Taoglas Catalogue8 | Taoglas Catalogue8 |
What can Taoglas offer you?
The Taoglas advantage
1. Materials
We are not committed to one material
technology. We use a wide variety of
materials and are constantly researching
the latest developments. We ship
antennas made from high grade
Ceramics, FR4, Metal, Fiberglass,
PTFE, Mylar and exible PCB.
2. Surface Mount Technology
Taoglas are the worldwide leaders of high
performance surface mounted antenna
solutions for M2M with unique
(patent pending) products for cellular,
GPS, WiFi and other ISM band antennas.
These products are delivered on tape and
reel and connect to our customers devices
during the standard reow process.
We are the rst in the market to provide
automotive approved SMT GPS patch
antenna products and also unique
multi-band cellular antennas that achieve
high efciency and performance off the
shelf in a small footprint.
3. Antenna Design Techniques
We select the antenna design that is right
for the individual project, application or
market; PIFA antennas, Monopoles,
Dipoles, Loop Antennas etc.
We are not limited by design methodology,
we use software and practical tried and
tested procedures to deliver the most
effective and efcient antenna.
This means we are also not limited by
antenna frequency we have the ability to
deliver all antennas for the project.
For the device itself you may need to have
multiple antenna types GPS,multi band
cellular,diversity, WiFi, Bluetooth, RFID etc.
It is best to have one antenna company
provide all the antennas because it cuts
development time by half while also
availing of bulk buying discounts.
We can design and deliver an antenna at
any frequency and we have a huge amount
of experience in being challenged to
design with small spaces and high
target specications. This means we can
provide full antenna network solutions
- base station antennas, external/remote/
mobile and embedded antennas.
4. M2M Focused
Taoglas employees have built up years
of practical international experience in
different markets, and have worked on
thousands of custom M2M devices.
Simply put, we know what designs work
and what do not. We also stay close to
M2M module developments and
TRP (Total Radiated Power)
with Sample Custom Device for TG.09
CDMA (Loop Back Service)
Band (MHz) Position Channel Frequency (MHz) TRP (dBm)
CDMA800 L 1013 824.70 21.72
M 384 826.52 22.21
H 777 848.31 22.23
Band (MHz) Position Channel Frequency (MHz) TRP (dBm)
CDMA1900 L 25 1851.25 20.35
M 600 1880.00 20.57
H 1175 1908.75 20.51
TIS (Total Isotropic Sensitivity)
with Sample Custom Device for TG.09
CDMA (Loop Back Service)
Band (MHz) Position Channel Frequency (MHz) TIS (dBm)
CDMA800 L 1013 869.70 -100.73
M 384 881.52 -101.94
H 777 893.31 -101.66
Band (MHz) Position Channel Frequency (MHz) TIS (dBm)
CDMA1900 L 25 1931.25 -105.61
M 600 1960.00 -106.36
H 1175 1988.75 -106.71
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 (MHz)
pcb 180
metal 180
upright 180
freespace
180
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-25
600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 (MHz)
TG.09 Return Loss - TG.09 tested with Agilent 8753ES
Radiation efficiency - TG.09 180 degree
straight
bend
Taoglas Guidelines
For achieving highest RF performance and passing
select regulatory approvals for cellular devices
with internal antennas.
1. Just Ask
Please consult with Taoglas BEFORE you begin your
product design to;
• Dene RF Performance Targets
• Antenna options
• Layout guidelines
Why? We have found people who try to do these
themselves FAIL
Before selecting the antenna or antenna
design and dening the mechanical
specications for a wireless product
the product designer must understand
clearly the RF performance targets
the product must reach in order to;
• achieve good RF performance
in the eld to ensure market
success and
• pass all regulatory and
operator approvals.
2. Performance
The Basic concepts – TRP, TIS and RSE
For cellular applications such as GSM or CDMA basic RF
performance is measured in terms of the product being able
to transmit and receive reliably on a network. The scientic
way to measure performance is in an anechoic chamber.
The measurements numbers used are outlined here;
• TRP – Total Radiated Power
This denes how much power is being radiated from the
device and is measured in dBm. The higher this number,
the better the device is able to transmit.
• TIS – Total Isotropic Sensitivity
This denes how low a signal the device can receive and
demodulate. The lower this number (with a minus gure)
the better the device can operate in weak
signal environments.
• RSE – Radiated Spurious emissions.
