A broadband switchable circularly polarized phased array antenna

Abstract

The present invention discloses a broadband switchable circularly polarized phased array antenna, and relates to the field of phased array antennas. It comprises N TR subarrays, each TR subarray comprises 2*2 circularly polarized antenna units, each circularly polarized antenna unit comprises a patch and a first feed point and a second feed point which are orthogonal and independent to each other and are located on the patch; the shape of the patch is a rectangle with two cut corners, and the two cut corners are located on the same diagonal of the rectangle; the first feed point and the second feed point cooperate with the patch cut corners to respectively realize left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization of independent feeding. The present invention can realize a co-aperture phased array antenna for receiving and transmitting at different frequencies, and the transmission and reception in the co-aperture antenna are orthogonal left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization. The size and area of ​​the phased array antenna are greatly reduced by designing a co-aperture phased array antenna for receiving and transmitting.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of phased array antennas, and in particular to a broadband switchable circularly polarized phased array antenna. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of low-orbit satellite communications, circular polarization orthogonality is widely used in satellite communication terminals and payloads for receiving and transmitting time-sharing work. In large-scale satellite communication terminal applications, it is necessary to ensure the core electrical performance indicators of phased array antennas, such as G / T, EIRP, etc., as well as to ensure that the phased array is simple to process and low-cost. Switchable broadband circularly polarized phased array antennas are particularly important.

[0003] National patent CN 210744162 U discloses a phased array antenna capable of arbitrary polarization switching, which is connected to a broadband bridge through two feeds of a unit antenna, and the two output ports of the bridge respectively realize left-handed or right-handed circular polarization. However, whether it is realized by an integrated bridge or a separate device bridge, the broadband bridge will bring about the complexity of the phased array stacking and the front-end loss that cannot be ignored. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a broadband switchable circularly polarized phased array antenna.

[0005] The objective of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0006] A broadband switchable circularly polarized phased array antenna comprises N TR subarrays, each TR subarray comprises 2*2 circularly polarized antenna units, each circularly polarized antenna unit comprises a patch and a first feed point and a second feed point which are orthogonal to each other and independent on the patch; the patch is in the shape of a rectangle with two cut corners, and the two cut corners are located on the same diagonal line of the rectangle; the first feed point and the second feed point cooperate with the patch cut corners to respectively realize left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization of independent feeding.

[0007] Furthermore, it also includes N 8-channel multifunctional chips, the number of TR channels of each TR subarray is 2*4, and the N TR subarrays and the N 8-channel multifunctional chips are connected one by one;

[0008] The 8-channel multifunctional chip includes four receiving ports and four transmitting ports, the four receiving ports are respectively connected to the four first feeding points in the TR subarray in a one-to-one correspondence, and the four transmitting ports are respectively connected to the four second feeding points in the TR subarray in a one-to-one correspondence; the 8-channel multifunctional chip is used to switch the TR channels connected to the four first feeding points and the four second feeding points, and configure the corresponding rotation phases to respectively realize left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization of the rotary feeding.

[0009] Furthermore, the two diagonal circular polarization antenna units in the TR subarray are distributed in a centrally symmetrical manner.

[0010] Furthermore, the patch on the TR subarray is located on the top layer of the multilayer printed circuit board, the 8-channel multifunctional chip is located on the bottom layer of the multilayer printed circuit board, and a plurality of through holes are provided on the multilayer printed circuit board, the through holes correspond to the positions of the feed points one by one and are connected, and the 8-channel multifunctional chip is electrically connected to the first feed point and the second feed point through the corresponding through holes.

[0011] Furthermore, the 8-channel multifunctional chip integrates a low-noise amplifier, a power amplifier, a single-pole double-throw switch, a phase shifter, an attenuator, a synthesis network and a power control circuit; the low-noise amplifier is used to achieve low-noise amplification of the received signal; the power amplifier is used to achieve power amplification of the transmitted signal, and the single-pole double-throw switch is used to switch the transmit and receive states; the phase shifter is used to achieve phase shift control of the component; the attenuator is used to achieve attenuation of the component; the synthesis network is used to achieve power division or synthesis of the channel signal; the power control circuit realizes independent control of the channel receiving and transmitting power supplies.

