Electrically small PCB stack hemispherical helix antenna with air core

Abstract

One benefit of electrically small antennas is the reduction in volume occupied by the antenna in a design. In order to further maximize the total volume afforded to the antenna, this paper investigates the impact of two different antenna core compositions that allow for circuit components to be placed within the antenna structure. An electrically small, hemispherical helix antenna realized through a stack of printed circuit boards has been evaluated with two different core configurations: an air core and a composite metal core. The composite metal core consists of both air and copper in order to achieve an integral Faraday cage, which is used to isolate the antenna from the components within the antenna structure.