u-blox takes a millimetre off its GNSS antenna module
u-blox’s SAM-M11N combines a satellite navigation receiver and patch antenna in a 15.5 mm square package just 5.3 mm high. It takes a millimetre off the height of the SAM-M10Q and brings the mass down by 0.9 g to 4.4 g. u-blox says it has kept the pinout compatible with previous SAM modules, which leaves existing designs some room to change the enclosure without changing the board footprint. [1][2][3]
The patch, amplifier and RF filtering are all inside the module, so there is no antenna feed to route on the host board. The patch still has to receive through whatever surrounds it in the finished device. Moving a battery or changing the enclosure material can alter reception even when the PCB and module stay put. [1][2]
The SAM-M11N is the first in the SAM family to offer u-blox’s Low Energy Accurate Positioning mode, for which the company quotes as little as 10 mW at 1.8 V. The receiver can also produce up to 10 fixes per second with three constellations or up to 25 with one, with horizontal accuracy quoted at 1.5 m CEP. Those figures are given separately from the minimum power figure. [1][2]
Replacing ROM with onboard flash also gives u-blox a way to update the receiver firmware in an existing device. Its EVK-F112 evaluation kit covers the underlying positioning platform; the first SAM-M11N samples are due on the company’s stand at electronica from 10 to 13 November. [1][3]