[0012] Furthermore, the phased array antenna also includes an upper radiation patch attached to an upper dielectric plate, the upper dielectric plate is fixed above the dielectric plate where the TR sub-array is located through a supporting component, and a gap is left between the patch on the TR sub-array and the upper radiation patch.

[0013] Furthermore, the supporting component is a supporting frame, and the supporting frame penetrates the multi-layer printed circuit board and is installed on both sides of the phased array antenna surface.

[0014] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0015] 1) The present invention reduces the components such as broadband bridges in broadband dual circular polarization, which can not only reduce the loss between the antenna end and the multi-function chip, thereby achieving a reduction in the number of array elements and channels of the phased array antenna (reducing the number of channels by 20%) under the same electrical performance indicators, thereby reducing the volume and cost; it can also reduce the number of layers of the phased array antenna printed circuit board (the stacking can be reduced by 6-8 layers) and components.

[0016] 2) The present invention provides a co-aperture phased array antenna for transmitting and receiving at different frequencies, and the transmitting and receiving in the co-aperture antenna are orthogonal left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization. The design of the co-aperture phased array antenna for transmitting and receiving greatly reduces the size and area of ​​the phased array antenna. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 A broadband dual-independent circularly polarized phased array antenna composed of 16 2*2 TR sub-arrays provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2A cross-sectional view of a broadband dual independent circularly polarized phased array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of an 8-channel multifunctional chip provided in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0021] See also Figure 1-Figure 3 , the present invention provides a technical solution:

[0022] Embodiment 1: A broadband switchable circularly polarized phased array antenna, comprising N TR subarrays, each TR subarray comprising 2*2 circularly polarized antenna units, each circularly polarized antenna unit comprising a patch and a first feed point and a second feed point located on the patch, which are orthogonal and independent to each other; the shape of the patch is a rectangle with two cut corners, and the two cut corners are located on the same diagonal of the rectangle; the first feed point and the second feed point cooperate with the patch cut corners to realize left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization with independent feeding, respectively.

[0023] The first feed point and the second feed point are orthogonal, which means that the distribution of the two on the patch is at a 90° angle, such as Figure 1 , establish the coordinate axis with the geometric center of the patch as the origin. Then when the first feed point is in the negative half of the x-axis, the second feed point is in the positive half of the y-axis. When the first feed point is in the positive half of the y-axis, the second feed point is in the positive half of the x-axis. The same goes for the other two distributions.

[0024] Preferably, the two diagonal circularly polarized antenna units in the TR subarray are centrally symmetrically distributed; Figure 1 This embodiment provides a phased array antenna composed of 16 2*2 TR sub-arrays. In a 2*2 TR sub-array, the feeding points of the four circularly polarized antenna units are arranged on both sides of the right angle of the rectangle away from the symmetric center point of the antenna unit.

[0025] Different from the traditional scheme in which two feeds are simultaneously used to realize circular polarization, this embodiment uses two orthogonal feed points combined with the radiating patch cut angle to realize two independent orthogonal circular polarizations, such as Figure 1 As shown: the dark-colored feeding point is the first feeding point to achieve left-hand circular polarization, and the light-colored feeding point is the second feeding point to achieve right-hand circular polarization.

[0026] Embodiment 2: Based on Embodiment 1, this embodiment further includes N 8-channel multifunctional chips, the number of TR channels of each TR subarray is 2*4, and the N TR subarrays and the N 8-channel multifunctional chips are connected in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0027] The 8-channel multifunctional chip includes four receiving ports and four transmitting ports, the four receiving ports are respectively connected to the four first feeding points in the TR subarray in a one-to-one correspondence, and the four transmitting ports are respectively connected to the four second feeding points in the TR subarray in a one-to-one correspondence; the 8-channel multifunctional chip is used to switch the TR channels connected to the four first feeding points and the four second feeding points, and configure the corresponding rotation phases to respectively realize left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization of the rotary feeding.

