Polarization Diversity Glass Antenna for Consumer WiFi Routers

To improve the appearance and performance of consumer WiFi routers, the polarization-diversity omnidirectional glass antenna is used in place of the traditional space-diversity monopole antenna. Different images are engraved on the glass antenna to attract consumers. Since the cost is a major concern of consumer electronics, a new feeding circuit design that needs only a single PCB is investigated, which is in contrast to the reported design that requires two PCBs. For the first time, this paper studies the throughput performance of the glass antenna in a real indoor environment. Its throughput is compared with that of a conventional commercial space-diversity monopole antenna in our lab environment. Experimental results show that our design has an average improvement of more than 10%, with the maximum improvement given by 87.5%. Measurements were done to verify the simulations, and good agreement between the measured and simulated results is obtained. Also, a 3D-printed casing is used to package the WiFi router. The design details are given in the paper. © 1975-2011 IEEE.