Difficulties in 5G Terminal Antenna Design
The #antenna, the English name is called #antenna, is one of the most important parts of all communication equipment. Its quality is directly related to the #communication ability and work efficiency of the terminal.
For a long time, the #antenna has been the focus and difficulty of terminal design. The arrival of #5G has pushed the difficulty of #antenna design to unimaginable heights.
First of all, #5G terminals must support multi-antenna technology to meet the requirements of ultra-high transmission rates.
The ultra-high rate of #5G (above Gbps) requires powerful multi-antenna system performance to support extremely strong data throughput. In order to achieve high rates, #5G introduces Massive MIMO (large-scale #antenna) technology, and terminal #antennas need to be supported synchronously. #5G also introduces Beamforming (beamforming), and the terminal #antenna also needs to support it.
Secondly, the #5G terminal antenna must have a reasonable layout design and be as small as possible.
#Terminal antennas are generally classified into #external antennas and #internal antennas. We have seen a lot of external antennas, which are large in size and independent of the device. The built-in antenna is compact and integrated inside the #IoT device.
Today's #IoT terminals are generally required to be small in size, and the built-in #antenna is more beautiful and more competitive in the market. Therefore, more and more terminal #manufacturers choose the built-in #antenna solution.
How easy is it to put a #5G antenna in the already small internal space of the device?
#Antennas are sensitive #components, and there are strict restrictions on where and how to place them, and they should not be randomly plugged. If the layout design is unreasonable, it may cause mutual interference with other devices and cause electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) problems.
For #5G frequency bands, there are Sub-6 GHz frequency bands (even 700MHz frequency bands) for medium and low frequencies and millimeter wave frequency bands for high frequencies. The large frequency span means that the size span of the antenna is also large. Coupled with the support of multi-standard networks, the antenna must have good tuning capabilities, which also greatly increases the difficulty of antenna design.
When designing the antenna layout, user usage scenarios and methods must also be considered. For example, #5G handheld terminals need to consider the position of the hand, 5G scooters need to consider whether the antenna will be blocked by the rider's body, and so on.
The third design difficulty lies in power consumption control.
Power consumption is the lifeblood of #IoT terminals. If the #antenna design is not optimized, it will increase the rate of #battery drain.
As a #high-performance terminal, #5G is under great pressure in terms of power consumption design. If the #antenna additionally increases the consumption of the battery, it is tantamount to making matters worse. Just imagine, if #5G terminals need to replace batteries frequently, where does the user experience start? How to deal with the ensuing cost increase?
In addition to the above points, there are many other factors that need to be considered in terminal antenna design, such as the application of new technologies and materials, the enhancement of product durability, reliability, and ease of installation, and so on.
For terminal #manufacturers, it is really beyond their capabilities to face so many challenges when developing and designing #5G terminal antennas.
Some manufacturers, because of ignoring the early design of the antenna, have found that the performance of the product is limited after the product is finalized, and the work efficiency cannot meet the design requirements. In the end, they have to spend more money, time and energy on redesigning the antenna.
There are also some terminal manufacturers, although they know the importance of antennas, they lack antenna professionals and do not have qualified antenna design and testing capabilities, so they are helpless.
Facing many challenges in #5G terminal antenna design, Shanghai Qt, a leader in the domestic #module industry, put forward its own insights and solutions.
As the world's leading provider of #IoT solutions, Qt has a complete product line covering #2G/3G/#4G/#5G, NB-IoT/LTE-M, vehicle pre-installation, Android smart and #GNSS modules.
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As a #module manufacturer, Qt has accumulated rich industry experience in the field of antenna design.
At present, Qt has successfully launched more than 250 types of #antenna products, including external antennas such as glue stick, combined type, outlet type, and magnetic suction type, as well as built-in antennas such as #PCB, #FPC, #SMD, and ceramics, covering all areas including 5G IoT applications of different technologies.
Qt Antenna Products
Qt believes that the traditional method of terminal #manufacturers selecting multiple suppliers, purchasing components, and then integrating them into one device can no longer meet the antenna design requirements of 5G terminals. The integrated design of wireless modules and antennas by a supplier who can provide application solutions at the same time will be the mainstream trend of terminal antenna design in the #5G era.
#Wireless modules and antennas are designed and purchased separately, just like when a car is upgraded, only the engine or only the frame and tires are changed. Without overall consideration, performance improvement is always limited.
The way to integrate design is to take a higher perspective and consider the overall situation. The wireless #module and the #antenna can achieve better coordination and play the best performance.
For example, the tuning ability of #5G antennas is definitely better than separate designs under the premise of integrated design.
In addition to meeting the requirements of #5G indicators, the integrated design is also conducive to reducing the overall size of #5G terminals and reducing the occupation of space. For system power consumption and thermal control, the integrated design also has obvious advantages.
The system-level integration solution also has a significant advantage, which is to reduce the difficulty of designing #5G terminals and facilitate manufacturers to launch products at a faster speed and seize the market.
#5g module + antenna integrated design scheme
Qt's "wireless module + antenna" integrated design scheme not only makes full use of its leading technical strength and experience in the field of modules, but also gives full play to the design, integration and manufacturing capabilities of fully customized antennas. #5G customers can use it out of the box, reduce their R&D investment in #5G technology, shorten the development cycle, and help products go to market quickly.
Qt has a professional #antenna team. Antenna services run through consultation and evaluation, design, testing and certification, manufacturing and other links, and can provide one-stop services.
In addition to the empowerment of design capabilities, Qt's antenna service also fully considers the guarantee of quality and the enhancement of extended service capabilities.
In order to ensure the quality of #antenna products, Qt has a complete and strict quality process and can provide complete testing systems and equipment. Qt can also provide RF design review and whole machine EMC/Desense inspection and testing to help customers solve the most common difficulties and pain points and greatly reduce the development workload.
Qt #5G Terminal Antenna Test Equipment
In terms of extended service capabilities, Qt has service outlets all over the world, which can provide localized technical support services, respond to customer needs faster, and provide all-around "escort" for customer terminals to quickly seize the market.
Qt can also comprehensively evaluate the requirements of operators, conduct pre-certification tests, and optimize OTA to save various costs for customers, accelerate the launch of terminals, and seize opportunities in the #5G market.
With the acceleration of #5G network construction, our entire society is accelerating toward digitalization and intelligence.
Massive #IoT nodes, represented by #5G terminals, are spreading in every corner of the earth. They are the nerve endings of the digital #network and the cornerstone of building a wonderful digital and intelligent world.
I believe that in the near future, with the blessing of perfect design services, there will be more excellent #5G terminal products and even explosive products, which will subvert our cognition and completely change the existing work and lifestyle.
The future has come, let us wait and see!
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