Vertical end-fire antenna

Abstract

Techniques for making endfire antennas are described. An example of an electronic device having an endfire antenna includes a housing of the electronic device and a circuit board, the circuit board including electronic components of the mobile electronic device. The circuit board is parallel to a major plane of the housing. The electronic device includes an antenna coupled to the circuit board. At least a portion of the antenna is oriented perpendicular to the first circuit board to generate a radiation pattern having an amplitude in the endfire direction greater than an amplitude in the broadside direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to vertical end-fire antennas for electronic devices. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to vertical end-fire antennas for handheld electronic devices such as smart phones, tablet PCs, and the like. Background Art

[0002] The number of integrated wireless technologies included in mobile computing devices is increasing. These wireless technologies include, but are not limited to, WIFI, WiGig, mmWave, and wireless wide area network (WWAN) technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE). The small size and limited battery power available in such devices are challenging when including several antennas with appropriate performance characteristics. Summary of the invention

[0003] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a handheld mobile electronic device with an end-fire antenna, comprising: a housing of the mobile electronic device; a first circuit board, the first circuit board comprising electronic components of the mobile electronic device, wherein the first circuit board is parallel to a main plane of the housing; an antenna, the antenna being coupled to the first circuit board, wherein at least a portion of the antenna is oriented perpendicular to the first circuit board to generate a radiation pattern, the amplitude of the radiation pattern in the end-fire direction is greater than the amplitude in the broadside direction, wherein the antenna comprises a patch antenna, and the patch antenna is partially embedded in a substrate of the first circuit board.

[0004] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing an end-fire antenna, comprising: forming a ground layer on a first surface of a first circuit board; forming a patch layer on a second surface of the first circuit board; vertically arranging the first circuit board on the second circuit board by configuring the first circuit board to be partially embedded in the second circuit board; and coupling the ground layer and the patch layer to contact pads of the second circuit board by ball grid array (BGA) surface mounting.

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing an end-fire antenna, comprising: forming a ground layer on a bottom surface of a circuit substrate; mounting a dielectric block on a top surface of the circuit substrate; and forming a signal layer on a vertical side of the dielectric block, wherein the signal layer is perpendicular to the ground layer, wherein: the ground layer comprises a first ground element and a second ground element, the second ground element and the first ground element being arranged in a mirror configuration; the signal layer comprises a first signal element on a first vertical side of the dielectric block and a second signal element on a second vertical side of the dielectric block; the first ground element and the first signal element form a first antenna element; and the second ground element and the second signal element form a second antenna element.

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing an end-fire antenna, comprising: forming a first antenna element on a flexible circuit substrate; forming a second antenna element on the flexible circuit substrate, wherein the second antenna element is a mirror image of the first antenna element around a centerline separating the first antenna element and the second antenna element; folding the flexible antenna substrate around the centerline to form vertical portions of the first antenna element and the second antenna element; folding a portion of the first antenna element and the second antenna element to form a horizontal base; and partially embedding the first antenna element and the second antenna element into a circuit board, the circuit board including electronic components of an electronic device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a vertical patch antenna.

[0008] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A side view of patch antenna 100 is shown.

[0009] Figure 3 is a perspective view showing another example of a vertical patch antenna.

[0010] Figure 4 is a perspective view showing another example of a vertical patch antenna.

[0011] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 A perspective view of patch antenna 400 is shown.

[0012] Figure 6 is a side view of another example of a vertical patch antenna.

[0013] Fig. 7A is a perspective view showing another example of a vertical patch antenna.

[0014] Figure 7B It is used to form Fig. 7A Illustration of a portion of the metallized grid of an embedded portion of a patch antenna is shown.

[0015] Figure 8 is a perspective view of an antenna system having multiple patch antennas.

[0016] Fig. 9A and Fig. 9B is a perspective view of another example of a vertical endfire antenna.

[0017] Fig.10 is a top view of a two-port antenna structure with two slotted antennas.

[0018] Fig.11A and Fig. 11B By folding Fig.10 A perspective view of another example of a vertical end-fire antenna produced by the antenna structure shown.

[0019] Fig.12 is a perspective view of an antenna system with multiple vertical end-fire antennas.

[0020] Fig.13 is a process flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing an end-fire antenna.

[0021] Fig.14 is a process flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing an end-fire antenna.

[0022] Fig.15 is a process flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing an end-fire antenna.

[0023] The same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and drawings to refer to similar components and features. Numbers in the 100 series refer to those originally Figure 1 Features that appeared in the 200 series; numbers in the 200 series indicate features that were originally Figure 2 Features that appear in ; and so on. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a technology for incorporating antennas into electronic devices, including, for example, small portable user devices such as smart phones and tablet computers. Smart phones typically use thin patch antennas that are arranged on a printed circuit board (PCB) of a platform in a parallel configuration, which means that the plane of the radiating element is parallel to the plane of the PCB of the platform. Technologies such as WiGig and 5G typically rely on the use of thin PCB designs as part of integration into the platform. The overall antenna geometry of this parallel patch antenna design results in radiation mainly in the broadside direction, i.e., in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the PCB of the device. Compared with the broadside direction, the radiation in the end-fire direction (i.e., parallel to the plane of the PCB of the device) is much lower. For example, using a 350 micron (um) thick stacked patch antenna operating at 60 gigahertz (GHz), the difference in signal strength between the broadside direction and the end-fire direction may be between 8 decibel isotropic (dBi) and 13dBi.

[0025] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to various techniques for providing an antenna that is at least partially oriented in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the platform PCB. An antenna arranged perpendicular to the plane of the platform PCB increases the antenna gain in the end-fire direction (i.e., toward the side of the device). In this way, the antenna gain can be increased in those directions that are more likely to correspond to other devices that the device is attempting to communicate with, such as WiFi access points, cellular towers, etc. In addition, various embodiments of the present technology provide an antenna with a wide bandwidth while being compact in size. Various embodiments also provide an antenna with dual polarization.

[0026] In the following description and claims, the terms "coupled" and "connected" and their derivatives may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended to be equivalent to each other. Rather, in a particular embodiment, "connected" may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. "Coupled" may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, "coupled" may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but still cooperate or interact with each other, i.e., near-field coupling.

