P822601 Internal PCB Antenna Poor Performance vs External Antenna on nRF9151

Hi,

nRF9151 + Kyocera AVX P822601 internal SMT antenna: 8 dB RSRP loss vs external antenna — possible PCB layout issue?

Test Results

Test 1 — Out of Faraday cage, internal P822601 antenna:
WR-2370 CONNECTED — RSRP: -66 dBm, RSRQ: -5 dB

Test 2 — Out of Faraday cage, external Taoglas FXUB65.07.0180C via SMA:
WR-XXX-2149 CONNECTED — RSRP: -65 dBm, RSRQ: -6 dB

Test 3 — Inside Faraday cage, internal P822601 antenna:
WR-2370 FAILED — no message received

Test 4 — Inside Faraday cage, external Taoglas FXUB65.07.0180C:
WR-XXX-2149 CONNECTED — RSRP: -65 dBm, RSRQ: -6 dB

Reference device for comparison:
WR-8738 (Taoglas FXUB65 external) CONNECTED — RSRP: -58 dBm, RSRQ: -5 dB

Summary of Issue

  • Approximately 8 dBm RSRP difference between internal P822601 and external Taoglas FXUB65 antenna
  • External antenna works reliably inside Faraday cage
  • Internal antenna completely fails inside Faraday cage
  • Both devices use the same nRF9151 SiP and same firmware
  • RF switch configuration confirmed:
    • R42 = DNP
    • R43 = 0Ω (internal antenna path active)

We designed the RF layout same as the Nordic nRF9151 DK board reference design.
https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/support/348377

Attached Files:

  • Schematic (RF section)
  • PCB layout
    drive.google.com/.../1tCCkOSTPwavuZT4Ztj6aebqibDN27iHo

Thank you for your support. We look forward to your guidance and hope you can help us resolve this issue.

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