Liquid crystal phase shifter and liquid crystal antenna

Abstract

The present invention provides a liquid crystal phase shifter and a liquid crystal antenna, belonging to the field of communication technology. The liquid crystal phase shifter of the present invention comprises: a microwave transmission structure and a phase adjustment structure arranged opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer located between the microwave transmission structure and the phase adjustment structure; wherein the phase adjustment structure comprises a plurality of phase adjustment units; the phase adjustment unit is used to change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer and adjust the phase of the microwave signal according to the voltage applied thereto and the voltage applied to the microwave transmission structure; and the phase shift amount adjusted by each of the phase adjustment units is different.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of communications, and in particular relates to a liquid crystal phase shifter and a liquid crystal antenna. Background Art

[0002] A phase shifter is a device used to change the phase of an electromagnetic wave signal. An ideal phase shifter has very small insertion loss and almost the same loss in different phase states to achieve amplitude balance. There are several types of phase shifters, such as electrically controlled, optically controlled, magnetically controlled, and mechanically controlled. The basic function of a phase shifter is to change the transmission phase of a microwave signal by controlling the bias voltage. It is divided into digital and analog types (the phase shift amount is continuously adjustable). A digital phase shifter is an important component in a phased array antenna, used to control the phase of each signal in the antenna array, enabling the radiation beam to be electronically scanned; it is also commonly used in digital communication systems as a phase modulator. A new type of digital shifter is provided in the present invention. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art and provide a liquid crystal phase shifter and a liquid crystal antenna capable of realizing independent control of the phase shift amount.

[0004] The technical solution adopted to solve the technical problem of the present invention is a liquid crystal phase shifter, comprising: a microwave transmission structure and a phase adjustment structure arranged opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer located between the microwave transmission structure and the phase adjustment structure; wherein the phase adjustment structure comprises a plurality of phase adjustment units; the phase adjustment unit is used to change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer and adjust the phase of the microwave signal according to the voltage applied thereto and the voltage applied to the microwave transmission structure; and the phase shift amount adjusted corresponding to each of the phase adjustment units is different.

[0005] Preferably, the microwave transmission structure comprises:

[0006] first base;

[0007] a microstrip line, located on a side of the first substrate close to the liquid crystal layer;

[0008] The ground electrode is located on the side of the first substrate away from the liquid crystal layer; wherein the phase adjustment unit is used to change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer and adjust the phase of the microwave signal according to the voltage applied thereon and the voltage applied on the microstrip line.

[0009] Further preferably, the phase adjustment structure includes:

[0010] Second base;

[0011] The phase adjustment unit is arranged on the side of the second substrate close to the liquid crystal layer; wherein,

[0012] The phase adjustment unit includes a plurality of electrode strips arranged side by side on the first side surface of the second substrate, and the electrode strips at least partially overlap with the orthographic projection of the microstrip line on the first substrate, and the number of electrode strips in each phase adjustment unit is different.

[0013] Further preferably, the extension direction of the electrode strip is perpendicular to the extension direction of the microstrip line.

[0014] Preferably, the microwave transmission structure comprises:

[0015] first base;

[0016] The coplanar waveguide layer is located on a side of the first substrate close to the liquid crystal layer.

[0017] It is further preferred that the coplanar waveguide layer comprises:

[0018] a central band, located on a side of the first substrate close to the liquid crystal layer;

[0019] Two grounding belts are arranged on both sides of the central belt; wherein,

[0020] The phase adjustment unit is used to change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer and adjust the phase of the microwave signal according to the voltage applied thereon and the voltage applied to the central band.

[0021] Further preferably, the phase adjustment structure includes:

[0022] Second base;

[0023] The phase adjustment unit is arranged on the side of the second substrate close to the liquid crystal layer; wherein,

[0024] The phase adjustment unit includes a plurality of electrode strips arranged side by side on the first side surface of the second substrate, and the electrode strips at least partially overlap with the positive projection of the center band on the first substrate, and the number of electrode strips in each phase adjustment unit is different.

