Antennas

Question 1. Why is an antenna required for wireless systems?
Answer. An antenna is a device that is made to efficiently radiate and receive radiated electromagnetic waves. Thus, lack of proper antenna and poor installation will affect performances, such as range, and, in extreme cases, regulatory violations. For layout and basic characteristics common to all antennas guidelines, please refer to Application Note 104.

Question 2. Does ZeroG provide antenna reference designs to customers?
Answer. Yes, ZeroG provides antenna reference designs which includes an on-board PCB certified antenna and 13 certified antennas. Please see the technical brief "TB102 List of Certified Antennas" for more information.

Question 3. Does ZeroG use MIMO? Why not?
Answer. ZeroG's embedded Wi-Fi target applications that require the 4 lows: low data rate, low bandwidth, low system power, low system resources and low cost. ZeroG's embedded Wi-Fi does not implement MIMO. MIMO is mostly used in high-throughput networks. The use of MIMO will increase host processing needs and is of primary use to increase range and bandwidth. MIMO applications also require higher cost antenna subsystems. The combination of higher system power and cost is not in line with ZeroG's market targets.

Question 4. Does the ZG2101M support antenna diversity?
Answer. No, ZeroG does not support the use of multiple antennas at any one instance in time. We provide different antennas options that the designer can use for various types of sizes, orientations, and real estate.

Question 5. What is the distance range for the on-board PCB antenna for the ZG2100? What if I use an external antenna?
Answer. The ZG2100M contains the on-board antenna and the ZG2101M is configured for an external antenna. The range for the on-board PCB antenna is 10m and if, using an external antenna, the range can be extended to up to 30m. The overall range depends on various environmental factors and, in many cases and applications, the measured range has been known to exceed the specified 10m and 30m.

Question 6. What antennas do I use with the ZG2100M?
Answer. The ZG2100M has an on-board antenna so there is no need to use an external antenna. The ZG2101M embedded Wi-Fi module is configured for an external antenna.

Question 7. What antennas do I use with the ZG2101M?
Answer. The technical brief, TB102 List of Certified Antennas lists the antennas that have been certified with ZeroG ZG2100M and ZG2101M. Using these antennas will give you optimum performance, range and minimize development effort.

Question 8. Does ZeroG make external antennas that go with the ZG2100M modules?
Answer. ZeroG does not design nor produce external antennas that are used for the ZG2101M modules. We work with third-party vendors who are antenna and RF experts. Please see the technical brief, TB102 List of Certified Antennas for the list of the antennas that have been certified with ZeroG ZG2100M and ZG2101M.

Question 9. For certified antennas, can the higher gain increase my range?
Answer. Yes. However, the range does not double as the gains go up by 3dB due to many other factors. These include transmit power, environment, antenna diversity, data rate, and architectural mechanism, such as data rate spiral down during communication.

Question 10. Does enclosure affect antenna performance?
Answer. It can possibly effect the antenna performance based upon the proximity and distance to the antenna. For layout and enclosure guidelines, please refer to the application note AN104 - Basic Antenna Guidelines