Designing embedded antennas

Antenna design has bewildered engineers, of most disciplines, since the dawn of wireless technology. To create a simple device with just the right geometry, material and connection has in itself proven an insurmountable task for those without the required training and background. An antenna must act as a transducer allowing an electrical current to transform from conducted energy on a metal conductor to radiated energy that travels freely through open space. To complicate matters, the area surrounding the antenna enters into the equation and has significant effect on the behavior of the antenna and that a particular radiation pattern is required for different applications. Most engineers would concede that this daunting task is better left to electromagnetic experts with special training and experience in dealing with the myriad of variables in antenna design. The transition to embedded antennas has brought the near field environment to the forefront of the antenna development process. The very nature antenna places extremely embedded components, sometimes touching, complicating the problem for the antenna engineer that must achieve the design requirements as dictated by the application or customer.