Wideband antenna integrated in a system in package for WLAN/WiMAX operation in a mobile device

The integration of a wideband antenna in a system in package (AiSiP) for WLAN/WiMAX dual-network operation in the 2.4/2.5 GHz bands is presented. The AiSiP mainly comprises a wideband printed monopole antenna and a RF shielding/heat sink metal case for accommodating the associated RF modules and circuitry. The antenna is printed on both sides of the printed circuit board (PCB) of the AiSiP and integrated to the shielding/heat sink metal case through short-circuiting. When the AiSiP is mounted at the corner of the system ground plane or PCB of a mobile device, the metal case can act as a shielding metal block to reduce possible coupling between the integrated antenna and other RF components in the mobile device. In addition, it is found that the antenna impedance bandwidth is almost not affected by the use of various system ground-plane dimensions. This characteristic makes the proposed AiSiP advantageous for mobile device applications with various possible system ground-plane sizes. (C) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.