Antenna company touts 90% efficiency with new design

A small company based in Reno, Nev., is hoping to revolutionize antenna technology with the first commercially viable Compound PxM Loop antenna, which is designed to increase radiation efficiency, intensity, gain and radiated power in a small package.
Dockon said the reference design for the antenna is available for testing this month. “Really, there has been no innovation in antenna design for 60 years,” said Patrick Johnston, CEO of the company. “There are different design shapes and new materials, but this is a brand new type of antenna.”
The antenna is small, at less than the size of a dime, but allows for greater efficiencies and wider bandwidth, Johnston said. In most antenna designs, about 50% of the energy is lost, but Dockon said it can show that 90% to 97% of the energy reaches its destination. Plus, the antenna is designed to be easy to manufacture. In volumes, the cost is about 23 cents a chip, Johnston said.
The company said its technology can be used in most any wireless application, including those that require MIMO and have space constraints. The company is targeting the mobile computing, consumer electronics, medical devices, industrial controls, automotive and military and aerospace industries. Dockon was founded in 2008 by a former NASA engineer and is financed by angel investors.
Initially, Dockon is referencing a GSM-protocol-based antenna and a Wi-Fi antenna at 2.4-2.5 GHz, but the company believes the technology can also accommodate CDMA and LTE bands.
In the GSM band, the CPL antenna can produce an average gain of 1.9 dBi, “which is almost unheard of,” Johnston said.
CPL antennas use both magnetic loop radiators and co-located electric field radiators, compared to other antenna technologies that use either one or the other. “This simultaneous excitation of both radiators results in an effective cancellation of reactive power, improving the overall performance and efficiency,” the company said.
While Dockon is focusing on small antenna designs, the technology could be used for larger antennas, say at the tower, as well.