[0025] Further preferably, the extension direction of the electrode strips is perpendicular to the extension direction of the central band.

[0026] Preferably, a plurality of bias lines are further arranged in the peripheral area of ​​the first side surface of the second substrate, and each bias line is connected to each electrode strip in the corresponding phase adjustment unit.

[0027] Preferably, the spacings between the electrode strips are the same.

[0028] Preferably, the material of the electrode strips includes any one of aluminum, silver, gold, chromium, molybdenum, nickel and iron.

[0029] The technical solution adopted to solve the technical problem of the present invention is a liquid crystal antenna, which includes the above-mentioned liquid crystal phase shifter.

[0030] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0031] Since in the liquid crystal phase shifter of the present invention, the phase adjustment structure includes a plurality of phase adjustment units, and each phase adjustment unit and microwave transmission structure drives the liquid crystal layer to deflect and changes the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer after voltage is applied to form an electric field, the phase of the microwave signal can be changed, and different phase adjustment units and microwave transmission structures have different corresponding adjusted phase shift amounts after voltage is applied, that is, each phase adjustment unit adjusts a phase shift amount accordingly, so when the phase shift amount is adjusted, the corresponding phase adjustment unit can be controlled to apply voltage according to the size of the phase shift amount to be adjusted, without applying voltage to all the phase adjustment units, so that the phase shifter of the present invention is easy to control and has low power consumption. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal phase shifter according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 is a top perspective view of a liquid crystal phase shifter according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A magnified view of position A in the middle;

[0035] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal phase shifter according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 5 is a top perspective view of a liquid crystal phase shifter according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 6 for Figure 5 Enlarged view of position A in the middle.

[0038] The figures are marked as follows: 1. microwave transmission structure; 10. first substrate; 11. microstrip line; 12. ground electrode; 13. center strip; 14. ground strip; 2. phase adjustment structure; 20. second substrate; 21. phase adjustment unit; 211. electrode strip; 22. bias line; 3. liquid crystal layer; 31. liquid crystal molecules. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0040] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in this embodiment should be understood by a person with ordinary skills in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. The words "first", "second" and similar words used in this embodiment do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. "Include" or "comprise" and similar words mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word include the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. "Connect" or "connected" and similar words are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "Up", "down", "left", "right" and the like are only used to indicate relative positional relationships. When the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0041] It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, film, region, or substrate is referred to as being “on” or “under” another element, it can be “directly on” or “under” the other element or intervening elements may be present.

[0042] Embodiment 1:

[0043] The present embodiment provides a digital liquid crystal phase shifter, comprising: a microwave transmission structure and a phase adjustment structure arranged opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer located between the microwave transmission structure and the phase adjustment structure; wherein the phase adjustment structure comprises a plurality of phase adjustment units; each phase adjustment unit is used to change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer and adjust the phase of the microwave signal according to the voltage applied thereto and the voltage applied to the microwave transmission structure; and each phase adjustment unit has a different corresponding adjusted phase shift amount.

[0044] It should be noted that the number of bits of the phase shifter determines the number of phase adjustment units, that is, the number of phase shifters is N, which determines the number of phase adjustment units to be N. At this time, 2 N Phase shift (or phase state) with an interval of 360° / 2 N .

[0045] Since in the liquid crystal phase shifter of the present embodiment, the phase adjustment structure includes a plurality of phase adjustment units, and each phase adjustment unit and microwave transmission structure drives the liquid crystal layer to deflect and changes the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer after voltage is applied thereto to form an electric field, the phase of the microwave signal can be changed, and different phase adjustment units and microwave transmission structures have different corresponding adjusted phase shift amounts after voltage is applied thereto, that is, each phase adjustment unit adjusts a corresponding phase shift amount, so when adjusting the phase shift amount, the corresponding phase adjustment unit can be controlled to apply voltage according to the magnitude of the phase shift amount to be adjusted, without applying voltage to all the phase adjustment units, so that the phase shifter in the present embodiment is easy to control and has low power consumption.

