Polarization reconfigurable antenna unit

Abstract

The invention discloses a polarized reconfigurable antenna unit, which relates to the field of wireless communication technology, electronic countermeasure technology and radar technology, and adopts a variable capacitance diode to replace a TR (Transmitter and Receiver) component in the traditional process. Modulation of amplitudes and phases of two paths of output signals of the transmission type amplitude-phase regulation and control module is achieved by regulating and controlling capacitance of a variable capacitance diode loaded on the transmission type amplitude-phase regulation and control module, and meanwhile the two paths of modulated signals are transmitted to the patch type radiating antenna module through metal probes. And polarization vector synthesis is carried out on the two paths of modulated signals on the patch type radiating antenna module according to the regulated phase difference and amplitude distribution proportion, so that linear polarization full-range continuous regulation and control within 0-180 degrees can be realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the fields of wireless communication technology, electronic countermeasure technology and radar technology, and in particular to a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit. Background Art

[0002] As an important achievement of modern science and technology, radar can complete multiple tasks such as positioning, navigation and remote sensing, and plays an important role in both military and civilian fields. In recent years, with the continuous advancement of electronic technology, the electromagnetic working environment faced by radar is becoming increasingly complex and fierce.

[0003] At present, for traditional radars with fixed receiving and transmitting polarization, if the transmitted polarization wave does not match the target characteristic polarization, and the received polarization wave does not match the polarization of the echo, it will suffer from double detection loss; in addition, for polarization radars, by analyzing the amplitude and phase characteristics of different polarization echoes, it can also be used to obtain information such as the shape, material, and motion state of the target, which is of great significance for applications such as target recognition, target classification, and target tracking.

[0004] In view of the polarization loss in the traditional radar detection process and the analysis requirements of polarization radar for different polarization echoes, an antenna that can receive multiple polarization waves is needed as a receiver to ensure the effective reception of different polarization echoes. In this case, the polarization reconfigurable antenna can ensure the transmission and reception of different polarization waves in a small size and at a low cost. Although there have been a large number of design studies on polarization reconfigurable antennas, their design ideas are generally to control the switching of polarization states by turning on and off PIN diodes, which can only achieve limited and discrete polarization state control. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiment of the present invention provides a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit, which can solve the problem in the prior art that the switching of polarization states is controlled by turning on and off a PIN diode, and only limited and discrete polarization state regulation can be achieved.

[0006] The embodiment of the present invention provides a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit, including a transmission-type amplitude and phase control module and a patch-type radiation antenna module;

[0007] The transmission type amplitude and phase control module comprises: a T-type power divider, wherein the input end of the T-type power divider is connected to the radio frequency coaxial line, one output end of the T-type power divider is connected to one input end of the 90-degree phase bridge, the other output end of the T-type power divider is connected to the input end of the 360-degree phase shifter, and the output end of the 360-degree phase shifter is connected to the other input end of the 90-degree phase bridge; and two short-circuit branches of the 360-degree phase shifter are respectively loaded with variable capacitance diodes;

[0008] The two output ends of the 90-degree phase bridge are the two output ends of the transmission-type amplitude-phase control module, and are respectively connected to the two feeding ports of the patch-type radiation antenna module through metal probes;

[0009] The RF signal enters through the input end of the T-type power divider, and the RF signal is divided into two paths, one path is input through an input end of the 90-degree phase bridge, and the other path is input through the input end of the 360-degree phase shifter;

[0010] The 360-degree phase shifter is used to change the phase of the input signal so that a phase difference is formed between the radio frequency signals at the two input ends of the 90-degree phase bridge;

[0011] The 90-degree phase bridge is used to superimpose two signal vectors with a phase difference, and output signals with an amplitude distribution ratio in the range of 0 to 1 or 1 to 0 when the two output ends of the 90-degree phase bridge have a phase difference of 0 or 180 degrees.

[0012] Preferably, the transmission type amplitude and phase control module and the patch type radiation antenna module are designed back to back and can share a radio frequency ground plane.