[0028] The patch on the TR subarray is located on the top layer of the multilayer printed circuit board, and the 8-channel multifunctional chip is located on the bottom layer of the multilayer printed circuit board. A plurality of through holes are provided on the multilayer printed circuit board, and the through holes correspond to and are connected with the feed point positions one by one. The 8-channel multifunctional chip is electrically connected to the first feed point and the second feed point through the corresponding through holes.

[0029] Optionally, the 8-channel multifunctional chip integrates a low-noise amplifier, a power amplifier, a single-pole double-throw switch, a phase shifter, an attenuator, a synthesis network and a power control circuit; the low-noise amplifier is used to achieve low-noise amplification of the received signal; the power amplifier is used to achieve power amplification of the transmitted signal, and the single-pole double-throw switch is used to switch the transmit and receive states; the phase shifter is used to achieve phase shift control of the component; the attenuator is used to achieve attenuation of the component; the synthesis network is used to achieve power division or synthesis of the channel signal; the power control circuit realizes independent control of the channel receiving and transmitting power supplies.

[0030] The internal circuit structure of the 8-channel multi-function chip is as follows Figure 3 As shown, 1 / 3 / 5 / 7 correspond to receiving ports, 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 correspond to transmitting ports, which are respectively connected to the two feeding points of the antenna unit in sequence, LNA is a low noise amplifier, PA is a power amplifier, PS is a digital phase shifter, and ATT is a digital attenuator;

[0031] Two independent left-hand circularly polarized and right-hand circularly polarized feeds are respectively connected to the 8-channel multi-function chip integrated in the receiving and transmitting channels, which can realize the reception and transmission working at different times, and the phased array antenna with different receiving and transmitting frequencies, that is, the co-aperture phased array antenna with different frequencies for transmission and reception, and the transmission and reception in the co-aperture antenna are orthogonal left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization.

[0032] The 2*2 TR subarray is combined with an 8-channel multifunctional chip at the back end of the antenna. A single-pole double-throw switch is used to select to open all receiving ports or all transmitting ports. When the receiving ports are all opened, the phase shifter is used to perform phase-shifted rotation feeding of [0°, 90°, 180°, 270°] on the four receiving ports respectively. When the transmitting ports are all opened, the phase shifter is used to perform phase-shifted rotation feeding of [0°, 270°, 180°, 90°] on the four transmitting ports respectively. When rotating the feeding, the polarization corresponding to the use of the rotating code and the cutting angle is matched. Compared with the independent circular polarization method provided in Example 1, the rotating feeding method of this embodiment can achieve left-handed and right-handed circular polarization with better circular polarization performance.

[0033] Embodiment 3: Based on Embodiment 1 or 2, the phased array antenna of this embodiment further includes an upper radiation patch, which is fixed by a supporting component, and a gap is left between the patch on the TR subarray and the upper radiation patch. The upper and lower layers of radiation patches are used to form a dual resonance point antenna, which can expand the antenna bandwidth.

[0034] Furthermore, the supporting component is a supporting frame, and the supporting frame penetrates the multi-layer printed circuit board and is installed on both sides of the phased array antenna array. Figure 2 As shown, the upper and lower layers of radiation patches are fixed by a support frame, and there is air in the middle, which can reduce the equivalent dielectric constant of the antenna and further expand the antenna bandwidth.