[0027] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a vertical patch antenna. Figure 1 As shown, the patch antenna 100 is disposed on a PCB 102 and oriented perpendicularly to the PCB 102, in other words, vertically. The PCB 102 is the main PCB of the device platform and includes most of the device electronic components, such as processor chips, memory chips, radio frequency (RF) front-end modules, etc. The PCB 102 can also be a separate module or daughter board that is connected to the device circuit board through connectors and cables. The plane of the PCB 102 is parallel to the surface of the electronic device. As used herein, the term "horizontal" is used to refer to a line or plane parallel to the PCB 102 to which the patch antenna 100 is coupled, and the term "vertical" is used to refer to a line or plane at right angles to the PCB 102.

[0028] The patch antenna 100 includes a ground layer 104, a dielectric layer 106, and a patch element 108. In this example, the dielectric layer 106 is a surface mount device and can be formed of a bismaleimide-triazine (BT) laminate. In order to keep the patch antenna small, the dielectric layer 106 can have a high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss. For example, the dielectric constant can be approximately 8 and the dielectric loss can be approximately 0.0035. The ground layer 104 and the patch element 108 can be formed by edge plating the sides of the dielectric layer 106 with a conductive material. The ground layer 104 and the patch element 108 are both oriented at right angles to the PCB 102 and extend vertically above the plane of the PCB 102.

[0029] The height of the patch antenna 100 above the PCB 102 is small enough to fit into the small space available within the device housing without interfering with other components. For example, the vertical height H can be about 1 millimeter (mm) or less. In this example, the horizontal width W of the patch element is about 0.8 mm. It should be understood that the dimensions of the ground plane 104 and the patch element 108 can be adjusted to fit the desired characteristics of a particular implementation, such as radiation pattern, antenna impedance, resonant frequency, etc. Compared to a conventional (i.e., horizontal) PCB patch antenna, Figure 1 The vertical patch antenna shown exhibits approximately 8 to 13 dB higher gain in the end-fire direction. For example, for a single antenna element, the vertical patch antenna provides a maximum radiation of approximately 4.8 dBi in the end-fire direction at 60 GHz. The efficiency at 60 GHz is approximately 96% and the bandwidth is approximately 5%.

[0030] The patch antenna may be fed by coupling a conductive feed line (not shown) to any portion of the patch element 108. The feed line may be coupled to either side of the patch element 108, depending on the desired polarization. Additionally, dual polarization may be achieved by coupling a pair of feed lines to the vertical sides of the patch element. For example, dual polarization may be achieved by coupling a first feed line to the bottom horizontal side of the patch element 108 identified by circle 110 and a second feed line to one of the vertical sides of the patch element 108 identified by circle 112. Figure 2 Example feed structures are further described.

[0031] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A side view of patch antenna 100 is shown. Figure 2An exemplary feeding structure is shown that can be used to implement dual polarization in the patch antenna 100. In this example, the feed lines 200 and 202 can be a combination of microstrip, stripline, coplanar line, or substrate integrated waveguide, which are arranged within the PCB 102 and couple the patch antenna 100 to corresponding RF transmitter and / or receiver circuits (not shown), such as RF front-end modules, transceivers, etc. The feed line 200 is coupled to the bottom horizontal side 110 of the patch element 108. The feed line 202 includes a portion that extends vertically through a via in the dielectric layer 106 and is coupled to one of the vertical sides 112 of the patch antenna 108.

[0032] will understand, Figure 2 The feed structure shown is only one example of a technique for feeding a patch antenna, and other feed structures are possible. In some embodiments, patch antenna 100 may have a single polarization, in which case one of feed lines 200 or 202 may be eliminated.

[0033] Figure 3 is a perspective view showing another example of a vertical patch antenna. Patch antenna 300 is similar to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The patch antenna 100 includes a dielectric layer 302 and a patch element 304. The dielectric layer 302 may be a surface mount device, and edge plating may be used to form the patch element 304. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Like patch antenna 100 , patch antenna 300 is disposed on PCB 102 and oriented perpendicular to PCB 102 such that patch element 304 extends vertically above the PCB.

[0034] In the patch antenna 300, an electromagnetic (EM) shield 306 is used as a grounding element for the patch antenna 300. The EM shield 306 may be a conductive housing used to surround electronic devices and cables to prevent the emission of incoming or outgoing electromagnetic frequencies (EMF). Figure 3 Only a portion of the EM shield 306 is shown in FIG. However, the EM shield 306 may be configured to at least partially contain and surround a number of electronic components disposed on the PCB 102, such as a processor, capacitors, inductors, etc. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Using the EM shield 306 as a ground plane improves the antenna bandwidth compared to the patch antenna shown. The patch antenna 300 may be fed by coupling one or more feed lines to the patch element 304, as described above with respect to Figure 1 and Figure 2 described.

[0035] An example embodiment of the patch antenna 300 may have a height H of approximately 3.0 mm, with a spacing S between the patch element 304 and the EM shield 306 of approximately 1.0 mm. These dimensions make the patch antenna 300 suitable for operation at 28.5 GHz used in 5G applications. Using these dimensions, the patch antenna 300 exhibits a bandwidth of approximately 13% and a radiation efficiency of approximately 94% at 28.5 GHz. It will be appreciated that the size and spacing S of the patch element 304 may be adjusted to adapt the desired characteristics of a particular implementation, such as radiation pattern, antenna impedance, resonant frequency, etc.

[0036] Figure 4 4 is a perspective view showing another example of a vertical patch antenna. Patch antenna 400 includes a ground layer 402, a patch element 404, and a parasitic element 406. For clarity, only the conductive layer of patch antenna 400 is shown. However, in an actual embodiment, conductive layers 402, 404, and 406 will be separated by a dielectric layer (not shown).

[0037] The patch antenna 400 can be manufactured on any type of multilayer circuit board, referred to herein as a circuit board substrate 408. The circuit board substrate 408 enables the patch antenna 400 to be formed using standard PCB design techniques to generate conductive traces, pads, through holes, and other features. For example, the conductive layers 402, 404, and 406 can be etched from a metal plate laminated to a non-conductive dielectric substrate. The electrical connection to the patch element 404 can be formed by forming a through hole in the circuit board substrate. For example, the through hole can be lined with a conductive material by electroplating, or can be lined with a conductive tube or rivet.

