficient between the primary (
ANT1
) and
the secondary (
ANT2
) antenna: the 3D antenna radiation patterns should have lobes in different directions.
2.4.1.2
Guidelines for antenna RF interface design
Guidelines for TOBY-L2 series ANT1 / ANT2 pins RF connection design
Proper transition between
ANT1
/
ANT2
pads and the application board PCB must be provided, implementing
the following design-in guidelines for the layout of the application PCB close to the
ANT1
/
ANT2
pads:
On a multilayer board, the whole layer stack below the RF connection should be free of digital lines
Increase GND keep-out (i.e. clearance, a void area) around the
ANT1
/
ANT2
pads, on the top layer of the
application PCB, to at least 250 µm up to adjacent pads metal definition and up to 400 µm on the area
below the module, to reduce parasitic capacitance to ground, as described in the left picture in Figure 43
Add GND keep-out (i.e. clearance, a void area) on the buried metal layer below the
ANT1
/
ANT2
pads if
the top-layer to buried layer dielectric thickness is below 200 µm, to reduce parasitic capacitance to ground,
as described in the right picture in Figure 43
Min.
250 µm
Min. 400 µm
GND
ANT1
GND clearance
on very close buried layer
below ANT1 pad
GND clearance
on top layer
around ANT1 pad
Min.
250 µm
Min. 400 µm
GND
ANT2
GND clearance
on very close buried layer
below ANT2 pad
GND clearance
on top layer
around ANT2 pad
Figure 43: GND keep-out area on top layer around ANT1 / ANT2 pads and on very close buried layer below ANT1 / ANT2 pads
