What Antennas will be Used for the IoT Industry, and Which one Should I Choose?

First, let's take a brief look at what an antenna is. Antenna is an important radio device for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves. Without antenna, there would be no radio communication. The RF signal power output by the RF transmitter is transmitted to the antenna through an antenna feeder (cable), which is radiated by the antenna in an electromagnetic waveform. When the electromagnetic wave reaches the receiving end, it is followed by the antenna (which receives only a small fraction of the power) and fed to the RF receiver.

As one of the two core hardware of wireless communication (the other is the wireless module), antenna is an essential part for the application of the Internet of Things. Its performance directly determines the quality of the communication network, such as Communication Distance, Network Speed, Network Stability, and so on.

So, here comes our question: how many kinds of antennas will be used for the IoT industry, and which antenna should I choose please?

In fact, there are many kinds of antennas to meet different frequencies, different uses, different applications and different requirements. For many types of antennas, an appropriate classification is also necessary:

By working frequency band, it can be divided into short-wave antenna, ultra-short-wave antenna, microwave antenna, etc. 

Taking the Sub-1G field we are currently involved in as an example; it can be subdivided into: 315MHz antenna, 433MHz antenna, 470MHz antenna, 868MHz antenna, 915MHz antenna, etc.

By wireless communication protocol, it can be divided into:

Wi-Fi antenna, BLE antenna, Zigbee antenna, LoRa antenna; GMS antenna, 4G antenna, 5G antenna; NB-IoT antenna, GPS antenna, etc.

If classified by appearance (assembled position), it can be divided into:

External antenna: Rubber Rod Antenna, Sucker Antenna, Whip Antenna, SMD Patch Antenna, Fiber-glass (FRP) Antenna, etc.

Built-in antenna: PCB Antenna, FPC Antenna, Spring Antenna; Ceramic Antenna, Steel Patch Antenna, Copper Tube Antenna, etc.

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