[0038] exist Figure 4 In the example shown, the ground layer 402 is disposed on an outer surface of a circuit board substrate 408. The ground layer 402 includes a pair of recesses 410, 412 surrounding contact pads 414, 416 that are conductively coupled to the patch element 404 through vias. Figure 4 The illustrated patch antenna 400 is a dual polarized antenna. Thus, contact pad 414 is coupled to the bottom of patch element 404 for vertical polarization, and contact pad 416 is coupled to the side of patch element 404 for horizontal polarization. In a single polarization embodiment, one of contact pads 414 or 416 and the corresponding through hole may be removed.

[0039] Parasitic element 406 is a passive element and does not have any conductive signal connections. The spacing and size of the parasitic elements may be selected to adjust the electrical characteristics of the antenna, such as directivity.

[0040] After the patch antenna 400 is manufactured, it can be flipped vertically and mounted on another PCB, e.g. Figure 1-3102. The patch antenna 400 may be electrically coupled to the contact pads on the PCB 102 via a surface mounting technique known as a ball grid array (BGA). Solder balls may be provided at the bottom edge ground layer 402 for coupling the patch antenna 400 to the contact pads on the PCB 102. In addition to providing electrical contact, the solder balls also secure the patch antenna 400 to the PCB 102 in a vertical orientation. Conductive signal traces 420 on the surface of the circuit board substrate 408 couple the contact pads 416 to their corresponding solder balls 418.

[0041] In an exemplary embodiment, the width of the ground layer 402, the patch element 404, and the parasitic layer 406 is about 1.6 to 1.9 mm, which is suitable for an operating frequency range of 40 GHz. The overall height of the patch antenna 400 including the dielectric layer can be about 2.2 mm, and the depth of the patch antenna 400 can be about 1.5 mm. The spacing between the solder balls 418 can be about 0.5 mm, and the diameter of the solder balls can be about 0.25 mm. The above dimensions are for example only. Other dimensions can be used depending on the desired electrical characteristics of the patch antenna 400.

[0042] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 A perspective view of the patch antenna 400 is shown in FIG. Figure 5 , patch antenna 400 is shown disposed on PCB 102. In addition, this view shows dielectric layer 500 separating ground layer 402, patch element 404, and parasitic element 406. In some embodiments, PCB 102 includes recess 502 that accommodates patch antenna 400 and helps align patch antenna 400 to the correct location on PCB 102.

[0043] To couple the patch antenna 400 to the PCB, the patch antenna 400 may be positioned directly on top of the PCB 102, directly over the exposed laminate without a solder mask. Figure 4 ) is located on the exposed metal contact pad 504, which has solder paste printed on it. The arrangement can then be heated to melt the solder balls. After heating, the solder balls collapse to form fillets 506.

[0044] Figure 6 is a side view of another example of a vertical patch antenna. Patch antenna 600 is similar to Figure 4 and Figure 5 4. The patch antenna 600 described above includes a ground layer 602, a patch element 604, and a parasitic element 606. However, in this example, the patch element 604 and the parasitic element 606 are separated by an air gap. Figure 4 and Figure 5 Patch antenna 400( Figure 4 and Figure 5 The air gap improves the performance of patch antenna 600 in terms of bandwidth compared to patch antenna 400 (which includes a dielectric material between patch element 604 and parasitic element 606). This feature introduces another degree of freedom in antenna design for vertically mounted patches.

[0045] In this example, the ground layer 602 and the patch element 604 may be formed on opposite sides of a single layer circuit board 608. Figure 4 and Figure 5 4 , the patch element 604 is coupled to the contact pad 610 via a feed structure that includes a signal trace 614 and a conductive via 612 on the surface of the circuit board. In this view, only horizontal polarization is shown. However, in addition to or in place of the horizontal polarization feed structure, the patch antenna 600 may also include a feed structure for vertical polarization. In some examples, the vertical polarization feed may be provided through a via (e.g., Figure 4 and Figure 5 6) or by contact pads 616. In some embodiments, contact pads 616 are floating and are used only for physical support.

[0046] Circuit board 608 and parasitic element 606 are respectively coupled to PCB 102 using ball grid array mounting technology. Parasitic element 606 is soldered to contact pad 618 to provide physical support for parasitic element 606. Contact pad 618 is floating and is not connected to any signal line.

[0047] Fig. 7A is a perspective view showing another example of a vertical patch antenna. Patch antenna 700 is similar to Figure 1 and Figure 2 700 is a patch antenna shown in FIG. 702 . However, in this example, the patch antenna 700 is partially embedded within the substrate 702. The patch antenna 700 includes a ground layer consisting of a surface portion 704 and an embedded portion 706. The patch antenna 700 also includes a patch element consisting of a surface portion 708 and an embedded portion 710. The ground layer surface portion 704 and the patch element surface portion 708 are separated by a dielectric layer 712. The ground layer surface portion 704 and the patch element surface portion 708 and the dielectric layer 712 can be formed together as a surface mount device and coupled to the surface of the substrate 702 using a BGA surface mount as described above. Therefore, the ground layer surface portion 704 and the patch element surface portion 708 are coupled to the contact pad 714 via a fillet 716. In some embodiments, the contact pad 714 is used only for physical support and is floating, i.e., not coupled to the signal line. Additionally, the ground layer surface portion 704 and the patch element surface portion 708 may be formed by edge plating the sides of the dielectric layer 712 with a conductive material.

[0048] Substrate 702 may be a multi-layer printed circuit board that includes signal traces for coupling antenna elements to platform circuitry (e.g., an RF front-end module). In some embodiments, a grid of metalized vias and signal traces is used to form ground plane embedding portion 706 and patch element embedding portion 710. An example grid is shown in FIG. Figure 7B Shown in.

[0049] In this example, one or more feed lines (not shown) may be embedded within substrate 702 to couple patch antenna 700 to corresponding RF transmitter and / or receiver circuitry. Feed lines may be coupled to any portion of patch element embedded portion 710 to provide vertical polarization, horizontal polarization, or circular polarization. Embedding a portion of the patch element within substrate 702 provides design flexibility to easily couple feed lines to any portion of the patch element embedded portion 710 designated as a feed point.

