A new multiband antenna for WLAN/cellular applications

Design and analysis of a new multiband antenna is presented. The antenna is suitable for use in handheld or other mobile devices. This antenna has a smaller size, and can be built on a double-sided printed circuit board or stamped from thin sheet metal. The antenna can also be built as an on-board antenna to reduce the manufacturing cost. The antenna presented is a combination of an inverted-F antenna, a coupled element and a branch element. As a triband antenna, the inverted-F antenna is for the low band, while the branch element is for the middle band and the coupled element for the high band. In some applications, the middle and the high bands can be combined as one band to form a dual band antenna. No additional matching network is required in this antenna design and as a result, the antenna efficiency is high. The method of moments is used for the analysis. The simulated SWR curves and the radiation patterns are presented. The antenna is best suited for the 2.4 GHz Bluetooth/WLAN and the 5 GHz (5.15-5.85 GHz) WLAN applications or the 800/900 MHz and the 1900/1800 MHz cellular applications.