Thank you for great resources. I found it is not only tricky to design and implement any antenna (I just copy/paste from the reference design), but as well one needs some HAM equipment to validate the result (SWR ration, transmition spectrum, harmonics, ...)
I can't add anything significantly valuable with my comment, but I will mention my surprise that technology didn't start rocketing along once the Arduino platform was available and we had a couple generations of people that grew up submerged in digital technology. *The education system wasn't adapted to promote their interests and inspire them to learn the technology at the scientific level.* They were conditioned by the system to desire it. Fortunately, there is progress coming from unique sources of development such as hobbyists in Arduino and similar platforms as well as actual scientists and engineers from humble beginnings pursuing original designs to pursue commercially. I'm ultimately an eccentric and virtuoso shred and sweep style guitarist that oddly, is even more driven scientifically than I am in already having reached a masterful skill level and artistry. I outpaced my scientific progress simply because the instrument and music composition is significantly easier! *Anyway, I understand everything discussed in the video and will ultimately shift my focus from analog circuit development to adequately and evenly covering digital this year.* Oddly enough, I invented an analog development board focused on Op-Amps equivalent to what Arduino is for about 13 years ago. My goal is to eventually produce that board commercially so anyone can design analog circuits, especially audio and music instrument oriented that revolves around op amps. *Secondary will be transistors and FET/MOSFET's simply because op-amps cover a much broader range of technologies when designing machines around active components.*
Thank you sir! I've made my first couple boards because of your tutorials and they work! You're awesome so thanks for sharing all of this knowledge for free.
Thank you for your fantastic videos Phil. By far the best educational channel re PCB/circuit design on youtube. Also, looking forward to a video on designing PCB trace antennas for sub-GHz trancievers! please design a loop antenna for us!
*Summary* **General:** * *(**0:00**)* Chip antennas are small, self-contained antennas suitable for applications where space is limited. * *(**0:00**)* They offer flexibility in terms of frequency, gain, and bandwidth options. * *(**0:00**)* However, they are sensitive to placement, routing, and surrounding components, requiring careful PCB design and tuning. *Chip Antenna Selection:* * *(**4:43**)* Always consider pre-certified modules first for commercial products, as they simplify the certification process. * *(**5:58**)* Choose chip antennas based on your application's frequency (e.g., 2.4 GHz for Bluetooth), mounting type (e.g., center mount), size, gain, and impedance. * *(**7:53**)* Distributor websites and manufacturer datasheets provide crucial information for antenna selection. *Matching Network:* * *(**12:33**)* Impedance matching between the RF transceiver and the antenna is essential for optimal power transfer and RF performance. * *(**12:33**)* Matching networks typically consist of capacitors and inductors. * *(**18:44**)* While datasheets provide recommended values, tuning on the final PCB design is usually necessary. *PCB Design:* * *(**22:31**)* Always refer to the chip antenna manufacturer's datasheet for PCB layout recommendations. * *(**24:54**)* Keep trace lengths and component sizes small relative to the operating wavelength to minimize impedance control issues. * *(**29:24**)* Avoid ground planes directly underneath the chip antenna, as this can affect its performance. * *(**31:29**)* Use stitching vias around ground polygons near the antenna feed point to ensure a good ground connection. i used gemini 1.5 pro to summarize the transcript
Thank you for your videos - you always seem to make one on just the topic I'm trying to figure out. You've made a few on antenna design and matching but have you considered making one on the later stage of testing and tuning a matching network- perhaps using an inexpensive VNA?
@@PhilsLab I would love that. Just as an idea, it might be interesting to combine two antennas (gnss+wifi?) on the board to also show off good isolation techniques, even more so on a 4-layer board where there are additional considerations...
It´s good practice to place the pads of the matching network inside the trace. Otherwise you have open stups when you don´t assemble some components. For example if you do not place the capacitor next to your antenna it doesn´t care, because you basically have the trace to the antenna and no open stub.
Nice video, but it's missing the important part of network matching. I have seen videos explaining how to it with coax and connector type antennas. How to do that for a chip antenna that is mounted on a PCB?
Great content, Phil. I'm always following you directly from Brazil. My friend, I have a question. I always see you indicate the SIGNAL POWER + GND + GND + SIGNAL POWER topology for a 4-layer printed circuit board. My question is the following. Why is a ground plane added to the top layer or the bottom layer on some boards?