[0050] and Figures 1 to 6 Compared to the patch antenna shown, Fig. 7A The arrangement shown enables the height of the vertical patch antenna 700 above the substrate 702 to be reduced while maintaining similar electrical characteristics. In some examples, the height H of the patch antenna 700 above the substrate 702 can be about 0.5 to 1.5 mm for operating frequencies as low as 25 GHz to 30 GHz. For higher frequencies, the height can be lower.

[0051] Figure 7B It is used to form Fig. 7A 718. An illustration of a portion of a metallized mesh of an embedded portion of a patch antenna is shown. The vertical portions of the mesh are formed by metallized vias 718. The horizontal portions of the mesh are formed by signal traces 720, such as stripline traces. The mesh density is high enough that the mesh behaves electrically like a solid metal plane at millimeter wave frequencies (i.e., frequencies above 30 GHz). For example, the gaps G between the vias and between the signal traces can be approximately 80 to 200 microns. The gaps in the mesh allow feed lines to be passed through the mesh, thereby simplifying the routing of the feed lines. It should be understood that Figure 7B The grid shown in FIG. 1 is only a portion of the grid used to form the ground plane embedded portion 706 and the patch element embedded portion 710. In actual implementation, Figure 7B Compared to that shown in , the ground plane embedded portion 706 and the patch component embedded portion 710 may include additional vias 718 and additional signal traces 720.

[0052] Figure 8 8 is a perspective view of an antenna system having multiple patch antennas. Antenna system 800 includes patch antennas 802, 804, which may be the patch antennas described above. Figure 1-Figure 8Any patch antenna described. Additionally, the patch antenna may be dual polarized, horizontally polarized, vertically polarized, circularly polarized, or a combination thereof.

[0053] The patch antennas 802, 804 can be configured to cover multiple frequency ranges and can be configured as a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna system. In some embodiments, the antenna system can be used to cover the low band (LB) and high band (HB) frequency ranges for Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE). In EDGE, the low band covers a frequency range of 24 GHz to 33 GHz, while the high band covers a frequency range of 37 GHz to 43 GHz. The antenna system 800 includes four LB patch antennas and four HB patch antennas arranged in an alternating pattern.

[0054] The four LB antennas and the four HB antennas can be configured in any suitable manner, and the four LB antennas and the four HB antennas can be reconfigured dynamically (on the fly) during operation. One or more of the four LB antennas can be combined together and configured as a phased array. In addition, one or more of the four LB antennas can be configured as separate transmit and / or receive channels. For example, two LB antennas can be combined together as a first phased array, and the remaining two LB antennas can be configured as a second phased array. Each phased array can be configured to serve a different channel, or one phased array can be used as a transmitter and another phased array can be used as a receiver. Any other possible combination is possible and is also applicable to the four HB antennas.

[0055] LB antenna width W LB The width W of the HB antenna can be approximately 2.7 mm. HB The antenna spacing between the patch antennas is equal to 0.5 wavelengths at 30 GHz. The wavelength spacing varies between 0.4 and 0.7 wavelengths throughout the LB and HB bands (24 to 43 GHz). This provides an appropriate trade-off between antenna gain and beamforming capabilities over the entire frequency range.

[0056] The patch antenna is disposed on the PCB 102 and the feed lines couple the patch antenna to the corresponding RF transmitter and receiver circuits. The transmitter and receiver circuits may be packaged along with the EM shield 806 and various other electronic components disposed on the PCB 102.

[0057] Fig. 9A and Fig. 9Bis a perspective view of another example of a vertical endfire antenna. Fig. 9A A top perspective view is shown, Fig. 9B A bottom perspective view is shown. In this example, the vertical antenna 900 includes a ground portion disposed on a planar substrate 902 and a signal portion disposed on a vertical substrate 904. In some embodiments, the planar substrate 902 may be a printed circuit board PCB, and the vertical substrate 904 may be a rectangular block having a dielectric material surface mounted on the top side of the planar substrate 902.

[0058] The vertical antenna 900 is a dual-port structure and includes a first signal port 906 and a second signal port 908. The first signal port 906 and the second signal port 908 can be used for two different polarizations of the same signal. The ground portion includes two groups of mirrored bowtie knots 910 printed on the bottom side of the planar substrate 902 and in contact with the ground plane 912, each group having three bowtie knots 910. The signal portion includes two microstrip lines that transition to parallel strip lines, each microstrip line is excited by a separate port and is printed on the top side of the planar substrate 902. The signal portion also includes two groups of bowtie knots 916 printed on opposite sides of the rectangular vertical substrate 904, each group including three bowtie knots 916. The vertical substrate 904 can be soldered to the top of the planar substrate 902 to form electrical contacts between the bowtie knots 916 and the microstrip lines 914 to form two active antenna elements. In some examples, two dielectric portions 918 shown in dashed lines may be mechanically secured on either side of the vertical substrate 904 by filling the surrounding volume with a plastic overmold.

[0059] The resulting antenna 900 is dual polarized and includes two periodic butterfly junction arrays, each of which includes a radiating element in a vertical plane and a corresponding radiating element in a horizontal plane. The total height of the antenna 900 in the vertical direction is approximately half the width of a completely flat butterfly junction antenna. This configuration also introduces a vertical component to the electric field, effectively rotating the co-polarization vector of the butterfly junction array 45 degrees from the plane. Therefore, two orthogonal polarizations are achieved in a plane orthogonal to the end-fire radiation (i.e., the propagation direction of the antenna). This feature allows the establishment of an optimal MIMO communication channel based on polarization diversity in the end-fire direction of the device. In some embodiments, the total size of the antenna area in the horizontal plane can be approximately 5.5×6.5 square millimeters to 7.0×7.5 square millimeters, and the vertical height thickness can be between 1.9 millimeters and 2.2 millimeters.

[0060] The field distribution of the resonant mode is linear on the wings of the butterfly junction. When one side of the logarithmic periodic butterfly junction array (relative to one excitation port) is folded vertically, the electric field vector on that side is oriented vertically, thereby forming a combined electric field vector that is 45 degrees to the planar substrate surface. In addition, the polarizations of the two butterfly junction arrays are 90 degrees to each other. Because antenna 900 exhibits high isolation between these two polarizations, its orthogonal electric field radiation is low, and the far-field isolation between cross-polarization and co-polarization can be about 20dB or more. Taking into account all losses (impedance mismatch and radiation efficiency), the cross-polarization gain achieved by each port at 28GHz is 5.5dB.

