Antenna Design

Digi’s world-class engineers help you select or design an antenna to optimize functionality and cost savings, including 5G antenna design.

Antenna design is part art and part science, and requires knowledge of multiple factors. For example, a board layout can inadvertently result in RF interference and the wrong components behaving like antennas.

The antenna is the most common point of failure in a wireless design. When designed correctly, the antenna creates a high-performance wireless product that is certification ready. Our engineering team will assist in selecting or designing an antenna to optimize your design for technical functionality and cost savings.

Our suite of antenna support services includes:

• Custom antenna design
• Off-the-shelf antenna selection

Antenna designs for specific technologies

Expertise with many antenna types:

5G Antenna Technologies

Cellular antennas for 5G networks consist of two major subsets:

• 5G NR FR1 (sub 6 GHz) - While this portion of the 5G spectrum will present new challenges in system design, the antenna will largely be an evolution of existing LTE sizes and designs.
• 5G NR FR2 (mmWave) - With mmWave frequencies, designers will need to contend with more significant signal propagation and other system-level challenges. A phased-array antenna becomes necessary to achieve feasible cell size and fully utilize the potential bandwidth, throughput, user volumes, and many other aspects of 5G technology.

Digi Wireless Design Services: The Right Antenna Design for 5G

A phased-array antenna for 5G mmWave networks requires significantly more upfront knowledge on fundamental antenna design concepts, array antenna design practices, mmWave signal propagation behavior, and more. At minimum, a phased-array antenna should steer and optimize the radiation beam to maximize the peak EIRP toward the mobile receiving devices.

A well-designed phased-array antenna should also minimize array size, mitigate side lobe level, improve the beam steering angle range and resolution, suppress system noise, and improve power efficiency.

The details of mmWave phased-array antennas can be daunting, which is why it’s important to work with a trustworthy partner with a proven record of success in cellular devices.

mmWave antenna testing also presents engineering hurdles, particularly with respect to calibration and setup at these frequencies, where losses in the setup become more pronounced. Conservative estimates suggest capital equipment for this testing can require investments of more than $1 million. The Digi Wireless Design Services team offers your organization product-development engineering services that help you create the right solution for your 5G plans. We have the experience, equipment, infrastructure, and testing tools to help you design the right 5G mmWave antenna for your needs.

Contact us to get started