Optimizing Novel Antennas Using Flomerics' MicroStripes Electromagnetic Simulator

Sarantel exists to commercialize a new class of antennas which concentrate electromagnetic resonance energy into a high-dielectric core instead of the space surrounding the antenna. The great advantage of this design innovation is that the near-field energy does not interact with nearby bodies such as human tissues and therefore the antenna characteristics remain highly predictable in the presence of cluttering objects that typify in-use operation of wireless mobility devices.

The most challenging example in the range of dielectric antennas developed with the help of Microstripes is Sarantel's "GeoHelix" dielectric-loaded quadrifilar helix antenna, which synthesizes a spinning dipole in order to be receptive to circular polarization. The problem is complex because this synthesis of a spinning dipole occurs in the boundary between the slow-wave region in the dielectric core and the fast-wave region of surrounding space.

The design of dielectric-core antennas requires a simulation method that can account for the presence of high-dielectric media in the near-field and at the same time accurately predict far-field radiation patterns. Such a problem presents formidable analytical complexity and could not be solved by traditional method-of-moments computations. Flomerics' MicroStripes has proven to be a very powerful tool which has modeled the problem with exceptional accuracy.