[0035] The broadband switchable circularly polarized phased array antenna design provided by the present invention reduces components such as broadband bridges, which can not only reduce the loss between the antenna end and the multifunctional chip, thereby achieving a reduction in the number of array elements and channels of the phased array antenna (reducing the number of channels by 20%) under the same electrical performance indicators, thereby reducing the volume and cost; it can also reduce the number of layers of the phased array antenna printed circuit board (the stacking can be reduced by 6-8 layers) and components. The present invention provides a co-aperture phased array antenna for transmitting and receiving at different frequencies, and the transmission and reception in the co-aperture antenna are orthogonal left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization. The size and area of ​​the phased array antenna are greatly reduced through the design of a co-aperture phased array antenna for transmitting and receiving.

[0036] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the form disclosed herein, and should not be regarded as excluding other embodiments, but can be used in various other combinations, modifications and environments, and can be modified within the scope of the concept described herein through the above teachings or the technology or knowledge of the relevant field. The changes and modifications made by those skilled in the art shall not deviate from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and shall be within the scope of protection of the claims attached to the present invention.

Claims

1. A broadband switchable circularly polarized phased array antenna, characterized in that: It comprises N TR subarrays, each TR subarray comprises 2*2 circularly polarized antenna units, each circularly polarized antenna unit comprises a patch and a first feeding point and a second feeding point which are orthogonal and independent to each other and are located on the patch; the shape of the patch is a rectangle with two cut corners, and the two cut corners are located on the same diagonal line of the rectangle; the first feeding point and the second feeding point cooperate with the patch cut corners to respectively realize left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization of independent feeding; In a 2*2 TR subarray, the feed points of the four circularly polarized antenna units are set on both sides of the right angle of the rectangle away from the symmetric center point of the antenna unit; It also includes N 8-channel multifunctional chips, the number of TR channels of each TR subarray is 2*4, and the N TR subarrays are connected to the N 8-channel multifunctional chips in a one-to-one correspondence; the 8-channel multifunctional chip includes four receiving ports and four transmitting ports, the four receiving ports are respectively connected to the four first feeding points in the TR subarray in a one-to-one correspondence, and the four transmitting ports are respectively connected to the four second feeding points in the TR subarray in a one-to-one correspondence; the 8-channel multifunctional chip is used to switch the connection to the TR channels where the four first feeding points and the four second feeding points are located, and configure the corresponding rotation phase to respectively realize the left-hand circular polarization and the right-hand circular polarization of the rotation feeding; The patch on the TR subarray is located on the top layer of the multilayer printed circuit board, the 8-channel multifunctional chip is located on the bottom layer of the multilayer printed circuit board, a plurality of through holes are provided on the multilayer printed circuit board, the through holes correspond to the positions of the feed points one by one and are connected, and the 8-channel multifunctional chip is electrically connected to the first feed point and the second feed point through the corresponding through holes; The phased array antenna also includes an upper radiation patch attached to an upper dielectric plate, the upper dielectric plate is fixed above the dielectric plate where the TR sub-array is located through a supporting component, and a gap is left between the patch on the TR sub-array and the upper radiation patch.

2. The broadband switchable circularly polarized phased array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two diagonal circular polarization antenna units in the TR subarray are distributed in a centrally symmetrical manner.

3. The broadband switchable circularly polarized phased array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The 8-channel multifunctional chip integrates a low noise amplifier, a power amplifier, a single-pole double-throw switch, a phase shifter, an attenuator, a synthesis network and a power supply control circuit; The low noise amplifier is used to achieve low noise amplification of the received signal; the power amplifier is used to achieve power amplification of the transmitted signal; the single-pole double-throw switch is used to switch the receiving and transmitting state; the phase shifter is used to achieve phase shift control of the component; the attenuator is used to achieve attenuation of the component; the synthesis network is used to achieve power division or synthesis of the channel signal; The power control circuit realizes independent control of channel receiving and transmitting power.

4. The broadband switchable circularly polarized phased array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supporting component is a supporting frame, and the supporting frame penetrates the multi-layer printed circuit board and is installed on both sides of the phased array antenna surface.

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