Electronic – RF switch for multiple antennas

designRFrfid

I'd like to design an RFID reader with 4 output antenna ports. My RFID reader's module maximum output power is 30 dBm.

My target is for the maximum output power in the antenna ports to be 30 dBm.

If I use an RF switch to configure the antennas, I will have power losses and the power of ports will be less than 30 dBm.

Can you recommend a way to switch between antennas that won't cause losses?

Best Answer

You can check out the Skyworks SKY13414-485LF chip, if you want to design something yourself. It's an SP4T antenna switch that could work in your application. Insertion loss is 0.5dB maximum, so if you absolutely want +30dBm output power, you need a reader with an output power of at least +30.5dBm. In reality you probably need more like +33dBm, because there are additional losses for filters and transmission lines. Maximum power the chip can handle is +37dBm.