Compact chip antenna based on LTCC technology

A compact omni-directional antenna for bluetooth application is proposed in this paper. Based on the Low Temperatue Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) technology, the strip meander conductor lines with connecting vias are embedded in the multilayer microwave ceramic to achieve a compact and reliable structure,and based on which an equivalent circuit model is presented. The circuit simulation results are similar to the electromagnetic (EM) full wave simulation. This proposed structural model is validated through actual LTCC process. Measured results show good performance and agree well with the high frequency EM simulation. The broadband omni-directional chip antenna is very small with a size of only 6.0 mm×2.0 mm×1.2 mm. Compared with the conventional antenna, the compact omni-directional antenna is suitable for mobile communication modules and handsets which limit the antenna size.