In practice this is the most difcult test for cellular products
to pass from Taoglas’ experience. These are radio waves
output by the device which are above the power limit set
by regulatory authorities to avoid interference.
When a test conrms a radiated spurious
emission over the limit either the device
or the antenna must be modied to
get it below the limit and thus pass
certication. Otherwise the device
cannot be sold in that country.
Different operators, especially in the
USA (such as AT&T, Sprint etc) have
specic numbers for TRP and TIS that
the device must reach to be accepted
on their networks. Other operators do
not specically set any requirements.
No matter if it is mandatory or not, it is our experience
that the wireless products with the best TRP and TIS values
succeed in the market. Passing RSE is mandatory for any
operator whom requires PTCRB or type approvals.
Wireless products are regulated in each country by slightly
different standards. Taoglas in co-operation with certied
test labs can advise on the exact regulations a product
must conform to and provide a test plan.
Below are targets to reach for passing most but not all
operator TRP/TIS approvals. Some operators have specic
targets for certain products or applications so you need to
conrm individually. In any case these are the numbers any
designer should target for their device.
If your operator does not have a stated standard,
or their standard is not mandatory it is advisable to
aim for these, or higher, numbers in order to
accomplish the best industry standard.
Your product can in many cases still function normally
below these values, there is no industry set cut-off for
operation. It will depend on the actual application
environment and your own conditions for what is
acceptable in terms of reliability and the outcome
of your own product eld tests.
How are these TRP and TIS
numbers calculated?
TRP
For TRP we have to work backwards from the maximum
power allowed from a RF module. For most cellular
modules this is capped by the FCC at 33dBm for GSM
850 and 30dBm for GSM 1900.
Let’s take a specic example. Usually the module
will be set at a slightly lower power rating than
maximum allowed. This would mean at GSM 850 with
a power level of 32dBm this leaves us 6dB of loss in the
device to still pass the 26dBm target. This sounds like
plenty of margin but there are a lot of losses in
the system.
As the RF signal passes down a cable or a transmission
line on the device board it easily loses 4dB or more.
4dB loss is more than half the loss of the original
power coming from the module.
• When the signal reaches the antenna and is
radiated out into the air it will also inevitably
lose more.
• So 32dBm - 4dB = 28dBm, meaning we need to
reduce the loss from the antenna side to -2dB
or less.
• This -2dB loss is equivalent to saying the antenna
has an average gain of -2dB.
• Therefore we need to design an antenna that has
better than average gain of -2dB for the device
to reach the TRP performance required.
TIS
For TIS a similar calculation can be done. For example
knowing that a network operator for GSM 850 has set
a signal strength of greater than -99dBm, we can work
backwards to what losses are allowed in the device for
the device to still operate on the network.
The majority of cellular module sensitivity is around
-109dBM, therefore the device can sustain another 10dB
in loss on the antenna and transmission lines/cable and
still reach the operator requirements.
• This means in theory again we can budget for
-4dB loss for example in the transmission line
(could be less or more).
• It leaves us -6dB in loss for the antenna.
• This is equivalent to the antenna average gain
of -6dB which is usually possible for the antenna
designer to do.
However, in real life TIS is most affected by noise on
the board. In many cases this noise will totally overpower
the underlying GSM signal. This noise must either be
removed from the system, or the antenna placed far
enough away from it not to pick it up. Of course either
way is very difcult to achieve when the design
is complete.
What can Taoglas do to help?
Designing an optimized RF device depends on many
parameters, both electrical and mechanical.
Fortunately Taoglas can utilize our experienced
engineers, unparalleled range of antennas and real
industry experience to come out with a solid reliable
process to enable a customer’s product to succeed.
Targets to reach for passing TRP/TIS approval
Maximum
Conducted
Power TRP
Maximum
Conducted
Sensitivity TIS
GSM 850 33 26 -109 -99
GSM 900 33 27 -109 -100
GSM 1800 30 24 -109 -101
GSM 1900 30 24.5 -109 -101.5
UMTS/HSPA/
HSPA+/WCDMA
850
24 17 -109 -100
UMTS/HSPA/
HSPA+/WCDMA
1700
24 18.5 -109 -101
UMTS/HSPA/
HSPA+/WCDMA
1900
24 18.5 -109 -102
UMTS/HSPA/
HSPA+/WCDMA
2100
24 18.5 -109 -103
Note: All figures in dBm