Antenna RF Design Service including PCB Design, Tuning, Matching and RF Test
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Why You Need Custom RF Antenna Design for IoT Devices
RAKwireless has a dedicated team of RF experts who treat antenna design seriously. Our comprehensive RF engineering services ensure every design achieves optimal signal performance, range, and efficiency for IoT applications.
An antenna is like black magic, where a properly designed one offers lots of benefits:
- increase your range multiple times (our LoRaWAN antenna designs have achieved real-world communication ranges of up to 10 km)
- save you power consumption for battery-powered devices
- less airtime and transmit power needed on your uplinks
- better sensitivity on reception
We have proven these benefits on various projects multiple times: water meters, cow collars, tiny trackers, and more.
Industry-leading IoT products require high-performance antennas. We don't just design an antenna; we closely work with you to architect long-range wireless communication.
Check this RAKwireless white paper where we explain why built-in antennas are crucial for LoRa devices. Our expertise in embedded antenna design for IoT devices ensures optimal performance, compactness, and consistency across your product line.
Our Custom RF Antenna Design Service covers the entire R&D and product launch cycle. We offer flexible service levels tailored to your product goals, ensuring support from initial concept through mass production.
How We Engineer and Integrate Your Antenna Design
- PCB Design Evaluation: Analyzing and modifying your Printed Circuit Board (PCB) layout to minimize interference and provide the optimal grounding structure for the antenna. This step is crucial for IoT antenna integration for PCB, ensuring your design achieves seamless RF performance without layout conflicts.
- RF Antenna Tuning and Matching Circuits: Custom design of critical impedance matching networks to ensure maximum power transfer between your radio module and the antenna.
- Antenna Assembly Selection: Specifying the optimized, high-quality integration and assemblies for robust, long-term product life.
Typical Technical Specifications
Here’s an overview of the core parameters we evaluate and optimize for every custom IoT antenna project:
|
Parameter |
Typical Value / Range |
Notes |
|
Supported Frequency Bands |
433 MHz, 868–915 MHz (LoRa®), 2.4 GHz (Wi-Fi/BLE), 1.575 GHz (GPS L1) |
Covers global ISM and IoT bands for LoRaWAN® & NB-IoT |
|
Antenna Types |
LDS (3D Laser Direct Structuring), PCB Printed, PCB Loop, Flex, FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) |
Built-in antenna options for different form factors |
|
Typical VSWR |
< 1.5 : 1 |
Ensures optimal impedance matching and minimal reflected power |
|
Return Loss |
> 14 dB |
Corresponds to < 4% reflected power |
|
Efficiency |
50 – 90% (depending on antenna type and enclosure) |
Higher efficiency = better range & battery life |
|
Gain Range |
1 – 3 dBi (typical for LoRa devices) |
Balanced between radiation coverage and size |
|
Radiation Pattern |
Omnidirectional / Dipole-like |
Provides 360° horizontal coverage for IoT nodes |
|
Ground-Plane Guidance |
Keep >10 mm clearance from PCB edges & metal parts |
Prevents detuning and ensures consistent efficiency |
|
Regulatory Compliance |
FCC Part 15 / ETSI EN 300 220 |
Meets global RF and EMC standards |
|
Field Performance |
Up to 10 km range (verified LoRaWAN® water meter case) |
Demonstrated result from real-world deployments |
Get your PCB reviewed by our RF Engineers!
How We Validate and Prepare Your Antenna for Production (Antenna Prototyping and RF Testing)
- Simulation & Predictive Analysis: Utilizing advanced software to model RF propagation and predict antenna performance before any physical prototype is built.
- RF Test: Rigorous testing in our own lab using advanced RF measurement diagnostic tools to generate detailed, verifiable performance reports on gain, efficiency, and radiation patterns.
- Prototyping & Pilot Runs: Delivering finished prototypes for your in-field evaluation, followed by comprehensive pilot run reporting to validate performance at scale and confirm production consistency.
Our approach ensures your final product achieves maximum range, low power consumption, and production consistency, transforming your expected system performance into verified field results.
Why Choose RAKwireless for Your Wireless Antenna Design
We specialize in LoRaWAN antenna design services, translating your application's unique needs (such as use case, environment, and required range metrics) directly into practical, optimized LoRaWAN antenna solutions for WiFi, BLE, Cellular, GPS, and other wireless technologies.
Learn more from our antenna design case studies and guides:
- Water Meter Success Story
- How to Choose the Right Antenna for Your IoT Deployment
- What Antennas Can Do for your LoRa/LoRaWAN® Solutions
-
Is a High-Gain Antenna Advantageous? A Comprehensive Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer a complete IoT antenna design service?
Yes. As a full-service wireless antenna design company for IoT, we provide all engineering tasks, including simulation, testing, and detailed design documentation. Learn more about our full custom antenna design service process.
What information do you need to start the custom RAKwireless antenna design service?
We need the following information on the design.
- PCB size, thickness, and number of layers
- Schematic/PCB design (PDF is sufficient)
- Enclosure size
- Exact location of the PCB inside the enclosure
- Enclosure material
- Location of the battery if battery-powered
- Any 3D model with all the components
- Center Frequency
- Bandwidth
- PCB type
- Size and dimension constraints (more PCB space dedicated to the antenna is better)
Do you design for other wireless protocols other than LoRaWAN?
Yes. We also design for other wireless technologies other than LoRa, like Cellular, WiFi, BLE, and GPS.
Questions and Answers
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