RAYSPAN(R) Announces New Small Form-Factor Balanced Antenna

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- RAYSPAN® Corporation today announced the launch of a new standalone metamaterial balanced antenna (MTM-B™), offering an integrated solution for ultra-high performance WiFi access points and routers.  MTM-B™ is designed to meet the requirements for single band 2.4 or 5.0GHz designs as well as dual band 2.4/5.0GHz devices, in a small form factor of 15mm X 14mm, which is 80% smaller than typical dipole solutions offered today.

"Rayspan is pleased to be able to offer our customers the smallest balanced antenna form-factor available for single and dual-band WiFi devices," stated Gregory Poilasne, Vice President of Business Development for Rayspan.  "The MTM-BTM will enable WiFi routers and access points with internal antennas, completely replacing full-sized dipole antennas and allowing for a more compact design without sacrificing performance."

Balanced antennas offer multiple advantages to WiFi product designers. They can be positioned in close proximity to a ground plane without impact on the antenna characteristics. Balanced antennas also offer a higher immunity to noise and therefore improved sensitivity and higher long-range through-put performance. The metamaterial concept used to design these antennas allows for up to 5x size reduction without performance trade-offs, as well as a strong immunity to changes in surroundings. Stronger polarization along the length of the MTM-B™ antenna is beneficial for WiFi products incorporating chipsets that take advantage of polarization in order to improve through-put and range.  This results in WiFi routers and access points with better in-home coverage.

MTM-B™ can be printed directly on the PCB, retrofitted inside existing products or integrated inside new devices. As the WiFi industry migrates from 2.4GHz only devices to 2.4/5GHz functionality, the dual band capability of RAYSPAN's MTM-B™ antennas meets the requirements of 2x2 and 3x3 dual concurrent chipsets where a high Quality Of Service (QOS) is required for applications such as high definition video transmission inside the house for entertainment or gaming.

Product Release Schedule

RAYSPAN® balanced antennas are sampling to selected customers today, and will be in volume production during Q1 2010.  The first customer to deliver products incorporating the MTM-B™ will be NETGEAR.

"NETGEAR is excited to be working with Rayspan on WiFi devices using the MTM-BTM technology," said Som Pal Choudhury, Senior Product Line Manager at NETGEAR.  "We will be able to bring innovative new devices to market that will extend our products' range and improve our customers' overall in-home wireless experience."

About RAYSPAN®

RAYSPAN® is the world's only provider of metamaterial air interface solutions for wireless communications. RAYSPAN® proprietary metamaterials provide breakthrough improvements in antenna and RF front-end component miniaturization, performance, cost reduction and ease of manufacture. RAYSPAN's solutions support a full range of fixed and mobile wireless WAN and LAN applications including WiFi, all 2/3/4G cellular handsets, Bluetooth and GPS. They enable ultra-compact, multi-band, multi-mode and/or MIMO WLAN devices and cellular handsets with superior communication speed, range and mobility at reduced costs.  For more information, go to www.rayspan.com.

SOURCE RAYSPAN Corporation