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Modern cars are more and more equipped with integrated antenna systems providing a growing number of RF services (AM, FM, TV, RKE, mobile phone, GPS etc.). After reflecting the state-of-the-art mounting and the connection technique of the electronics and its disadvantages this paper presents a new on-glass mounting technique which is meanwhile installed in the new Audi A4. The most important features of this new concept are high modularity, improvements of RF reception properties, and significant reduction in the overall system costs.

In this paper an efficient and accurate numerical software will be presented. It is based on the Method of Moments in combination with the physical optics (PO) and the geometrical/unified theory of diffraction (GTD/UTD). CAD data of the car body provided by the car manufacturer serves a starting point for an RF computer model. The proposed antenna structures are added to the model as well as additional parameters like the excitation, terminations, real ground, etc.. As a result the surface current density is calculated. This is the basis for all other information like input impedance, near and far field patterns, and gain. The powerful capabilities of the program are demonstrated by means of several latest examples for FM and cellular phone antennas. Very good agreements with measured data show the reliability of the method.

This paper describes the disadvantages of state-of-the-art way of connecting the electronics to integrated screen antennas. A new technique to mount the amplifier module directly on the glass is presented here. A simple frame is glued to the glass. It serves as the holding device for the actual amplifier, which is easily „clicked” into the frame without an additional fixing provision. The numerous advantages with respect to RF properties, handling in the assembly plant, modularity on car and platform level, upgrade possibilities, repair effort, etc. are discussed in detail.