[0046] Embodiment 2:

[0047] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a digital liquid crystal phase shifter, comprising: a microwave transmission structure 1 and a phase adjustment structure 2 arranged opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer 3 located between the microwave transmission structure 1 and the phase adjustment structure 2; the microwave transmission structure 1 in the liquid crystal phase shifter comprises: a first substrate 10, a microstrip line 11 arranged on the side of the first substrate 10 close to the liquid crystal layer 3, and a ground electrode 12 located on the side of the first substrate 10 away from the liquid crystal layer 3; each phase adjustment unit 21 in the phase adjustment structure 2 comprises a plurality of electrode strips 211 arranged on the side of the second substrate 20 close to the liquid crystal layer 3, and the number of electrode strips 211 in different phase adjustment units 21 is different. The orthographic projections of the microstrip line 11 and each electrode strip 211 on the substrate at least partially overlap.

[0048] Among them, in this phase shifter, the microstrip line 11 is used as a part of the structure of the microwave transmission structure 1, and also as a part of the structure of the phase adjustment structure 2. That is to say, the microstrip line 11 can be loaded with voltage and can also receive or send microwave signals. Among them, especially in the embodiment, the microstrip line 11 and the ground electrode 12 are used as the microwave transmission structure 1. At this time, most of the microwave signals will be transmitted in the first substrate 10 between the microstrip line 11 and the ground electrode 12, and the first substrate 10 is usually made of glass, ceramics and other materials. The microwave signal will not be absorbed when it is transmitted therein, so the loss of microwaves can be effectively reduced.

[0049] In order to facilitate control and simplify wiring, each electrode strip 211 in each phase adjustment unit 21 is controlled by the same bias line 22 .

[0050] Among them, Figure 2 and 3As shown, taking a six-bit liquid crystal digital liquid crystal phase shifter as an example, the phase shifter has a total of six phase adjustment units 21, and the number of electrode strips 211 in different phase adjustment units 21 is different; each phase adjustment unit 21 is independently controlled by a bias line 22 to complete the presentation of 64 phase quantities. For example: six phase adjustment units 21 are used to achieve phase shifts of 0.9°, 1.5°, 3.1°, 6.1°, 11.5°, and 23.1° from top to bottom.

[0051] If a microwave signal is used to achieve a phase shift of 0.9°, it is only necessary to apply a voltage to the bias line 22 connected to the first phase adjustment unit 21 corresponding to the phase shift, so that the bias line 22 outputs the voltage signal to the electrode strip 211 connected thereto, and at the same time apply a voltage to the microstrip line 11. At this time, an electric field is generated between the microstrip line 11 and the electrode strip 211 loaded with voltage to drive the liquid crystal molecules 31 to deflect, thereby changing the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 3, so that the phase of the microwave signal produces a phase shift of 0.9°. If the phase shift achieved by the microwave signal is 2.4°, it is necessary to control the bias lines 22 connected to the first phase adjustment unit 21 and the second phase adjustment unit 21 to be loaded with voltage signals, so as to control the electrode strips 211 in the two phase adjustment units 21 to be loaded with voltage signals, and to load voltage to the microstrip line 11 at the same time. At this time, an electric field is generated between the microstrip line 11 and the electrode strips 211 loaded with voltage to drive the liquid crystal molecules 31 to deflect, thereby changing the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 3, so that the phase of the microwave signal produces a phase shift of 2.4°. Similarly, if other phase shifts are achieved (excluding the above-mentioned 6 phase shifts), it is necessary to control the phase adjustment units 21 that can be combined to achieve the phase shift and work according to the above method to change the phase of the microwave signal.

