Polygon pour not working inside a closed trace antenna.

[giladk]

No mater what I do, the pour polygon is not filled inside the antenna.

The trace antenna is a 'footprint' with 2 small active pads. at the bottom.

In the video there are 2 antennas on opposite sides of the PCB. 

How can I fix this?

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @giladk ,

Look at the settings of the polygons, the areas within the antenna coils are essentially orphans which by default don't fill. After you draw the polygon select one of the edges and then in the Inspector make sure the orphans checkbox is checked.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,

[giladk]

Tnx for your quick response.

Unfortunately, this doesn't work.

[giladk]

Any update on this?

The "orphans" option should have solved this but it doesn't work. Is this a 'bug'?

Is there a work around other than manually adding copper?

[jorge_garcia]

Hello @giladk ,

I hope you're doing well. I think the issue resides in that you have a loop and that messes with how the polygon fills. Try drawing a polygon within the loop only, the limit of the polygon should not go beyond the loop.

See if that will work.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,

[giladk]

Doesn't seem to work.

Can you please escalate this to a higher tier? Looks like a bug to me.

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @giladk ,

I'll create an enhancement request for this. Question, won't having a ground poly in the middle of the loop diminish the effectiveness of the antenna?  In many designs, it is recommended to have a void in any planes under antennas to help them radiate. Maybe it doesn't apply to loop antennas but I was curious enough to ask.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,

[giladk]

Thanks for pushing this issue to a higher tier.

You are correct, it is always preferable to leave the center of the antenna cleared of any components.

In this specific case there is an array of antennas so the 'outside' of one antenna is the 'inside' of another.

When you have no choice but to place components inside the antenna it is recommended to place a small ground plane under these components.

[giladk]

Any update on this issue?

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @giladk ,

I'll bump the ticket to see if I can get an update.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,

[jorge_garcia · Accepted solution]

Hello @giladk ,

I hope you're doing well. My gut feeling tells me this might take some time to address. So that means it's workaround time.

One idea that occurs to me is try drawing the inside polygon on a different layer. Initially, you can try drawing it on a non-copper layer and see if it fills. If it does then you could include the non-copper layer on the gerber export for top for example. It's a hack but it would get you a copper fill where you previously couldn't have one.

Alternatively, if you expect to have a lot of components connecting to the polygon it may be easier to leave the polygons on top and bottom and switch the loop antennas to different layers. Then you combine them on the correct copper gerber outputs as needed.

It's a hack but it may solve the immediate need. Give it a try and let me know if how it goes.

Best Regards,

[lauri_barnhart]

Hi @giladk, thank you for your question.

Did the workaround provided by jorge_garcia help clarify your question?

If yes, feel free to click on the Accept Solution button.

This helps other users benefit from the information.

In case you still need help, please provide an update here so we can help you best moving forward.

Regards,

[giladk]

Hi Lauri

Jorge has supplied a decent work-around but it is a little hard to call this a "solution".

I fear that if I mark this this as an "accepted solution" this issue would never get fixed or maybe be thrown to the end of the "TO-DO" list.

BR

Gilad.