Antenna Keep-Out Zone for ESP32

flux

0:27

Yes. For a carrier PCB that accepts the ESP32-PICO-KIT-1 on female headers, define the antenna region so the antenna end of the module has a 5 mm unsupported overhang past the carrier board edge. The placement guidance explicitly says PCB-antenna Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth modules should use edgePlacementHints with the antenna extending beyond the board edge, and shows 5 mm as the common ESP32-family value
Recommended keep-out definition
Use this on the main PCB:

Table

ParameterRecommendation
Antenna overhang past board edge5 mm
Copper under antenna regionNone
Traces under antenna regionNone
Vias under antenna regionNone
Ground pour under antenna regionNone
Keep-out widthAt least the full width of the antenna portion of the module, preferably with a little side margin
How to think about the geometry
If the module is plugged in horizontally over your motherboard:
  • Put the antenna end at the edge of the main PCB
  • Let the antenna section of the module extend 5 mm beyond that edge
  • On the motherboard, keep the area directly under and immediately behind that antenna section clear of copper and routing
Practical footprint rule
When you place the two female headers on the main PCB, position them so that:
  • the module body is supported by the headers
  • the antenna section is not over solid carrier PCB
  • the carrier board edge falls about 5 mm before the tip of the antenna area
That aligns with the documented antenna-overhang guidance for PCB-antenna modules
Simple implementation rule
On the carrier PCB, create an antenna keep-out rectangle:
  • Depth: 5 mm from the carrier board edge inward reference to the antenna zone
  • Width: at least the antenna section width
  • Layers: top copper, bottom copper, and all internal copper
  • Also exclude: traces, vias, fills, and metal features in that area
If you want, I can help you translate that into an exact carrier-board footprint rule once you tell me:
  • which edge the antenna faces, and
  • the distance from the module header pins to the start of the antenna section.
Set top-edge keepout
Size keepout from pins
Add exact dimensions
5 days
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    kicad_mod

    XCVR_ESP32-PICO-KIT-1-FS.kicad_mod

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    ESP32-PICO-KIT-1

    ESP32-PICO-KIT-1 thumbnail
    ESP32 ESP32 Transceiver; 802.11 b/g/n (Wi-Fi, WiFi, WLAN), Bluetooth® Smart 4.x Low Energy (BLE) 2.4GHz Evaluation Board #esp32 #wifi #BLE

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    Espressif Systems

    ESP32-PICO-KIT-1

    docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/latest/esp32/hw-reference/esp32/get-started-pico-kit-1.html

    ESP

    creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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