Rob Vincent, a technician working in the University of Rhode Island’s Physics Department, has filed for a patent on an antenna design he developed that he claims allows antennas to be made physically smaller without significantly reducing efficiency or bandwidth.
The antenna design, referred to as a “distributed-load monopole antenna,” appears to violate the principle that size, efficiency and bandwidth are related and that to achieve two of the parameters, you have to give up one of the others. Vincent says his antennas are smaller than current models, produce high efficiency and retain bandwidth.
There are few areas of RF communication below the microwave spectrum that could not benefit from this technology. Smaller VHF TV antennas (low and high band) are one possible application, as well as smaller but efficient antennas for two-way communications and RFID applications. A University of Rhode Island press release (http://www.uri.edu/news/releases/?id=2659) quotes Rob Vincent saying, “It could even make the Dick Tracy wrist radio with all the features, such as Internet access, a possibility.”
(From TV Technology)
