QUESTION

Question

I've always stuck to trace antennas, because I'm most familiar with their design. Is there a distinct advantage to using a chip antenna over a trace?

Answer 1

Trace antennas are cheaper and can be more compact than chip antennas. The downside is that you have to design them! This usually leads to greater engineering cost and time, as you need to test your design, fix your mistakes, match your traces... If you are an experienced engineer in 2.4GHz antenna designs, this might not be a problem.

Chip antennas are bulletproof, with reference designs and component selection in application notes.

Answer 2

A PCB trace antenna requires more space than a chip loop antenna. Some chip monopole antennas can be mounted above the ground plane. All antennas have their justification but you have to decide from case to case what fits best.