[0061] The spacing and size of each set of butterfly knots can be logarithmically periodic. This increases the bandwidth of the antenna structure. In the example described here, the antenna can operate from the low band (24GHz–33GHz) to the high band (37GHz–43GHz) with a return loss of about 9 to 10dB and a bandwidth greater than 50%. The coupling level between port 1 and port 2 is symmetrical, showing high isolation of about 20dB on both the low band (24GHz–33GHz) and the high band (37GHz–43GHz).

[0062] This dual-polarized 2-port bow-junction antenna can be manufactured using a low-cost, high-volume manufacturing process. Fig. 9B The microstrip line 914, ground plane 912 and butterfly junction shown can be printed on a horizontal substrate 902, which can be a dielectric laminate. In some embodiments, the laminate is a rigid high-frequency substrate with a dielectric value of 2 to 6 and a thickness of 80 μm to 200 μm. The signal layer butterfly junction 916 can be printed on a vertical substrate 904, which can be another thick layer of a dielectric substrate, and its material can be the same or different from the material of the first laminate. The butterfly junction 916 can be printed symmetrically on both sides of the block of the vertical substrate 904. The thickness of the block is the separation distance between the two metal layers of the butterfly junction 916. In some embodiments, the thickness of the block can be between 1.1 mm and 2.1 mm. This thickness can be achieved in manufacturing by stacking multiple laminates and cutting after the metal features are printed on the laminate. The vertical and horizontal substrate assemblies are then soldered together along partially parallel microstrip lines 914 and optionally secured by a plastic overmold filler 918 as shown in dashed lines.

[0063] The above examples use a bow-shaped antenna element. However, various other antenna types may be used in place of the bow-shaped antenna. For example, the antenna element may be a linear antenna type such as a dipole, a biconical antenna, and a polar antenna, or a traveling wave antenna type such as a conical slot, a Vivaldi antenna, a slotted antenna, or any antenna type that has symmetry about its excitation source.

[0064] Fig.10 1 is a top view of a two-port antenna structure with two slotted antennas. Antenna structure 1000 includes a first slotted antenna 1002 and a second slotted antenna 1004. Each slotted antenna is formed on a semi-flexible and semi-rigid circuit substrate 1006. For example, circuit substrate 1006 may include a flexible laminate core that is embedded in a rigid substrate layer. The metal layer (raised area) of each slotted antenna may be printed on the surface of the flexible laminate.

[0065] Each slot antenna includes a ground plane 1008 having a slot 1010 on one side of a circuit substrate and a microstrip signal line on the other side of the circuit substrate 1006, the microstrip signal line serving as a feed structure. The microstrip signal line and the slot 1010 may include an impedance step that enables broadband impedance matching. The microstrip signal line excites the resonant mode of the slot antenna via the stepped impedance slot line. In another embodiment, the slot antenna may be fabricated in two separate laminate boards. The vertical portion of the slot may be fabricated as a separate multilayer board and assembled vertically with the horizontal board, the assembly process of which is similar to that previously described for Fig. 9A and 9B The method described is shown in the bowtie antenna.

[0066] Each slot antenna may further include two L-shaped slots 1014 formed on the sides of the ground plane 1008. The L-shaped slots 1014 reduce the current path along the side edges, which helps reverse radiation, thereby enhancing the directivity of the antenna to the end-fire direction. The L-shaped slots 1014 also improve impedance matching for low frequency bands.

[0067] Each slot antenna may also include two sets of parasitic directors 1016, which are placed on the same ground plane and positioned close to the slot. In this example, three parasitic directors are shown. However, in actual implementations, each antenna may include more or fewer parasitic directors, including 1, 2, 4 or more. The parasitic directors improve the directivity of the slot in the end-fire direction and enhance matching for high frequency bands.

[0068] The entire area of ​​each slotted antenna is designated as a "keep out" area, which is indicated by a dashed box 1018. Other components may be included in the circuit substrate outside the keep out area. In some embodiments, for a frequency range of 24 to 45 GHz, the keep out area may be as small as 2.2 mm x 3.2 mm.

[0069] In the semi-rigid substrate method, after forming the metal layer, the antenna structure is folded along the crease indicated by the dotted line to generate Fig.11A and 11BSpecifically, the circuit board is folded downward around the central folding axis 1020, and the two side portions are folded upward around the two side folding axes 1022. This produces a two-port vertical antenna with two folded slot antennas, such as Fig.11A and Fig. 11B shown.

[0070] Fig.11A and Fig. 11B By folding Fig.10 A perspective view of another example of a vertical end-fire antenna formed by the antenna structure shown. Fig.11A A top perspective view is shown, Fig. 11B A bottom perspective view is shown. Fig.11A and Fig. 11B As shown, the two-port antenna includes two folded slotted antenna elements 1002 and 1006, which are arranged in a mirror configuration around a central folding axis to generate orthogonal electric field vectors. The spacing S between the antenna elements can be determined by the folding radius of the circuit board. In some example embodiments, the spacing S can be approximately 0.3 to 0.4 mm, which corresponds to an effective folding radius of 0.15 to 0.2 mm. The folded antenna structure can be set on a circuit board and held in place by pins.

[0071] As shown in the figure, the signal propagation direction of this antenna is in the Y direction. The result is a two-port end-fire antenna that produces dual polarization and has good port-to-port isolation while retaining most of the radiation characteristics of the planar version of the antenna.

[0072] Each slot antenna includes a radiating element in a vertical plane and a corresponding radiating element in a horizontal plane. This configuration introduces a vertical component to the electric field, effectively rotating the co-polarization vector of the slot antenna 45 degrees out of plane. In addition, the polarizations of the two slot antennas are 90 degrees from each other. In some embodiments, the total size of the antenna area in the horizontal plane can be approximately 4.2×4.2 square millimeters to 7.5×7.5 square millimeters, and the vertical height thickness can be between 1.5 millimeters and 2.2 millimeters. In some embodiments, using miniaturization techniques and based on folding the slots, the size can be reduced to 4.2x 3.7x 1.5mm in the operating frequency range of 24–45GHz.

