Announcing its entry into the miniature antenna market, antenna designer and supplier Centurion Wireless Technologies, a unit of Laird Technologies, has revealed a compact antenna solution for a variety of wireless handheld products. Called NanoAnt, it offers system designers a very small-sized antenna with superior performance, implementation flexibility and cost effectiveness for a wide variety of wireless applications.

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The NanoAnt antenna technology can operate from 1.575 GHz up to 6 GHz enabling GPS, Bluetooth, wireless LAN (WLAN) 802.11a/b/g, 802.11n MIMO, public safety band and other similar products. The NanoAnt antenna is designed for high-volume surface mount attachment through the use of pick-and-place processing, and does not require a ground connection. 

"The market demands that antenna design choices and board-level placements be considered early in the end-product design cycle. Our NanoAnt technology provides customers with a state-of-the-art solution for their miniaturized antenna requirements," said Steve Bowles, vice president, Antenna sales, Laird Technologies. "Through the NanoAnt's ease-of-use, companies can increase the efficiency of their manufacturing process while also lowering costs and improving antenna and system level performance."

The NanoAnt design is comprised of a metal radiating element insert molded into a high-temperature resin support structure designed with two legs. One of the legs acts as a radio frequency feed and the other is used for mechanical attachment. Various matching circuits are available from Centurion and are application dependent. It is available in two sizes, 10 mm x 3 mm x 4 mm for GPS, WLAN and public safety and 2.5 mm x 2 mm x 2 mm for Bluetooth applications. And is offered in standard tape and reel packaging for 2,000 quantities per reel. The NanoAnt is priced at $1.10 each for 10,000 pieces. 
www.lairdtech.com