Antenova signs a research partnership with Maruwa to create a
consolidated RF module with a fully integrated antenna
The innovative antenna company Antenova moves in to the realms of RF modules with a new co-operative research agreement with Maruwa, based in Japan. The partnership will speed up the design and creation of a consolidated RF module, which will have an antenna fully integrated. The module will be developed to offer multiple antennas, an increased performance with a greater efficiency, and enable the receiving device to have a longer battery life.
Under the terms of this agreement Maruwa, a market leader in ceramic technology will share their knowledge of Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic (LTCC) production processes and Antenova will design the antenna utilising its High Dielectric Antenna (HDA) technology to specified chipsets for manufacture as a complete module.
The market is driving towards greater levels of integration as devices are getting smaller and PCB real-estate is in greater demand as more and more components are added to devices. The antenna is a logical component to integrate as OEMs are looking to speed up the design cycles, make savings on Bills of Materials (BoM) as well as space while achieving increased performance. All of these will help to ensure that the product gets to market quicker, ahead of strong competition.
LTCC is a mechanism by which layers of silver or other metals are printed onto ceramic substrates to form passive components and the layers are then stacked and fired to form a very durable end product. The key advantage of this technology is that by being able to use multiple layers, lots of different components can be fitted into a very small area and then compounded to form a single device. Coupling this
technology with Antenova’s HDA antennas, which have good resistance to detuning, means that other components can be placed close to the antenna and will have minimal interference. Other benefits of HDA technology include high efficiency, small size and good isolation.
“We are very pleased about the new developments we have made in our technology enabling us to advance the company into this new exciting direction. We are extremely happy to be announcing this partnership with Maruwa, a market leader in ceramic technology. There is a great synergy between the technologies and I believe this is the start of a very profitable relationship”, says Greg McCray, CEO of Antenova.
“We have been very impressed with Antenova’s technology and continual innovation; their drive and determination to succeed. We are very delighted to be part of this, by combining our efforts to bring to market a truly leading-edge product. This product will cement our expansion into new markets and really increase our presence in the celluar and WLAN market”, says Kazunari Kawabata, Senior Managing
Director of Maruwa.