Laser fabrication of GPS conformal antennas

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has become a mature technology and is continually being applied in new and more demanding applications. A current effort in this area is the development of compact, durable but lightweight GPS antennas on conformal surfaces for handheld devices. Because modeling the electromagnetic performance of these antennas is often difficult, prototypes are typically built, measured and redesigned in an iterative process. We demonstrate the fabrication of a GPS conformal antenna under ambient-temperature conditions using a combination of laser micromachining and/or laser direct-write processes. The electromagnetic behavior of the antennas is then characterized and the design of the antenna structures is further optimized. Pattern simulations and input impedance measurements of the antenna are presented that demonstrate the usefulness and success of the iterative process made possible with this fabrication technique.