Unictron has developed a new type of ceramic patch antenna that is made using a hollow structure, transforming a two-layer ceramic antenna into a single, monolithic, compact antenna. This design grants Unictron multiple international patents. The new Castle Series of patch antenna designs can be used for multiple frequency bands which is practically impossible with conventional single-layer ceramic patch antennas. These antennas provide better signal quality compared to traditional double-stacked antennas, and are more cost competitive.
The traditional bandwidth of ceramic patch antennas is relatively narrow. To achieve the broader bandwidth, a two-layer stacked antenna is often used. However, this is more expensive and weighs more which can be an issue for some applications.
Common tracking and navigation systems such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou or QZSS only use L1 band signals, and the precision of positioning accuracy is only about 5-10 meters. However, many lower frequency bands such as L2, L5, and L6 are becoming available for commercial use. Using multi-frequency (ex. L1+L2 / L1+L5) GNSS solutions can eliminate errors by tracking multiple signals, reduce the effect of multipath and interference, and achieve high accuracy.
Unictron’s Multi-frequency Integrated Antenna
Besides sharing similarities with the medieval castle architecture, solid structure, simple and neat appearance, the flat single-layer integrated design can receive multi-frequency signals. Unictron’s Castle antenna is particularly suitable for carrying RTK high application of precision positioning technology.
The biggest advantage of Unictron’s Castle antenna is that it has better reception performance than traditional stack antennas, with the antenna dimension being the same. Furthermore, it can effectively help customers reduce the cost with the material advantage of a single ceramic block. The smallest antenna size with excellent performance is as small as 18 x 18mm, plus the integrated manufacturing process itself provides excellent reliability and avoids stacking assembly and process errors.
In addition, the weight of Castle can be reduced by up to 40% compared with traditional Stack antennas. It is most suitable for the portable-product market. The simple and flat antenna design is also ideal for embedded products. It can also carry out miniature customized planning and production at the same time for various consumer positioning modules.
High performance, High reliability, Low cost, Miniature volume, Multiple sizes
Besides passive ceramic patch antennas, Unictron also provides active antennas with active circuitry inside, such as an LNA, SAW filter, and other active components. The antenna module can help reduce development time for customers and quickly enter the market.
The high-precision positioning Castle antenna is suitable for use in crowded cities, narrow roadways or valleys, where the traditional ceramic patch may have difficulties locating its position. The Castle ceramic path is also perfectly suitable for applications such as drone monitoring, ship management, geographic map data collection camera and various building mobile positioning systems.
Unictron will continue to develop and launch new positioning antenna series, maximizing their R&D strength and customer needs as the most fundamental rules. They will continue to bring customers full of pleasant technical breakthrough surprises in the future.
Click here to learn more about Unictron's Castle Series of antennas.