Thank you! Zach Peterson has a good article and video that explores some benefits/detriments to flooding with copper. resources.altium.com/p/copper-pour-and-stitching-do-you-need-them-pcb-layout (Video at end of article)
Short of "make several different boards and measure to compare", is there good advice on the feedline tradeoffs? It looks like almost everything "East" of the smaller square chip is just for the antenna (and branding/docs), and you could use a much smaller PCB ... but then maybe the first two (capacitors?) of the matching network are in less of a differential pair alignment, and maybe there is more noise to/from other components ... is that much space effectively just a requirement?
Another excellent video. What is your process for tuning the matching network? I went through the process of trying to tune a somewhat similar design with an el cheapo vector network analyser and ultimately still had to iterate through nearby values. Ultimately got an acceptable result but didn't feel efficient. Thanks.
Thanks! To be honest, my process is similar. Check with NanoVNA, adjust using Smith chart and calculations, and repeat. I'll be making a video on this at some point!
How can I get in touch with you, am having some trouble with the PCB i want to design. A flight controller with some new add ins i can figure how to integrate
Am not a UA-camr. This project is what I want to do on my own free time. Maybe in the future it will be out in market for personal use. Hopefully we can work together
Are you interested in creating a new course? including pcie, ddr4,sata, lvds design, both hardware and software. Based on an zynq ulscascale + for example 😊
First year EE, you make such an incredible impact in making more advanced concepts so accessible and practical, and makes me so excited to take on bigger and bigger projects outside of class. Thank you!
Thank for this detailed guide. But what will be the minimal tuning process for this antena once you receive a board? And what minimal set of equipment is necessary to tune it? For example, will nanoVNA be enough?
Lions don't bother with matching networks anymore. To reduce the cost & size of hobby projects not intended for maximum specs, you just need an inductor & an RF choke.
I've been waiting for years for a video like this, thankyou! One question: if the ceramic antenna doesn't work (in my case I'm getting brownouts on my custom ESP32 board when starting wifi) how would you debug what is wrong? The world of RF is very foreign to me and it's hard to find resources that clearly explain what is happening
@@TheDutchGuyOnYT I'm a few months late but thankyou so much for this comment 🙏. You've helped me realise that my LDO was rated to 200 mA but the ESP32 PICO-D4 I used has a recommended operating current of 500mA
A helpful tip for newer folks: If you're feeding your antenna with a coplanar waveguide, pull back the solder mask from the ground copper directly adjacent to the feed line. It allows you to solder shunt passive components at any point along the line, which can help you swing the impedance around the Smith chart as you'd like. It's also helpful to know that, though chip antennas are usually "suspended" (NOT over a ground plane,) chip antennas use the adjacent ground plane of your PCB to radiate. Therefore, you DO (probably) need a ground plane if you use a chip antenna, except for the region with no ground. Efficiency ratings and gain for antennae are often determined by testing the antenna on a PCB with a massive ground plane. If your board is small, this can affect the radiation pattern and efficiency, and your performance won't match the datasheet specs. Awesome video as always.
You probably don't know it... But you are making me great. You are making Africa great, through me and many more. thank you Phill.
Many thanks, that's very cool!
Thank you for great resources. I found it is not only tricky to design and implement any antenna (I just copy/paste from the reference design), but as well one needs some HAM equipment to validate the result (SWR ration, transmition spectrum, harmonics, ...)
Would be nice to see an example with them
Very good video as usual, Id be interested to see a follow up video on the tuning process
Thank you, Steve - that's to come!
I can't add anything significantly valuable with my comment, but I will mention my surprise that technology didn't start rocketing along once the Arduino platform was available and we had a couple generations of people that grew up submerged in digital technology.
*The education system wasn't adapted to promote their interests and inspire them to learn the technology at the scientific level.*
They were conditioned by the system to desire it.
Fortunately, there is progress coming from unique sources of development such as hobbyists in Arduino and similar platforms as well as actual scientists and engineers from humble beginnings pursuing original designs to pursue commercially.
I'm ultimately an eccentric and virtuoso shred and sweep style guitarist that oddly, is even more driven scientifically than I am in already having reached a masterful skill level and artistry.
I outpaced my scientific progress simply because the instrument and music composition is significantly easier!
*Anyway, I understand everything discussed in the video and will ultimately shift my focus from analog circuit development to adequately and evenly covering digital this year.* Oddly enough, I invented an analog development board focused on Op-Amps equivalent to what Arduino is for about 13 years ago.
My goal is to eventually produce that board commercially so anyone can design analog circuits, especially audio and music instrument oriented that revolves around op amps.