[0052] In this phase shifter, all the electrode strips 211 on the second substrate 20 are arranged periodically. Specifically, the spacing between the electrode strips 211 can be set to be the same. Of course, the spacing between the electrode strips 211 can also be arranged according to a certain rule. This is set to facilitate the control of the electrode strips 211.

[0053] The extension direction of the electrode strip 211 is arranged perpendicular to the extension direction of the microstrip line 11. It should be noted that the extension direction of the electrode strip 211 and the extension direction of the microstrip line 11 both refer to the long axis direction of each electrode strip 211. The reason for such arrangement is to make the overlapping area of ​​each electrode strip 211 and the microstrip line 11 large enough so that when a voltage is applied to the electrode strip 211 in each phase adjustment unit 21, the electric field formed between the electrode strip 211 and the microstrip line 11 is large enough to drive the liquid crystal molecules 31 to deflect, change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 3, and achieve phase shift.

[0054] Among them, the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 can adopt a peeling substrate with a thickness of 100-1000 microns, or a sapphire substrate, and can also use a polyethylene terephthalate substrate, a triallyl cyanurate substrate, and a polyimide transparent flexible substrate with a thickness of 10-500 microns. Specifically, the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 can adopt high-purity quartz glass with extremely low dielectric loss. Compared with ordinary glass substrates, the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 use quartz glass to effectively reduce the loss of microwaves, so that the phase shifter has low power consumption and high signal-to-noise ratio.

[0055] The materials of the microstrip line 11, the ground electrode 12 and the electrode strip 211 can all be made of metals such as aluminum, silver, gold, chromium, molybdenum, nickel or iron. Moreover, the microstrip line 11 can also be made of transparent conductive oxide.

[0056] Among them, the liquid crystal molecules 31 in the liquid crystal layer 3 are positive liquid crystal molecules or negative liquid crystal molecules. It should be noted that when the liquid crystal molecules 31 are positive liquid crystal molecules, the angle between the long axis direction of the liquid crystal molecules 31 and the second electrode in the specific embodiment of the present invention is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 45 degrees. When the liquid crystal molecules 31 are negative liquid crystal molecules, the angle between the long axis direction of the liquid crystal molecules 31 and the second electrode in the specific embodiment of the present invention is greater than 45 degrees and less than 90 degrees, which ensures that after the liquid crystal molecules 31 are deflected, the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 3 is changed to achieve the purpose of phase shift.

[0057] Since in the liquid crystal phase shifter of the present embodiment, the phase adjustment structure 2 includes a plurality of phase adjustment units 21, and each phase adjustment unit 21 and microstrip line 11 drives the liquid crystal layer 3 to deflect and change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 3 after voltage is applied to form an electric field, the phase of the microwave signal can be changed, and the electrode strips 211 and microstrip lines 11 in different phase adjustment units 21 have different corresponding phase shift amounts after voltage is applied, that is, each phase adjustment unit 21 adjusts a corresponding phase shift amount, so when the phase shift amount is adjusted, the corresponding phase adjustment unit 21 can be controlled to apply voltage according to the magnitude of the phase shift amount to be adjusted, without applying voltage to all phase adjustment units 21, so that the phase shifter in the present embodiment is easy to control and has low power consumption. In addition, the microstrip line 11 and the ground electrode 12 are used as the microwave transmission structure 1, at this time, most of the microwave signals will be transmitted in the first substrate 10 between the microstrip line 11 and the ground electrode 12, and the first substrate 10 is usually made of glass, ceramics and other materials, and the microwave signal will not be absorbed when transmitted therein, so the microwave loss can be effectively reduced.

