antenna design

[tekguy49]

I am considering the ESP8266 for an application that has a maximum pcb width of 10mm.

Question? Has the hardware design team looked at using a ceramic antenna instead of the pcb metal trace. If so, can you supply the mfr and part numbers.

thanks,
tekguy49

[pratik]

You should consult an antenna designer if you are not sure how to design an antenna.
But for ESP8266, you may use any ceramic chip antenna that has 50 ohm input impedance. Otherwise you need impedance matching. This info is usually on the antenna datasheet. All that you need to know is that ESP8266 outputs 2.45GHz signals from an antenna pin that has 50 ohm characteristic impedance. So any antenna will do.

Trace antenna is cheaper with better gain and range than ceramic antenna though.

[tekguy49]

Thanks for the input. As mentioned in the original question my maximum lateral dimension is 10mm. The Wroom-02 module uses a 1/4 wave design with a 16mm width based on a white paper published by Texas Instruments. The question is not whether to hire an antenna person or buy the software TI uses to simulate the design. The question is; has anyone in the design community actually used a ceramic antenna in a ESP8266 design and if so what was the performance compared to the 16mm pcb design.

[pratik]

Well, chip antennas have been used in numerous designs. There is no way of stating a figure of comparison, it all depends on your ground plane, and antenna clearance. Even on your power supply and EMI factors. Chip antennas are typically more sensitive to this stuff than PCB antennas.
Off the cuff, I think ESP-07 or some module contained a chip antenna, and you can get that to see what the performance is like. I'd expect lower range than PCB antenna.

And you should not consult an antenna designer or buy software unless you are working on a critical, high volume design. Just order a panel with multiple antenna designs and try them all out, use whatever works best.