*Secondary will be transistors and FET/MOSFET's simply because op-amps cover a much broader range of technologies when designing machines around active components.*
Thanks for this wonderful content. Your videos are always a great motivation to my work!
Thank you very much - I'm very glad to hear that!
Thank you sir! I've made my first couple boards because of your tutorials and they work! You're awesome so thanks for sharing all of this knowledge for free.
That's awesome - congratulations on your first designs!
Thank you Phil! This is great info for my GPS tracking system!
Thank you for your fantastic videos Phil. By far the best educational channel re PCB/circuit design on youtube. Also, looking forward to a video on designing PCB trace antennas for sub-GHz trancievers! please design a loop antenna for us!
Thank you. Love your PCB design series :) keep up the awesome work.
Thank you - much more to come! :)
Another excellent video! Thank you for representing good engineering practice.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you this is exactly what I needed right now
Glad to hear that, thank you!
*Summary*
**General:**
* *(**0:00**)* Chip antennas are small, self-contained antennas suitable for applications where space is limited.
* *(**0:00**)* They offer flexibility in terms of frequency, gain, and bandwidth options.
* *(**0:00**)* However, they are sensitive to placement, routing, and surrounding components, requiring careful PCB design and tuning.
*Chip Antenna Selection:*
* *(**4:43**)* Always consider pre-certified modules first for commercial products, as they simplify the certification process.
* *(**5:58**)* Choose chip antennas based on your application's frequency (e.g., 2.4 GHz for Bluetooth), mounting type (e.g., center mount), size, gain, and impedance.
* *(**7:53**)* Distributor websites and manufacturer datasheets provide crucial information for antenna selection.
*Matching Network:*
* *(**12:33**)* Impedance matching between the RF transceiver and the antenna is essential for optimal power transfer and RF performance.
* *(**12:33**)* Matching networks typically consist of capacitors and inductors.
* *(**18:44**)* While datasheets provide recommended values, tuning on the final PCB design is usually necessary.
*PCB Design:*
* *(**22:31**)* Always refer to the chip antenna manufacturer's datasheet for PCB layout recommendations.
* *(**24:54**)* Keep trace lengths and component sizes small relative to the operating wavelength to minimize impedance control issues.
* *(**29:24**)* Avoid ground planes directly underneath the chip antenna, as this can affect its performance.
* *(**31:29**)* Use stitching vias around ground polygons near the antenna feed point to ensure a good ground connection.
i used gemini 1.5 pro to summarize the transcript
I'm blessed to have you as a guide for PCB designs. Love your videos😍
Thank you so much!
Thanks, but You didn't mention the most important part - process of matching.
Thank you for your videos - you always seem to make one on just the topic I'm trying to figure out. You've made a few on antenna design and matching but have you considered making one on the later stage of testing and tuning a matching network- perhaps using an inexpensive VNA?
Thanks! Yep, that's planned for an upcoming video with a NanoVNA.
@@PhilsLab I would love that. Just as an idea, it might be interesting to combine two antennas (gnss+wifi?) on the board to also show off good isolation techniques, even more so on a 4-layer board where there are additional considerations...
It´s good practice to place the pads of the matching network inside the trace. Otherwise you have open stups when you don´t assemble some components. For example if you do not place the capacitor next to your antenna it doesn´t care, because you basically have the trace to the antenna and no open stub.
Is it advisable to use teardrops if the trace and pads don’t really match by width?
Hi, Phil
Thank you for always making great educational videos,
I found that some of your videos are gone, such as video #11
Where can i find them?
Nice video, but it's missing the important part of network matching.
I have seen videos explaining how to it with coax and connector type antennas. How to do that for a chip antenna that is mounted on a PCB?
Great content, Phil. I'm always following you directly from Brazil. My friend, I have a question.
I always see you indicate the SIGNAL POWER + GND + GND + SIGNAL POWER topology for a 4-layer printed circuit board.
My question is the following. Why is a ground plane added to the top layer or the bottom layer on some boards?
Thank you! Zach Peterson has a good article and video that explores some benefits/detriments to flooding with copper. resources.altium.com/p/copper-pour-and-stitching-do-you-need-them-pcb-layout (Video at end of article)
@@PhilsLab Thanks!
Short of "make several different boards and measure to compare", is there good advice on the feedline tradeoffs? It looks like almost everything "East" of the smaller square chip is just for the antenna (and branding/docs), and you could use a much smaller PCB ... but then maybe the first two
(capacitors?) of the matching network are in less of a differential pair alignment, and maybe there is more noise to/from other components ... is that much space effectively just a requirement?
