A Dual-Band WLAN Antenna Design for Placement in Hinges of Convertible Notebooks

In this paper, a compact dual-band monopole antenna is proposed for WLAN uses on convertible laptop computers, which can be configured into either notebook or tablet. The antenna dimensions are 12 × 12 × 1.6 mm³ and is placed within laptop hinges, which is favorable for convertible laptops since they usually come with narrow bezels. The monopole is installed inside the hinge cap. Its resonant modes are not only provided by the monopole structure but are also affected by surrounding ground edges. Simulation and measurement results demonstrate that the proposed design can cover both IEEE 802.11b (2.4-2.48 GHz) and 802.11ac (5.15-5.35, 5.725-5.825 GHz) bands. The antenna efficiencies are around 30-40% and 40-55% for WLAN low and high bands in different laptop configurations.