[0058] Embodiment 3:

[0059] like Figure 4As shown, this embodiment provides a digital liquid crystal phase shifter, comprising: a microwave transmission structure 1 and a phase adjustment structure 2 arranged opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer 3 located between the microwave transmission structure 1 and the phase adjustment structure 2; the microwave transmission structure 1 in the phase shifter comprises: a first substrate 10, and a coplanar waveguide layer located on the side of the first substrate 10 close to the liquid crystal layer 3; wherein the coplanar waveguide layer specifically comprises: a central strip 13 located on the first substrate 10; and two ground strips 14, which are arranged on both sides of the central strip 13. The phase adjustment structure 2 comprises: a second substrate 20, and a plurality of phase adjustment units 21 located on the second substrate 20 close to the liquid crystal layer 3; wherein each phase adjustment unit 21 comprises: a plurality of electrode strips 211 arranged side by side and arranged on the first side of the second substrate 20, and the electrode strips 211 at least partially overlap with the orthographic projection of the central strip 13 on the first substrate 10, and the number of electrode strips 211 in each phase adjustment unit 21 is different.

[0060] Among them, in this phase shifter, the microwave signal is transmitted in the area defined between the central band 13 and the ground band 14 of the coplanar waveguide layer. When the coplanar waveguide layer is applied to the phase shifter, the thickness of the liquid crystal layer 3 is designed to be relatively thin, approximately 4-5μm, so the microwave signal is transmitted in the liquid crystal layer 3, but the loss of the microwave signal is also relatively small.

[0061] In order to facilitate control and simplify wiring, each electrode strip 211 in each phase adjustment unit 21 is controlled by the same bias line 22 .

[0062] Among them, Figure 5 and 6 As shown, taking a six-bit liquid crystal digital liquid crystal phase shifter as an example, the phase shifter has a total of six phase adjustment units 21, and the number of electrode strips 211 in different phase adjustment units 21 is different; each phase adjustment unit 21 is independently controlled by a bias line 22 to complete the presentation of 64 phase quantities. For example: six phase adjustment units 21 are used to achieve phase shifts of 0.9°, 1.5°, 3.1°, 6.1°, 11.5°, and 23.1° from top to bottom.

[0063] If a microwave signal is used to achieve a phase shift of 0.9°, it is only necessary to load a voltage on the bias line 22 connected to the first phase adjustment unit 21 corresponding to the phase shift, so that the bias line 22 outputs the voltage signal to the electrode strip 211 connected thereto, and at the same time load a voltage on the center band 13. At this time, an electric field is generated between the center band 13 and the electrode strip 211 loaded with voltage to drive the liquid crystal molecules 31 to deflect, thereby changing the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 3, so that the phase of the microwave signal produces a phase shift of 0.9°. If the phase shift achieved by the microwave signal is 2.4°, it is necessary to control the bias lines 22 connected to the first phase adjustment unit 21 and the second phase adjustment unit 21 to be loaded with voltage signals, so as to control the electrode strips 211 in the two phase adjustment units 21 to be loaded with voltage signals, and at the same time load a voltage on the center band 13. At this time, an electric field is generated between the center band 13 and the electrode strip 211 loaded with voltage to drive the liquid crystal molecules 31 to deflect, thereby changing the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 3, so that the phase of the microwave signal produces a phase shift of 2.4°. Similarly, if other phase shift amounts (excluding the above-mentioned 6 phase shift amounts) are to be realized, it is necessary to control the phase adjustment unit 21 that can be combined to realize the phase shift amount and work according to the above-mentioned method to change the phase of the microwave signal.

[0064] In this phase shifter, all the electrode strips 211 on the second substrate are arranged periodically. Specifically, the spacing between the electrode strips 211 can be set to be the same. Of course, the spacing between the electrode strips 211 can also be arranged according to a certain rule. This is set to facilitate the control of the electrode strips 211.

[0065] The extension direction of the electrode strips 211 is arranged perpendicular to the extension direction of the center band 13. It should be noted that the extension direction of the electrode strips 211 and the extension direction of the center band 13 both refer to their respective long axis directions. The reason for such arrangement is to make the overlapping area of ​​each electrode strip 211 and the center band 13 large enough so that when a voltage is applied to the electrode strips 211 in each phase adjustment unit 21, the electric field formed between the electrode strips 211 and the center band 13 is large enough to drive the liquid crystal molecules 31 to deflect, change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 3, and achieve phase shift.

