Wireless applications in the 2.4-GHz band—from remote controls to Zigbee industrial controllers to Wi-Fi nodes—usually have to add a more powerful amplifier to extend their range. But now Texas Instrument Inc. has a better idea: just replace the traditional metal antenna with a resonant slot on the printed-circuit board.
Next week, TI will announce it has adopted Pinyon Technology Inc.'s Airwire slot-antenna for its radio frequency (RF) reference designs—disclosing fully characterized and schematics to its original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that TI says nearly double of the range of its RF front-end chips.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210602170