[0073] The vertical slot antenna 1000 can operate in the frequency range of 26 GHz to 46 GHz with a return loss of about 9 to 10 dB. This means that the bandwidth is over 50%. The isolation between the ports is symmetrical and is greater than 20 dB in this frequency range.

[0074] For each dual-slot antenna, the far-field isolation between cross-polarization and co-polarization can be about 20dB or higher. Considering all losses (impedance mismatch and radiation efficiency), the gain achieved by each port at 29GHz is about 3.4dB. Fig.12 As shown, the gain can be further improved in the presence of an EM shield. The EM shield has minimal effect on the return loss bandwidth of the antenna and can maintain 50% bandwidth performance. Using the EM shield as a reflector, the gain can be improved from 3.4dB to 4.5dB. The gain values ​​achieved in the frequency range of 24GHz to 41GHz show a gain flatness of 1.5dB (from 4dB to 5.5dB) and a gain bandwidth of more than 50%.

[0075] The examples described above use slotted antenna elements. However, various other antenna types may be used in place of slotted antennas. For example, the antenna element may be a linear antenna type such as a dipole, a biconical antenna, and an antipolar antenna, or a traveling wave antenna type such as a conical slot, a Vivaldi antenna, a slotted antenna, or any antenna type that has symmetry about its excitation source. Therefore, it will be appreciated that FIG. 9 and FIG. Fig.10 The two-port bow-junction antenna shown in FIG. 1 can also be used with respect to Fig.10 , Fig.11A and Fig. 11B Similarly, Fig.10 , Fig.11A and Fig. 11B The two-port slotted antenna shown in FIG. 1 can also be used with respect to Fig. 9A and 9B The described manufacturing techniques are used to construct.

[0076] Fig.12 9-10 is a perspective view of an antenna system having multiple vertical end-fire antennas. Antenna system 1200 includes vertical end-fire antennas, which may be the vertical end-fire antennas described above with respect to FIG. Fig.10 Any patch antenna described. Additionally, the patch antenna may be dual polarized, horizontally polarized, vertically polarized, or a combination thereof.

[0077] Each vertical end-fire antenna can be configured to cover multiple frequency ranges, including the LB (24 GHz to 33 GHz) and HB (37 GHz–43 GHz) frequency ranges to enable Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE). The antennas can be configured as a MIMO antenna system and / or one or more phased arrays.

[0078] The patch antenna is disposed on the PCB 102, and the feed line couples the patch antenna to the corresponding RF transmitter and receiver circuits. The transmitter and receiver circuits can be packaged together with the EM shield and various other electronic components arranged on the PCB 102. The EM shield can be positioned to increase the effective gain of the vertical end-fire antenna. In some embodiments, the spacing S between the EM shield and the vertical end-fire antenna can be about 0.5 mm.

[0079] Fig.13 is a process flow diagram of an example method for manufacturing an end-fire antenna. The method 1300 may be used to manufacture Figure 1 to any of the antennas described in FIG. 7 .

[0080] At block 1302, a ground layer is formed on a first surface of a first circuit board. At block 1304, a patch layer is formed on a second surface of the first circuit board. The ground layer and patch layer may be formed using any suitable technique for manufacturing structures on a printed circuit board, such as depositing metal layers and traces, forming vias, etc.

[0081] At block 1306, the first circuit board is vertically disposed on the second circuit board. For example, the first circuit board may be cut and then flipped 90 degrees compared to the second circuit board.

[0082] At block 1308, the ground layer and the die layer are coupled to contact pads of the second circuit board via a ball grid array (BGA) surface mount.

[0083] The method 1300 should not be interpreted as implying that the blocks must be executed in the order shown. In addition, fewer or more actions may be included in the method 1300 depending on design considerations of a particular implementation.

[0084] Fig.14 is a process flow diagram of an example method for manufacturing an end-fire antenna. The method 1400 may be used to manufacture an end-fire antenna with respect to Fig. 9A and Fig. 9B Any of the antennas described.

[0085] At block 1402, a ground layer is formed on the bottom surface of the circuit substrate. At block 1404, a dielectric block is mounted on the top surface of the circuit substrate. At block 1406, a signal layer is formed on the vertical side of the dielectric block so that the signal layer is perpendicular to the ground layer. The signal layer and the ground layer can be shaped to form any suitable antenna, including a logarithmic periodic bowtie, a slotted antenna, etc.

[0086] The method 1400 should not be interpreted as implying that the blocks must be executed in the order shown. In addition, fewer or more actions may be included in the method 1400 depending on design considerations of a particular implementation.

[0087] Fig.15 is a process flow diagram of an example method for manufacturing an end-fire antenna. The method 1500 may be used to manufacture Figure 10 to Figure 1 Any of the antennas described in 1.

[0088] At block 1502, an antenna element is formed on a flexible circuit substrate. The antenna element may include a first antenna element and a second antenna element separated by an input line. In some examples, the second antenna element is a mirror image of the first antenna element about a center line. The antenna elements may be shaped to form any suitable type of antenna, including a logarithmic periodic bow-tie, a slotted antenna, and the like.

[0089] At block 1504, the flexible antenna substrate is folded about the centerline to form vertical portions of the first antenna element and the second antenna element. The flexible antenna substrate may be folded about 180 degrees or less. In some examples, the antenna substrate may be folded at an angle of 120 degrees, 135 degrees, etc.

[0090] At block 1506, a portion of the first antenna element and the second antenna element form a horizontal base. For example, each antenna element can be folded at approximately its center. The folding angle of each antenna element can be half of the folding angle between the two antenna elements and in the opposite direction.

[0091] The method 1500 should not be interpreted as implying that the blocks must be executed in the order shown. In addition, fewer or more actions may be included in the method 1500 depending on design considerations of a particular implementation.

[0092] Example

[0093] Example 1 is a handheld mobile electronic device with an endfire antenna. The electronic device includes: a housing of the mobile electronic device; and a first circuit board, the first circuit board including electronic components of the mobile electronic device. The first circuit board is parallel to a major plane of the housing. The electronic device also includes an antenna, which is coupled to the first circuit board. At least a portion of the antenna is oriented perpendicular to the first circuit board to generate a radiation pattern, and the amplitude of the radiation pattern in the endfire direction is greater than the amplitude in the broadside direction.

