In this article, learn about the wide range of passive and active internal and external Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) antennas available from Abracon. These high-gain solutions meet the demand from consumers for worldwide navigation and positioning capabilities in their devices.
Chip Antennas
Abracon offers SMD chip antennas that cover global GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou satellite constellations, amongst others. Chip antennas offer the ideal tradeoff between small size and performance. They are cost-effective, lightweight, miniature designs that are perfect for today’s compact IoT, wearable, and mobile devices. The quarter wavelength spec of these solutions allows them to radiate omnidirectionally, which helps with positioning and orientation.
Flexible PCB Antennas
Flexible PCB antennas are low profile solutions that offer high mounting versatility. These types are useful in applications lacking the space to mount an antenna directly to a chip that have multi-band or wide-band requirements, such as devices targeting logistics, geofencing, surveying and mapping, and remote technology monitoring functions. Adhesive-backed options come with a cable and U.FL/IPEX connectivity for easier integration.
Patch Antennas
These high-gain antennas are typically made of ceramics with metal radiating surfaces and are available with through-hole, SMD or connector mounting types. Find compact passive or active options with circular polarization to suit applications such as precision transportation, UAVs and robotics, and smart agriculture designs. Included stacked patch antennas operate across multiple bands (L1/L2/L5) to offer higher levels of navigation accuracy and position speed.
External Antennas
Optimized for high performance, external antennas most efficiently capture satellite signals thanks to improved receiver sensitivity and included high gain LNAs with filter options. Available solutions include shark-fin, puck and dome types that are ideal for applications like telematics, surveillance, autonomous driving, fleet management and asset tracking, and surveying and instrumentation. Different mounting options are available, as are weatherproof models with IP and UV ratings. Cables and connectors are included.
Chip and patch antennas require proper impedance matching to ensure precise location tracking, Utilize Abracon’s Antenna Optimization Service to maximize in-system antenna performance.
For more information about the GNSS antenna types discussed above, click through to the full article.