[0066] Among them, the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 can adopt a peeling substrate with a thickness of 100-1000 microns, or a sapphire substrate, and can also use a polyethylene terephthalate substrate, a triallyl cyanurate substrate, and a polyimide transparent flexible substrate with a thickness of 10-500 microns. Specifically, the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 can adopt high-purity quartz glass with extremely low dielectric loss. Compared with ordinary glass substrates, the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 use quartz glass to effectively reduce the loss of microwaves, so that the phase shifter has low power consumption and high signal-to-noise ratio.

[0067] The center strip 13 , the grounding strip 14 , and the electrode strip 211 may be made of metals such as aluminum, silver, gold, chromium, molybdenum, nickel, or iron.

[0068] Among them, the liquid crystal molecules 31 in the liquid crystal layer 3 are positive liquid crystal molecules or negative liquid crystal molecules. It should be noted that when the liquid crystal molecules 31 are positive liquid crystal molecules, the angle between the long axis direction of the liquid crystal molecules 31 and the second electrode in the specific embodiment of the present invention is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 45 degrees. When the liquid crystal molecules 31 are negative liquid crystal molecules 31, the angle between the long axis direction of the liquid crystal molecules 31 and the second electrode in the specific embodiment of the present invention is greater than 45 degrees and less than 90 degrees, which ensures that after the liquid crystal molecules 31 are deflected, the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 3 is changed to achieve the purpose of phase shift.

[0069] Since in the liquid crystal phase shifter of the present embodiment, the phase adjustment structure 2 includes a plurality of phase adjustment units 21, and each phase adjustment unit 21 and the central band 13 drive the liquid crystal layer 3 to deflect and change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 3 after voltage is applied thereto to form an electric field, the phase of the microwave signal can be changed, and the electrode strips 211 and the central band 13 in different phase adjustment units 21 have different corresponding adjusted phase shift amounts after voltage is applied thereto, that is, each phase adjustment unit 21 has a corresponding adjusted phase shift amount, so when the phase shift amount is adjusted, the corresponding phase adjustment unit 21 can be controlled to apply voltage according to the magnitude of the phase shift amount to be adjusted, without applying voltage to all the phase adjustment units 21, so that the phase shifter in the present embodiment is easy to control and has low power consumption.

[0070] Embodiment 4:

[0071] This embodiment provides a liquid crystal antenna, which includes any one of the liquid crystal phase shifters in embodiments 1-3. At least two patch units are further provided on the side of the second substrate away from the liquid crystal layer, wherein the gap between each two patch units is provided corresponding to the gap between the electrode strips. In this way, the microwave signal after the phase adjustment by the phase shifter in embodiment 1 can be radiated from the gap between the patch units.

[0072] Of course, the liquid crystal antenna also includes a feeding interface for feeding the microwave signal in the cable to a microwave transmission structure, such as a microstrip line.

[0073] Since the liquid crystal antenna in this embodiment includes any one of the liquid crystal phase shifters in embodiments 1-3, the phase adjustment structure therein includes a plurality of phase adjustment units, and each phase adjustment unit and microwave transmission structure drives the liquid crystal layer to deflect and changes the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer after voltage is applied thereto to form an electric field, so that the phase of the microwave signal can be changed, and different phase adjustment units and microwave transmission structures have different corresponding adjusted phase shift amounts after voltage is applied thereto, that is, each phase adjustment unit adjusts a corresponding phase shift amount, so when adjusting the phase shift amount, the corresponding phase adjustment unit can be controlled to apply voltage according to the size of the phase shift amount to be adjusted, without applying voltage to all the phase adjustment units, so that the phase shifter in this embodiment is easy to control and has low power consumption.