[0013] Preferably, the two output signals of the transmission type amplitude and phase control module can realize arbitrary amplitude distribution ratio control in the range of 0 to 1 or 1 to 0 in the same phase or anti-phase state.

[0014] Preferably, the patch-type radiating antenna module adopts a single-layer narrowband patch antenna or a multi-layer parasitic broadband patch antenna.

[0015] Preferably, the 360-degree phase shifter is also provided with a plurality of grounding metal through holes for conducting the high voltage current appearing on the antenna to the ground.

[0016] Preferably, a plurality of the polarization reconfigurable antenna units are arranged in a periodic array to form a polarization reconfigurable antenna.

[0017] The embodiment of the present invention provides a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit, which has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0018] The present invention adopts a varactor diode to replace the TR component in the traditional process, and realizes modulation of the amplitude and phase of the two output signals of the transmission type amplitude and phase control module by adjusting the capacitance of the varactor diode loaded on the transmission type amplitude and phase control module. At the same time, the two modulated signals are transmitted to the patch type radiation antenna module through a metal probe, and the polarization vectors of the two modulated signals are synthesized on the patch type radiation antenna module according to the adjusted phase difference and amplitude distribution ratio, so as to realize continuous regulation of the full range of linear polarization from 0 to 180 degrees.

[0019] At the same time, the present invention uses low-cost varactor diodes to replace TR components based on semiconductor technology, which greatly reduces production costs and can be widely used. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a transmission-type amplitude and phase control module of a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a patch-type radiating antenna module of a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of S11 curves of a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit under different capacitance values ​​provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 A single polarization far-field pattern of a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6 A 45-degree linear polarization surface current diagram of a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 7 A 90-degree linear polarization surface current diagram of a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 8 A 135-degree linear polarization surface current diagram of a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Fig. 9 A 180-degree linear polarization surface current diagram of a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of an XOZ plane under different polarization states of a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Fig.11 A YOZ plane schematic diagram of a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit under different polarization states provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Among them: 101, a transmission-type amplitude and phase control module, 102, a patch-type radiating antenna module, 1011, an input end, 1012, a 360-degree phase shifter, 1013, a short-circuit branch, 1014, a 90-degree phase bridge, 1015, a T-type power divider, 1021, a first feeding port, and 1022, a second feeding port. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present invention, so the present invention is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0033] In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms “center”, “longitudinal”, “lateral”, “length”, “width”, “thickness”, “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, “outside”, “clockwise”, “counterclockwise”, “axial”, “radial”, “circumferential”, etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0034] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0035] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0036] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" or "above" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0037] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation method.

[0038] See also Figure 1 to Figure 3 An embodiment of the present invention provides a polarization reconfigurable antenna unit, including a transmission-type amplitude and phase control module 101 and a patch-type radiation antenna module 102.

[0039] The transmission type amplitude and phase control module 101 is composed of a T-type power divider 1015, a 0-360 degree phase shifter 1012 and a 90 degree phase bridge 1014; its input end is connected to the RF coaxial line, and is used to generate two output signals under one RF excitation signal. The two output signals can realize arbitrary amplitude distribution ratio control in the range of 0:1 to 1:0 in the same phase or anti-phase state.

[0040] The feeding position of the patch type radiating antenna module 102 is connected to the output end of the transmission type amplitude and phase control module 101. The patch type radiating antenna module 102 is used to radiate the RF signal after amplitude and phase control in free space. Polarization synthesis can be performed through the 0 or 180 degree phase difference at the output end and any amplitude distribution ratio, thereby achieving continuous adjustment of the full range of linear polarization from 0 to 180 degrees.

[0041] The transmission-type amplitude and phase control module 101 and the patch-type radiating antenna module 102 are designed back-to-back and share a radio frequency ground plane.

[0042] The output end of the transmission type amplitude and phase control module 101 is connected to the feeding position of the patch type radiation antenna module 102 through a metal probe.

