Quectel RG520N-AT - Antenna Design Requirements

5G Module Series
RG520N-AT_Hardware_Design 79 / 109
⚫ Use an impedance simulation tool to accurately control the characteristic impedance of RF traces to
50 Ω.
⚫ The GND pins adjacent to RF pins should not be designed as thermal relief pads, and should be fully
connected to ground.
⚫ The distance between the RF pins and the RF connector should be as short as possible and all the
right-angle traces should be changed to curved ones. The recommended trace angle is 135°.
⚫ There should be clearance under the signal pin of the antenna connector or solder joint.
⚫ The reference ground of RF traces should be complete. Meanwhile, adding some ground vias around
RF traces and the reference ground could help to improve RF performance. The distance between
the ground vias and RF traces should be not less than twice the width of RF signal traces (2 × W).
⚫ Keep RF traces away from interference sources, and avoid intersection and paralleling between
traces on adjacent layers.
For more details about RF layout, see document [5].
5.4. Antenna Design Requirements
Table 45: Antenna Design Requirements
Antenna Type
Requirements
GNSS
⚫ Frequency range:
L1: 1559–1609 MHz
L5: 1166–1187 MHz
⚫ Polarization: RHCP or linear
⚫ VSWR: ≤ 2 (Typ.)
⚫ Passive antenna gain: > 0 dBi
5G NR/LTE
⚫ VSWR: ≤ 2
⚫ Efficiency: > 30 %
⚫ Gain: 1 dBi
⚫ Max input power: 50 W
⚫ Input impedance: 50 Ω
⚫ Polarization: Vertical
⚫ Cable insertion loss:
- < 1 dB: LB (< 1 GHz)
- < 1.5 dB: MB (1–2.3 GHz)
- < 2 dB: HB (> 2.3 GHz)
It is recommended to use a passive GNSS antenna when LTE B14 is supported, as the use of active
NOTE