Metal Rim Antenna with Small Clearance Based on TCM for Smartphone Applications

A metal rim antenna with small clearance for smartphone applications is proposed. The proposed antenna mainly consists of a system ground plane, a metal rim with two slots and two shorting grounded patches. The theory of characteristic modes is used to analyze the entire structure. With the aid of a simulation tool, two resonant characteristic modes (CMs) in the low-frequency band are identified, and its eigen-current distributions are also analyzed to obtain an optimized design. Finally, the bands of 0.85–0.96 and 1.71–2.69 GHz, are covered. The measured result agrees well with the simulated one, demonstrating the application potential for smartphone applications.