12.1.2 PCB Antenna (ATSAMR30 Sensor Board)

This section describes the PCB stack up, mechanical details of the PCB trace leading up to PCB antenna for case 3 in 12.1 RF Trace Layout Design Instructions. The host PCB can follow these trace design to maintain compliance under the modular grant (FCC) and Canada certificate (IC). Schematics, Bill of Materials (BoM), layout source files and gerber files are available for download from the SAMR30M Sensor board product page.

The following is a snapshot of the schematic diagram for the host SAMR30M Sensor board showing the PCB Antenna section.

Figure 12-9. PCB Antenna

Trace layout dimensions

  • Trace width – 0.533 mm
  • Trace gap – 0.381 mm
  • Finished copper thickness – 47 µm

Layout of Trace design:

The following figure shows the top layer routing of the complete reference board.

Figure 12-10. Top Layer Routing of the Reference Board

The following figure shows the top layer layout of the reference host Sensor board focussed on RF traces and PCB antenna. The snapshot also indicates the critical dimensions that are required to be replicated in the design to maintain compliance.

Figure 12-11. Top Layer Layout of the Reference Board
The following figure shows the bottom layer layout of the reference board directly beneath the RF traces.
Figure 12-12. Bottom Layer Layout of the Reference Board

The following figure shows the PCB stack-up for the reference board. Layer 1 (Top layer) and Layer 2 specifications are critical to the RF Trace Layout specification.

Figure 12-13. PCB Stack-up for the Reference Board