[0043] The transmission type amplitude and phase control module 101 is specifically realized by mutually cascading a microstrip T-type power divider 1015 , a 360-degree phase shifter 1012 and a 90-degree microstrip phase bridge 1014 .

[0044] The continuous adjustable phase of the 360-degree phase shifter of the transmission-type amplitude-phase control module 101 is achieved by loading a varactor diode on the 90-degree microstrip phase bridge 1014 structure.

[0045] The patch-type radiating antenna module 102 may be implemented in a form including but not limited to a single-layer narrowband patch antenna or a multi-layer parasitic broadband patch antenna.

[0046] Among them, the input end of the transmission type amplitude and phase control module 101 is connected to the RF coaxial line. When the RF signal excites the transmission type amplitude and phase control module 101, the RF signal can achieve the switching of the in-phase or anti-phase phase difference and the arbitrary regulation of the amplitude distribution ratio.

[0047] Among them, the transmission type amplitude and phase control module 101 is used to receive the transmitted RF signal and switch the in-phase or anti-phase phase difference of the RF signal and arbitrarily control the amplitude distribution ratio. The two output ports of the transmission type amplitude and phase control module 101 are respectively connected to the patch type radiating antenna module 102 to excite two mutually orthogonal polarization components, thereby realizing the reconfiguration of any linear polarization angle from 0 to 180 degrees.

[0048] The RF signal enters through the input end of the T-type power divider 1015, and the RF signal is divided into two paths, one path is input from one input end of the 90-degree phase bridge 1014, and the other path is input from the input end of the 360-degree phase shifter 1012; by changing the capacitance value of the varactor diode on the two short-circuit branches 1013 of the 360-degree phase shifter 1012, the reactance of the two short-circuit branches of the 360-degree phase shifter 1012 is changed, so that the phase of the RF signal changes, and the RF signal with phase change is input from the output end of the 360-degree phase shifter 1012 to the other input end of the 90-degree phase bridge 1014, and then the phase of the RF signal changes. A phase difference is formed between the RF signals at the two input ends of the 90-degree phase bridge 1014, and the two signals with phase difference are vector-superimposed in the 90-degree phase bridge 1014, and signals with a phase difference of 0 degree or 180 degrees are output at the two output ends of the 90-degree phase bridge 1014, and the two output signals are signals with any amplitude distribution ratio in the range of 0 to 1 or 1 to 0, and reach the two feeding ports of the patch-type radiating antenna module 102 through two metal probes. The patch-type radiating antenna module 102 radiates the two regulated signals in free space, realizing continuous regulation of the full range of linear polarization from 0 to 180 degrees.

[0049] Specifically, the transmission type amplitude and phase control module 101 can achieve amplitude and phase control of two output ports by phase control of a transmission type phase shifter loaded with a varactor diode, and replaces the TR component based on semiconductor process with a low-cost varactor diode.

[0050] The feeding position of the patch-type radiating antenna module 102 is connected to the output end of the transmission-type amplitude and phase control module 101. The patch-type radiating antenna module 102 is used to radiate the RF signal after phase control and amplitude control in free space, and finally realize the full range connection and adjustment of the linear polarization of 0 to 180 degrees of the antenna unit through the vector synthesis of the polarization components.

[0051] The transmission type amplitude and phase control module 101 and the patch type radiating antenna module 102 are designed back to back so that they share the RF ground plane; the output end of the transmission type amplitude and phase control module 101 is connected to the feeding position of the patch type radiating antenna module 102 through a metal probe, and has the characteristics of low loss and compact structure.

[0052] like Figure 4 As shown, in the curve of the antenna unit S11, it can be seen that at 3.22 GHz, the antenna units in different linear polarization states are well matched.

[0053] like Figure 5 As shown, in the far-field pattern of the antenna unit, the radiation direction of the antenna unit is perpendicular to the unit plane.

