South Carolina-based electronics manufacturer AVX has released a series of IP67-rated, external, dual-band wifi antennas for 2.4 and 5GHz in smart home applications.

The X9001748 antennas have a standardised, ready-to-use, RoHS-compliant design with IP67 sealing for reliable outdoor operation and provide high-gain, high-efficiency and high-reliability performance in low- and high-band applications with various device configurations and frequencies spanning 2400 to 2485MHz and 5150 to 5850MHz.

The standard design results in fewer design changes, enables quick and easy implementation using standard or reverse-polarity SMA connectors, and can hasten product development and time-to-market. Its frequency options, high-gain, efficiency and reliability performance, and IP67-rated protection against dust and immersion (1m for 30 minutes) make it suitable for use in 2.4 and 5GHz indoor and outdoor wifi, Bluetooth, ISM and Zigbee applications including routers, gateways, access points, IoT gateways and devices, smart meters, home automation equipment, smart city infrastructure, smart agriculture, M2M communications, telematics, structural health monitoring, and predictive maintenance.

The antennas are available as four part numbers, all of which have linear polarisation and thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPEE) radomes, measure 180mm ±2mm in height and 12.98mm ±0.20mm in diameter, and weigh 24g. They are also available in black and white and with SMA or RP-SMA male connectors for additional design flexibility.

They exhibit 50Ω feed-point impedance, less than -9.00dB return loss, 3.2dBi peak gain and 71% average efficiency in low-band (2.4GHz) applications and less than -7.33dB return loss, 3.6dBi peak gain, and 68% average efficiency in high-band (5GHz) applications, and are rated for operating temperatures spanning -40 to +120˚C. Lead-time for the series is nine weeks.

“We designed the new IP67-rated, external, dual-band wifi antennas to satisfy wireless device engineers’ most critical requirements, including standardised designs for greater flexibility, easier implementation, and quicker time-to-market, robust packaging for reliable outdoor operation, and best-in-class performance across a wide range of frequencies,” said Houda Rais, RF product manager for AVX.

AVX is a manufacturer and supplier of electronic components, interconnect, sensing, control and antenna products with 33 manufacturing facilities in 16 countries around the world. It offers a broad range of devices including capacitors, resistors, filters, couplers, sensors, controls, circuit protection devices, connectors and antennas.