Mobile Antenna Types: Whip, Helical, and Patch

This page covers the basics of mobile antennas and explores different types, including the whip antenna, helical antenna, and microstrip patch antenna. As we know, an antenna is a device that receives electromagnetic waves and converts them into an electrical form, allowing us to listen to audio or browse the internet on our mobile devices. Mobile antennas essentially convert electromagnetic waves into electrical signals, and vice versa. They are typically made of metal and can take the form of a rod, wire, or strip.

The most common external antenna used with mobile phones is the helical antenna, while the most common internal antenna type is the microstrip patch antenna. Several antenna parameters are crucial in choosing the right antenna for your application. These include the resonant frequency, polarization, impedance, radiation pattern, efficiency, directivity, and gain of the antenna.

Refer to the antenna tutorial to learn more about antenna concepts and terminologies.

The most conventional mobile phone antennas are whip, helical, or planar inverted F antennas. A whip antenna is a single-element antenna that can be used with an unbalanced feed line.

A microstrip line consists of a metal strip on a dielectric substrate covered by a ground plane on the other side.

The advanced antennas available today use patch antennas in their designs due to their smaller size and ease of integration with the rest of the circuitry on a PCB (Printed Circuit Board).