[0054] like Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 and Fig. 9 As shown, it is a schematic diagram of the two-dimensional surface current of the antenna, where the flow direction of the surface current indicates the change of the linear polarization angle, which is 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 135 degrees and 180 degrees respectively.

[0055] like Fig.10 and Fig.11 As shown, it is the two-dimensional radiation pattern of the far-field scanning of the antenna of the present invention. It can be seen that the radiation pattern under different linear polarization angles does not change significantly, which illustrates the characteristic that the radiation pattern of the antenna unit does not change significantly with the change of the polarization characteristics.

[0056] The present invention realizes amplitude and phase modulation of two polarization components of the antenna unit through a transmission-type phase-shifting amplitude modulation circuit loaded with a varactor diode integrated in the antenna; at the same time, the bottom feeding network is connected to the antenna radiator through a metal probe, which can greatly improve the polarization reconfiguration capability and reduce the implementation cost of the radar receiver antenna.

[0057] The present invention is different from the traditional method of controlling the polarization state by phase control. It is a polarization reconfigurable form based on amplitude control. The transmission-type amplitude-phase control circuit uses a low-cost varactor diode to replace the TR component based on semiconductor technology, effectively reducing the cost. By loading a varactor diode on the feeding network, the amplitude connection control under phase induction is realized, and the connection between phase modulation and amplitude modulation is successfully established, thereby expanding the amplitude modulation design method and greatly improving the amplitude reconfiguration capability.

[0058] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A polarization reconfigurable antenna unit, characterized in that: include: A transmission-type amplitude and phase control module (101) and a patch-type radiation antenna module (102); The transmission-type amplitude-phase control module (101) comprises: a T-type power divider (1015), wherein the input end of the T-type power divider (1015) is connected to a radio frequency coaxial line, an output end of the T-type power divider (1015) is connected to an input end of a 90-degree phase bridge (1014), the other output end of the T-type power divider (1015) is connected to the input end of a 360-degree phase shifter (1012), and the output end of the 360-degree phase shifter (1012) is connected to the other input end of the 90-degree phase bridge (1014); and two short-circuit branches of the 360-degree phase shifter (1012) are respectively loaded with variable capacitance diodes; The two output ends of the 90-degree phase bridge (1014) are the two output ends of the transmission-type amplitude and phase control module (101), and are respectively connected to the two feeding ports of the patch-type radiation antenna module (102) through metal probes; The radio frequency signal enters through the input end of the T-type power divider (1015), and the radio frequency signal is divided into two paths, one path is input through an input end of the 90-degree phase bridge (1014), and the other path is input through the input end of the 360-degree phase shifter (1012); The 360-degree phase shifter (1012) is used to change the phase of the input signal so that a phase difference is formed between the radio frequency signals at the two input ends of the 90-degree phase bridge (1014); The 90-degree phase bridge (1014) is used to superimpose two signal vectors with a phase difference, and output signals with an amplitude distribution ratio in the range of 0 to 1 or 1 to 0 when the phase difference is 0 or 180 degrees at two output ends of the 90-degree phase bridge (1014).

2. The polarization reconfigurable antenna unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transmission-type amplitude and phase control module (101) and the patch-type radiation antenna module (102) are designed back-to-back and can share a radio frequency ground plane.

3. The polarization reconfigurable antenna unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two output signals of the transmission type amplitude and phase control module (101) can realize arbitrary amplitude distribution ratio control in the range of 0 to 1 or 1 to 0 in the same phase or anti-phase state.

4. The polarization reconfigurable antenna unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The patch type radiating antenna module (102) adopts a single-layer narrowband patch antenna or a multi-layer parasitic broadband patch antenna.

5. The polarization reconfigurable antenna unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The 360-degree phase shifter is also provided with a plurality of grounding metal through holes for conducting the high voltage current appearing on the antenna to the ground.

6. The polarization reconfigurable antenna unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of the polarization reconfigurable antenna units are arranged in a periodic array to form a polarization reconfigurable antenna.

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