An elliptical patch antenna design for real time location systems

Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is being extensively used for indoor localization problems because of its ability to provide high accuracy, high data rate and low transceiver power for short range communications. There are several integrated circuits developed to apply this technology. However, the range for localization provided by these modules has always been a concern. Therefore, utilizing an efficient antenna design for such modules is significant, as it can increase the range of the localization supported by the modules. This paper presents a cost-efficient antenna design that can be used by UWB systems for localization problems. The antenna is designed to operate in the frequency range 3.7-4.2 GHz to support the communication link used by the TREK100 UWB localization module. The proposed antenna achieves reasonably high realized gain of 5–7 dBi in the desired frequency band, thereby extending the range of the localization system from 75 meters to 250 meters.