Shu-Chuan Chen

Low-Cost, Direct-Fed Slot Antenna Built in Metal Cover of Notebook Computer for 2.4-/5.2-/5.8-GHz WLAN Operation

The slot antenna has been utilized for some recent notebook computers on the market. The FR4 substrates are usually required to print the metal patterns for coupled-feeding the 2.4 GHz (2400–2484 MHz) slot and also for contributing the 5.2 GHz (5150–5350 MHz) and 5.8 GHz (5725–5825 MHz) bands. This communication presents a simple, direct-fed slot antenna with a low profile of 7 mm to the top edge of the metal cover for 2.4-/5.2-/5.8-GHz WLAN operation. The antenna design did not require any substrate and can be implemented directly in the metal cover of a notebook computer at low cost. The design comprised two parallel-connected, 0.5-wavelength-slot portions, formed in a linear structure of length 79 mm and constant width 2 mm, and fed by a common antenna feed port using a mini-coaxial cable. The larger slot generated a 0.5-wavelength resonant mode in the 2.4-GHz band and a 1-wavelength mode for 5.2-GHz operation. The smaller slot operated in a 0.5-wavelength resonant mode, which covered the 5.8-GHz band. With a matching inductor properly set in the slot, good input impedance over the 2.4-, 5.2-, and 5.8-GHz bands can be attained.

Small embedded LTE/WWAN antenna integrated with keyboard ground plane in a laptop computer

A novel small embedded long-term evolution/wireless wide area network (LTE/WWAN) antenna integrated with the keyboard ground plane in a laptop computer is presented. The antenna is installed on a notched region (40 × 8 mm 2 ) of the keyboard ground plane at a distance of 10 mm from the laptop computer hinge. A coupled-fed loop antenna was used because of its suitability for integration with the ground plane and achieving wide operating bands. This antenna can not only be configured to have a compact configuration but also be designed to excite several resonant modes of the hinge slot between the display ground plane and the keyboard ground plane. The proposed antenna comprises a hook-shaped strip and a shorted strip, which together form a coupled-fed loop that not only has a compact size when printed on a 0.8-mm-thick FR4 substrate 40 × 8 mm 2 in size but also provides eight-band LTE/WWAN operation. The proposed antenna can cover LTE/WWAN operation in the 698–960 and 1710–2690 MHz bands. Details of the antenna structure are provided here. The proposed antenna was fabricated and tested, and measurement and simulation results are presented. The measured antenna efficiency was approximately 45–80% in the lower band and approximately 52–75% in the upper band.

LTE/WWAN monopole antenna integration with hinge slot region in the laptop computer

A small-size LTE/WWAN monopole antenna integration with hinge slot region in laptop computer applications is presented. The monopole antenna is installed in the hinge slot between metal covers and hinges. By integrating the monopole antenna with the metal covers and hinges, not only several resonant modes of monopole structure but those of the hinge slot are also excited to cover the desired eight-band LTE/WWAN operation (LTE700/GSM850/900 and GSM1800/1900/UMTS/LTE2300/2500 bands). The antenna comprises a feeding strip and a folded strip that can be arranged in the hinge slot of the laptop computer. The proposed antenna can be integrated with the surrounding metal planes (metal covers) to enhance the operating bandwidth to cover LTE/WWAN band with good radiation efficiency. The antenna has a small area of only 25 mm∗8 mm. Over the lower and upper bands, the antenna efficiencies are about 65–88% and 55–78%, respectively.

Monopole antenna integrated with keyboard ground plane in a laptop computer

A novel monopole antenna integrated with the keyboard ground plane in a laptop computer is presented. The antenna is installed on a notched region (40 mm × 8 mm). The hook-shaped monopole can be combined with the keyboard ground plane to form a coupled-fed loop path to enhance bandwidths. The proposed antenna can be designed to excite several resonant modes of the coupled-fed loop, the hinge slot between the display ground plane and the keyboard ground plane and those of the open slot placed the antenna element. The proposed antenna can cover LTE/WWAN operation in the 824–960 and 1710–2690 MHz bands with good antenna efficiency.

MIMO antenna array for wireless local area network in a laptop computer

A concept for MIMO antenna array in a laptop computer, integrated with a display ground plane, is proposed. The proposed MIMO antenna array consists of two same WLAN antennas. Both the two WLAN antennas occupy a small size of 80 mm × 2 mm and are etched on the display ground plane with a distance of 5 mm from the top edge. There is a spacing of 80 mm between the two WLAN antennas to enhance isolation between the antennas. The proposed WLAN MIMO antenna array has simulated isolation of better than 42 dB in all WLAN operation (2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz bands) in this study. Additionally, the antenna efficiencies are better than about 80 and 78%, respectively, in the 2.4 and 5.2/5.8 GHz bands for the two antennas. The proposed MIMO antenna array is characterized by its seamless integration with the display ground plane, good isolation and excellent antenna efficiency.

Small-size LTE/WWAN coupled-fed loop antenna with distributed parallel resonant circuit

A small-size LTE/WWAN coupled-fed loop antenna with a rotated U-shaped strip for laptop-computer applications is presented. The coupled-fed loop antenna formed by a feeding strip and a coupled shorting strip can support two operating bands, both of which cannot cover the desired frequency bands. By embedding a rotated U-shaped strip into the coupled-fed loop to maintain the compactness of the antenna, a distributed parallel resonant circuit (PRC) is formed to expand the bandwidths of the lower band and the higher band. The proposed antenna has a uniplanar structure and is easy to be fabricated on a thin FR4 substrate with an area of only 10 × 50 mm2.

Isolation-improved LTE MIMO antenna for laptop-computer applications

A simple technique for achieving enhanced isolation between two long-term evolution (LTE) antennas operating at the LTE700/2300/2500 band for the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) operation in the laptop computer is presented. The two antennas are mounted along the top edge of the supporting metal plate, which is generally disposed on the inner surface of the upper cover of the laptop computer. Improved isolation (simulated S21 better than -17 dB in the LTE700 band and -30 dB in the LTE2300/2500 bands) between the two antennas is easily achieved. By arranging a pair of the isolation elements at two separate null current locations of the excited surface current distribution of the LTE700-band modes of the two antennas can improve isolation in the LTE700 band. It can effectively cause weaker surface currents flowing along the top edge of the supporting metal plate. Over the lower and upper bands, the antenna efficiencies are about 46-58% and 50-68%, respectively.