Perfect timing!
Glad to hear that - thanks, Erik!
Have you considered doing a gps/gnss module with your own micro strip antenna?
Would have been great if you showed some actual measurement data for this layout.
Will do in an upcoming video!
I'm new to this EDA design. Where can I download the antenna footprint to add in the circuit design?
i am facing issue when i zoom the footprint in pcb the pin number goes smaller to smaller, Kindly guide me
Another excellent video. What is your process for tuning the matching network? I went through the process of trying to tune a somewhat similar design with an el cheapo vector network analyser and ultimately still had to iterate through nearby values. Ultimately got an acceptable result but didn't feel efficient. Thanks.
Thanks! To be honest, my process is similar. Check with NanoVNA, adjust using Smith chart and calculations, and repeat. I'll be making a video on this at some point!
Where can l find the full tutorial for this PCB project
Not out yet!
Does it work?
Sure does - one of the next videos will be on writing a driver for the CC2500 and showing the data link functionality.
How can I get in touch with you, am having some trouble with the PCB i want to design. A flight controller with some new add ins i can figure how to integrate
Am not a UA-camr. This project is what I want to do on my own free time. Maybe in the future it will be out in market for personal use. Hopefully we can work together
I'm afraid I'm fully-booked with work at the moment - sorry! Hope all goes well with your design.
@@PhilsLab can answer some questions of me it will help
Are you interested in creating a new course? including pcie, ddr4,sata, lvds design, both hardware and software.
Based on an zynq ulscascale + for example 😊
At some point definitely, but currently a different course is in the works!
@@PhilsLab Oh great! An announcement is coming soon I hope, I am curious to know the subject of the course.
please, file project
👍🙏❤️
Hey Phil, surprised to see you're not on Odysee yet like EEVBLOG
Will you switch to Zephyr on STM32 or will you continue using STMCube and STM32 HAL?
I'll be using Zephyr for some Nordic nRF projects, but will not be moving away from Cube/HAL for ST stuff.
First year EE, you make such an incredible impact in making more advanced concepts so accessible and practical, and makes me so excited to take on bigger and bigger projects outside of class. Thank you!
Very cool, thank you! Good luck with your studies :)
Thank for this detailed guide.
But what will be the minimal tuning process for this antena once you receive a board?
And what minimal set of equipment is necessary to tune it? For example, will nanoVNA be enough?
Yep, I'll show this in an upcoming video with a NanoVNA.
Lions don't bother with matching networks anymore. To reduce the cost & size of hobby projects not intended for maximum specs, you just need an inductor & an RF choke.
I've been waiting for years for a video like this, thankyou!
One question: if the ceramic antenna doesn't work (in my case I'm getting brownouts on my custom ESP32 board when starting wifi) how would you debug what is wrong? The world of RF is very foreign to me and it's hard to find resources that clearly explain what is happening
Do you use capacitors on the 3.3V input of the esp32? Is the power module capable of delivering the necessary current?
@@TheDutchGuyOnYT I'm a few months late but thankyou so much for this comment 🙏. You've helped me realise that my LDO was rated to 200 mA but the ESP32 PICO-D4 I used has a recommended operating current of 500mA
A helpful tip for newer folks: If you're feeding your antenna with a coplanar waveguide, pull back the solder mask from the ground copper directly adjacent to the feed line. It allows you to solder shunt passive components at any point along the line, which can help you swing the impedance around the Smith chart as you'd like.
It's also helpful to know that, though chip antennas are usually "suspended" (NOT over a ground plane,) chip antennas use the adjacent ground plane of your PCB to radiate. Therefore, you DO (probably) need a ground plane if you use a chip antenna, except for the region with no ground.
Efficiency ratings and gain for antennae are often determined by testing the antenna on a PCB with a massive ground plane. If your board is small, this can affect the radiation pattern and efficiency, and your performance won't match the datasheet specs.
Awesome video as always.
Great points and tips, Mark - thank you!
Can you point me to your Quadcopter series please ? Great vid !....cheers.
I've only featured the board on a couple driver/PCB vids - the actual quadcopter-based vids are still to come, sorry!
@@PhilsLab That's why I can't find 'em Lol ! I can't wait cos I wanna build a little Whoop of my own !
Thanks for another enjoyable and informative piece of knowledge. Hope you and the comm are having a nice day. Keep making stuff and kick ass ;)
Thank you
Another excellent video, thanks for your work.
Thanks for watching!