[0094] Example 2 includes the electronic device of Example 1, including or excluding optional features. In this example, the antenna includes a patch antenna, the patch antenna includes: a ground layer, the ground layer is oriented perpendicular to the first circuit board; and a patch element, the patch element is oriented perpendicular to the first circuit board. Optionally, the ground layer includes a ground layer surface portion and a ground layer embedded portion, and the patch element includes a patch element surface portion and a patch element embedded portion. Optionally, the ground layer and the patch element are formed in the second circuit board and are mounted to the first circuit board using a ball grid array (BGA) surface mounting.

[0095] Example 3 includes the electronic device of any one of Examples 1-2, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the antenna includes: a ground layer, the ground layer is disposed on the bottom surface of the first circuit board; and a signal portion, the signal portion is disposed on a vertical substrate coupled to the top surface of the first circuit board.

[0096] Example 4 includes the electronic device of any of Examples 1-3, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the antenna includes a first antenna element and a second antenna element, the first antenna element and the second antenna element are disposed on a flexible circuit substrate and folded around a centerline between the first antenna element and the second antenna element. Each of the first antenna element and the second antenna element includes a vertical portion and a horizontal portion.

[0097] Example 5 includes the electronic device of any one of Examples 1-4, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the antenna includes a first logarithmic periodic bowtie antenna and a second periodic bowtie antenna, and the second periodic bowtie antenna and the first logarithmic periodic bowtie antenna are arranged in a mirror configuration.

[0098] Example 6 includes the electronic device of any one of Examples 1-5, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the antenna includes a first slot antenna and a second slot antenna, the second slot antenna being arranged in a mirror configuration with the first slot antenna.

[0099] Example 7 includes the electronic device of any of Examples 1-6, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the antenna includes a first antenna element and a second antenna element, the first antenna element is configured to generate a first polarization, and the second antenna element is configured to generate a second polarization orthogonal to the first polarization. Both the first polarization and the second polarization are oriented at about 45 degrees to the plane of the first circuit board, and the first polarization and the second polarization are both in the plane of the main propagation beam.

[0100] Example 8 includes the electronic device of any of Examples 1-7, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the antenna is configured to operate in a frequency range of 24 GHz to 43 GHz.

[0101] Example 9 is a method for manufacturing an end-fire antenna. The method includes: forming a ground layer on a first surface of a first circuit board; forming a patch layer on a second surface of the first circuit board; vertically arranging the first circuit board on a second circuit board; and coupling the ground layer and the patch layer to contact pads of the second circuit board through a ball grid array (BGA) surface mounting.

[0102] Example 10 includes the method of Example 9, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the patch layer is formed in an inner surface of the first circuit board, and the method includes forming a parasitic layer on a third surface of the circuit board.

[0103] Example 11 includes the method of any of Examples 9-10, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the method includes: forming a conductive via at a portion of the first surface surrounded by the void in the ground layer, the conductive via coupling the patch layer to the first surface of the circuit board.

[0104] Example 12 includes the method of any of Examples 9-11, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the method includes: coupling a first feed structure to a horizontal side of the patch layer, and coupling a second feed structure to a vertical side of the patch layer. The first feed structure is used to provide a first polarization, and the second feed structure is used to provide a second polarization.

[0105] Example 13 is a method of manufacturing an end-fire antenna, comprising: forming a ground layer on a bottom surface of a circuit substrate; mounting a dielectric block on a top surface of the circuit substrate; and forming a signal layer on a vertical side of the dielectric block, wherein the signal layer is perpendicular to the ground layer.

[0106] Example 14 includes the method of Example 13, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the signal layer is formed by edge plating.

[0107] Example 15 includes the method of any of Examples 13-14, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the ground layer includes a first ground element and a second ground element, and the second ground element is arranged in a mirror configuration with the first ground element. Additionally, the signal layer includes a first signal element located on a first vertical side of the dielectric block and a second signal element located on a second vertical side of the dielectric block. The first ground element and the first signal element form a first antenna element, and the second ground element and the second signal element form a second antenna element.

[0108] Example 16 includes the method of any of Examples 13-15, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the first antenna element includes a first logarithmic periodic bowtie antenna, and the second antenna element includes a second periodic bowtie antenna, and the second periodic bowtie antenna is arranged in a mirror configuration with the first logarithmic periodic bowtie antenna.

[0109] Example 17 includes the method of any of Examples 13-16, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the first antenna element includes a first slot antenna, and the second antenna element includes a second slot antenna, the second slot antenna being arranged in a mirror configuration with the first slot antenna.

[0110] Example 18 includes the method of any of Examples 13-17, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the method includes coupling a first feed line to a first antenna element to feed a first polarization, and coupling a second feed line to a second antenna element to feed a second polarization.

[0111] Example 19 is a method of making an end-fire antenna. The method includes: forming a first antenna element on a flexible circuit substrate, and forming a second antenna element on the flexible circuit substrate. The second antenna element is a mirror image of the first antenna element about a centerline that separates the first antenna element and the second antenna element. The method also includes folding the flexible antenna substrate about the centerline to form vertical portions of the first antenna element and the second antenna element, and folding a portion of the first antenna element and the second antenna element to form a horizontal base.

[0112] Example 20 includes the method of Example 19, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the first antenna element includes a first slot antenna and the second antenna element includes a second slot antenna.

[0113] Example 21 includes the method of any of Examples 19-20, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the method includes: forming a first feed line on the bottom surface of the flexible circuit substrate to feed the first antenna element; and forming a second feed line on the bottom surface of the flexible circuit substrate to feed the second antenna element.

[0114] Example 22 includes the method of any of Examples 19-21, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the first antenna element is configured to generate a first polarization, and the second antenna element is configured to generate a second polarization orthogonal to the first polarization. Optionally, the first polarization and the second polarization are both oriented at about 45 degrees to the plane of the horizontal base.

[0115] Example 23 is an end-fire antenna for a handheld mobile device. The antenna includes a ground layer disposed on a first surface of a first circuit board and a patch layer disposed on a second surface of the first circuit board. The first circuit board is vertically disposed on a second circuit board, and the second circuit board includes electronic components of a mobile electronic device. The second circuit board is parallel to a main plane of the mobile device.

[0116] Example 24 includes the antenna of Example 23, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the ground layer and the patch layer are coupled to contact pads of the second circuit board via a ball grid array (BGA) surface mount.

