Location Specific Coverage With Wireless Platform Integrated 60-GHz Antenna Systems

• Published in: IEEE transactions on antennas and propagation 2011-07, Vol.59 (7), p.2661-2671
• Main Authors: Amadjikpe, A. L., Choudhury, D., Ponchak, G. E., Papapolymerou, J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 60-GHz; antenna integration; Antenna measurements; antenna packaging; Antenna radiation patterns; antenna systems; Antennas; Applied classical electromagnetism; Applied sciences; Arrays; Boresights; Chassis; Electromagnetic wave propagation, radiowave propagation; Electromagnetism; electron and ion optics; embedded antenna; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Gain; internal antenna; Laptop; Laptop computers; Physics; platform integrated antenna; Platforms; Portable computers; Position (location); Radiocommunications; Services and terminals of telecommunications; Substrates; switched-beam end-fire array; Switches; Systems, networks and services of telecommunications; Telecommunications; Telecommunications and information theory; Telemetry. Remote supervision. Telewarning. Remote control; Wireless communications
• ISSN: 0018-926X; 1558-2221
• DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2011.2152330

60-GHz antennas are embedded inside a laptop computer chassis to evaluate suitable integration scenarios for effective far-field range coverage. A broad-beam patch and a switched-beam directive quasi-Yagi array are designed and utilized to conduct experimental tests on a real laptop computer. An electromagnetic modeling tool is used to fine tune the antenna's specific position at different locations in the laptop lid and base. In general, it is found that the platform embedded antennas exhibit satisfactory performance when they illuminate a small area of the chassis in the boresight direction, which prevents unwanted surface waves radiated from the chassis discontinuities (edges, corners, apertures) from interfering with the antenna main beam. In practice, this is simply achievable by keeping the antenna within a wavelength (5 mm) or closer to the frontal cover surface. Improper antenna placement may lead to antenna beamwidth reduction, boresight gain decrease, boresight angle tilt, and shadow regions formation. The derived results are not solely specific to the laptop chassis problem, and can thus be used to design general purpose wireless platform integrated 60-GHz antenna systems.