Antenna matching network

[Bwalker]

In the documentation, its suggested that the antenna should have a matching network between the WLCSP NRF52832 and the 50 ohm transmission line that looks like this:

Antenna manufacturers also recommend having a matching network in-between their antenna and the 50 ohm transmission line, often in the form of a pi network.

In many of the use cases for this product, the distance between the MCU and the antenna will be very small, often much smaller than 1/10th of the ~120cm wavelength of 2.4GHz. In this condition, it's likely that the transmission line is not very significant. In this case, is it possible to match the MCU antenna output directly to the antenna with a single Pi or T network, instead of having a T network and a Pi network?

[ketiljo]

The problem with such an approach is that you will not have a 50 ohm point to do measurements on the radio, like output power and harmonics, and the antenna impedance. You could of course measure the antenna impedance and use some kind of simulation tool to design the matching network to do the necessary impedance transformation. But you will not have control over the harmonic and spurious levels, and all fine tuning must be done radiated, in a anechoic chamber.