Airgain's New MIMO Smart Antennas Strengthen Wi-Fi Signals for Better Performance from 802.11n Devices

Airgain's MaxBeam75 smart antenna utilizes patented beam forming technology to provide up to 300% greater signal strength and 70% higher throughput than conventional antenna solutions.


Airgain Inc. extends the reach of draft 802.11n wireless devices with the introduction of its first smart antennas for MIMO devices, the Airgain MaxBeam65N and MaxBeam80N. Compatible with a variety of MIMO chipsets from leading manufacturers, these smart antennas double signal strength and receive sensitivity, dramatically increasing throughput over standard dipole antenna configurations in 802.11n router and gateway devices.

Combining multiple high-gain directional antenna elements and high isolation between each antenna beam, Airgain's new MIMO smart antennas significantly increase the signal strength, range and throughput of 802.11n devices without increasing cost. With an embedded design and pre-tuned sub-system for easy integration inside routers and gateways, the MaxBeam65N and MaxBeam80N eliminate the need for multiple external antennas.

"We've conducted exhaustive performance testing in our state-of-the-art anechoic chamber and in real world over-the-air environments. This has shown without a doubt that these smart antennas achieve a significant performance leap over standard antennas in MIMO-based solutions," said Pertti Visuri, Ph.D., CEO of Airgain, Inc. "In addition to their performance advantages, these antennas are designed for internal use which cuts costs by replacing up to three exterior dipole antennas, and their small footprint keeps device designs compact and elegant."

The MaxBeam65N features four independent and highly directional antenna beams to accommodate two and four radio MIMO systems in 2x2 and 4x4 configurations. Designed to operate in the 2.4GHz band, it achieves peak gain of up to 6.5dBi. The MaxBeam80N is a three antenna beam solution for three radio systems in 2x3 and 3x3 system configurations. It supports dual band transmission in either the 2.4GHz or 5.8GHz bands, providing peak gains of up to 6.0 dBi and 8.0 dBi, respectively. Both the MaxBeam65N and MaxBeam80N are compatible with existing draft-N systems and will support all future 802.11n standard applications.

Samples of the MaxBeam65N and MaxBeam80N are available this month. Airgain's planned product rollouts for the second quarter include dual band MIMO antennas that will support simultaneous transmission of data at both 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz frequencies, replacing six ordinary dipole antennas with one small integrated antenna. Future designs will accommodate dual band operation in the 4.9GHz and 5.25GHz frequencies.

In late 2005, Airgain launched its first smart antenna, the MaxBeam75 802.11b/g smart antenna, which has been adopted in next-generation ADSL2+ gateway devices by several leading manufacturers and earned the prestigious CONNECT Most Innovative Product award for 2006 in the communications technology category in the wireless hotbed of San Diego.