[0074] It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments used to illustrate the principles of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For those of ordinary skill in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal phase shifter, characterized in that: include: A microwave transmission structure and a phase adjustment structure are arranged opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer is located between the microwave transmission structure and the phase adjustment structure; wherein, The microwave transmission structure comprises: a first substrate; a microstrip line located on a side of the first substrate close to the liquid crystal layer; a ground electrode located on a side of the first substrate away from the liquid crystal layer; the first substrate is glass or ceramic; The phase adjustment structure includes multiple phase adjustment units; the phase adjustment unit is used to change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer and adjust the phase of the microwave signal according to the voltage applied thereon and the voltage applied on the microstrip line; the phase adjustment unit includes multiple electrode strips arranged side by side, the number of electrode strips in at least two phase adjustment units is different, and the corresponding phase shift amounts adjusted by at least two phase adjustment units are different.

2. The liquid crystal phase shifter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The phase adjustment structure comprises: Second base; The phase adjustment unit is arranged on the side of the second substrate close to the liquid crystal layer; wherein, The electrode strips are arranged on the first side surface of the second substrate, and the electrode strips at least partially overlap with the orthographic projection of the microstrip line on the first substrate, and the number of electrode strips in each phase adjustment unit is different.

3. The liquid crystal phase shifter according to claim 2, characterized in that: The extending direction of the electrode strip is perpendicular to the extending direction of the microstrip line.

4. The liquid crystal phase shifter according to claim 2, characterized in that: A plurality of bias lines are also arranged in the peripheral area of ​​the first side surface of the second substrate, and each bias line is connected to each electrode strip in the corresponding phase adjustment unit.

5. The liquid crystal phase shifter according to any one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that: The distances between the electrode strips are the same.

6. The liquid crystal phase shifter according to any one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that: The material of the electrode strips includes any one of aluminum, silver, gold, chromium, molybdenum, nickel, and iron.

7. A liquid crystal phase shifter, characterized in that: include: A microwave transmission structure and a phase adjustment structure are arranged opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer is located between the microwave transmission structure and the phase adjustment structure; wherein, The microwave transmission structure comprises: a first substrate; a coplanar waveguide layer located on the side of the first substrate close to the liquid crystal layer; the first substrate is glass or ceramic; The coplanar waveguide layer comprises: a central strip located on the side of the first substrate close to the liquid crystal layer; and two ground strips located on both sides of the central strip. The phase adjustment structure includes multiple phase adjustment units; the phase adjustment unit is used to change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer and adjust the phase of the microwave signal according to the voltage applied thereon and the voltage applied to the center band; the phase adjustment unit includes multiple electrode strips arranged side by side, the number of electrode strips in at least two phase adjustment units is different, and the corresponding phase shift amounts adjusted by at least two phase adjustment units are different.

8. The liquid crystal phase shifter according to claim 7, characterized in that: The phase adjustment structure comprises: Second base; The phase adjustment unit is arranged on the side of the second substrate close to the liquid crystal layer; wherein, The electrode strips are arranged on the first side surface of the second substrate, and the electrode strips at least partially overlap with the orthographic projection of the central band on the first substrate, and the number of electrode strips in each phase adjustment unit is different.

9. The liquid crystal phase shifter according to claim 8, characterized in that: The extension direction of the electrode strips is perpendicular to the extension direction of the central belt.

10. The liquid crystal phase shifter according to claim 8, characterized in that: A plurality of bias lines are also arranged in the peripheral area of ​​the first side surface of the second substrate, and each bias line is connected to each electrode strip in the corresponding phase adjustment unit.

11. The liquid crystal phase shifter according to any one of claims 8 and 9, characterized in that: The distances between the electrode strips are the same.

12. The liquid crystal phase shifter according to any one of claims 8 and 9, characterized in that: The material of the electrode strips includes any one of aluminum, silver, gold, chromium, molybdenum, nickel, and iron.

13. A liquid crystal antenna, characterized in that: A liquid crystal phase shifter comprising any one of claims 1-12.

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