Imec and Septentrio have designed an antenna-RF integrated element of a multi-frequency Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) antenna for GALILEO, GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou. Developed under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme project HANDHELD, the compact antenna can be integrated in multi-frequency handheld GNSS devices for high precision location applications (up to 1 centimeter).

Imec and Septentrio co-developed a compact antenna integrating imec’s innovative GNSS antenna and Septentrio’s GNSS RF front-end.

Imec’s antenna design satisfies the requirements for the high-accuracy GNSS market while remaining small enough to fit in a handheld surveyor device. The antenna simultaneously receives all GALILEO, GPS and Glonass bands with uniform gain and strong suppression of unwanted reflected signals in the vicinity of the GNSS receiver.

The GNSS RF front-end, based on established market leading front-end technology developed by Septentrio, is characterized by a superb out-of-band interference rejection to avoid notably device self-interference with other radiation sources such as Bluetooth and WLAN radios, as well as other ambient intentional and non-intentional interference.

The compact multi-frequency antenna is a perfect companion of Septentrio’s compact and low power AsteRx-m receiver, a credit card-sized dual frequency GNSS receiver that provides centimeter accuracy at less than 500mW power consumption, by far the lowest power consumption in the professional GNSS market.

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013).