subject: What Are Embedded Antennas? [print this page] Embedded antennas are antennas that are integrated into an electronic device, usually a handheld device. When the phrase embedded antennas is used, it simply means that the antenna is mounted on the inside of the devices case so that it is not visible from the outside, giving the appearance that the unit doesn't have a antenna.
What the phrase doesn't describe is what kind of embedded antenna it is, or what technology the antenna is compatible with.
As demand for micro products has grown; so too has the demand on antenna manufacturers to create increasingly smaller antennas. Because an embedded antenna is mounted inside the unit, the antenna is then taking up valuable space and affecting the over finished size of the device, so embedded antennas have to be very small in size.
However, not so long ago before micro was considered beautiful, bigger was considered best for antennas. Antennas were made with wire and a quarterwave antenna was made with a half length of wire than a halfwave antenna. These standard lengths' of wire determined the performance and the signal strength of the antenna.
For embedded antennas, this is impossible, and manufacturers had to find new ways of achieving high gains from much smaller antennas.
Patch, ceramic and chip antennas are all new variants of the embedded antenna. There names refer to either how they look or what they are made from. What they all have in common is that they are all small with a low profile to take up the minimal amount of space, whilst giving great performance.
Embedded antennas are set up to be used for an assortment of technologies, you need to make sure that the antenna you choose is compatible with the technology that you want it to hook up with, whether it be WiFi, WiMax, GPS, Bluetooth and other wireless networks.
Embedded antennas are a cost-effective solution to integrating antennas into wireless devices because embedded antennas have had years of development spent on them. These integrated antennas are now small, robust with high gain, the perfect credentials for many hand held devices.