[0117] Example 25 includes the antenna of any of Examples 23-24, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the device includes a parasitic layer disposed on a third surface of the circuit board, wherein the patch layer is disposed on an inner surface of the first circuit board.

[0118] Example 26 includes the antenna of any of Examples 23-25, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the device includes a conductive via at a portion of the first surface surrounded by the void in the ground layer, the conductive via coupling the patch layer to the first surface of the circuit board.

[0119] Example 27 includes the antenna of any of Examples 23-26, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the device includes a first feed structure coupled to a horizontal side of the patch layer and a second feed structure coupled to a vertical side of the patch layer. The first feed structure is used to provide a first polarization, and the second feed structure is used to provide a second polarization.

[0120] Example 28 includes the antenna of any of Examples 23-27, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, a portion of the ground layer and a portion of the patch layer are both embedded in the second circuit board. Optionally, the portion of the ground layer and the portion of the patch layer embedded in the second circuit board both include a grid of vias and signal traces.

[0121] Example 29 includes the antenna of any of Examples 23-28, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the antenna is configured to operate in a frequency range of 24 GHz to 43 GHz.

[0122] Example 30 is an end-fire antenna for a handheld mobile device. The antenna includes: a ground layer arranged on the bottom surface of a circuit substrate; a dielectric block arranged on the top surface of the circuit substrate; and a signal layer arranged on a vertical side of the dielectric block. The signal layer is perpendicular to the ground layer.

[0123] Example 31 includes the antenna of Example 30, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the signal layer is formed by edge plating.

[0124] Example 32 includes the antenna of any of Examples 30-31, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the ground layer includes a first ground element and a second ground element arranged in a mirror configuration with the first ground element. In addition, the signal layer includes a first signal element located on a first vertical side of the dielectric block and a second signal element located on a second vertical side of the dielectric block. The first ground element and the first signal element form a first antenna element, and the second ground element and the second signal element form a second antenna element.

[0125] Example 33 includes the antenna of any one of Examples 30-32, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the first antenna element includes a first logarithmic periodic bowtie antenna, and the second antenna element includes a second periodic bowtie antenna arranged in a mirror configuration with the first logarithmic periodic bowtie antenna.

[0126] Example 34 includes the antenna of any of Examples 30-33, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the first antenna element includes a first slot antenna, and the second antenna element includes a second slot antenna arranged in a mirror configuration with the first slot antenna.

[0127] Example 35 includes the antenna of any of Examples 30-34, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the antenna includes a first feed line coupled to the first antenna element to feed the first polarization, and a second feed line coupled to the second antenna element to feed the second polarization. Optionally, the first polarization and the second polarization are both characterized as being approximately 45 degrees to the plane of the first circuit board, and wherein the first polarization and the second polarization are both in the plane of the main propagation beam.

[0128] Example 36 includes the antenna of any one of Examples 30-35, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the antenna is configured to operate in a frequency range of 24 GHz to 43 GHz.

[0129] Example 37 is an end-fire antenna for a handheld mobile device. The antenna includes a first antenna element disposed on a flexible circuit substrate and a second antenna element disposed on the flexible circuit substrate. The second antenna element is a mirror image of the first antenna element about a centerline separating the first antenna element and the second antenna element. The flexible antenna substrate is folded about the centerline to form vertical portions of the first antenna element and the second antenna element. In addition, a portion of the first antenna element and the second antenna element is folded to form a horizontal base.

[0130] Example 38 includes the antenna of Example 37, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the first antenna element includes a first slotted antenna and the second antenna element includes a second slotted antenna.

[0131] Example 39 includes the antenna of any of Examples 37-38, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the first antenna element includes a first logarithmic periodic bowtie antenna, and the second antenna element includes a second periodic bowtie antenna arranged in a mirror configuration with the first logarithmic periodic bowtie antenna.

[0132] Example 40 includes the antenna of any one of Examples 37-39, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the device includes a first feed line located on the bottom surface of the flexible circuit substrate to feed the first antenna element, and a second feed line located on the bottom surface of the flexible circuit substrate to feed the second antenna element.

[0133] Example 41 includes the antenna of any of Examples 37-40, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the first antenna element is configured to generate a first polarization, and the second antenna element is configured to generate a second polarization orthogonal to the first polarization. Optionally, the first polarization and the second polarization are both oriented at approximately 45 degrees to the plane of the horizontal base.

[0134] Example 42 includes the antenna of any one of Examples 37-41, including or excluding the optional features. In this example, the antenna is configured to operate in a frequency range of 24 GHz to 43 GHz.

[0135] Some embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Some embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a tangible, non-transitory machine-readable medium, which may be read and executed by a computing platform to perform the described operations. In addition, a machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form that is machine-readable, such as a machine. For example, a machine-readable medium may include a read-only memory (ROM); a random access memory (RAM); a magnetic disk storage medium; an optical storage medium; a flash memory device; or an electrical, optical, acoustic, or other form of propagated signal, such as a carrier wave, an infrared signal, a digital signal, or an interface for sending and / or receiving a signal; etc.

[0136] An embodiment is an implementation or example. References in the specification to "an embodiment," "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "various embodiments," or "other embodiments" mean that the particular features, structures, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiments are included in at least some embodiments of the technology, but not necessarily all embodiments. Various appearances of "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "some embodiments" do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0137] Not all components, features, structures, characteristics, etc. described and illustrated herein need to be included in one or more specific embodiments. If the specification indicates that a component, feature, structure, or characteristic "may", "might", "can", or "can" be included, for example, then that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic does not necessarily have to be included. If the specification or claims refer to "one" or "an" element, it does not mean that there is only one element. If the specification or claims refer to "additional" elements, it does not exclude the presence of more than one additional element.

[0138] It should be noted that although some embodiments have been described with reference to specific implementations, other implementations are possible according to some implementations. In addition, the arrangement and / or order of circuit elements or other features illustrated in the drawings and / or described herein need not be arranged in the specific manner illustrated and described. Many other arrangements are possible according to some embodiments.

[0139] In each system shown in the figures, in some cases, each element may each have the same reference numeral or different reference numerals to suggest that the elements represented may be different and / or similar. However, the elements may be flexible enough to have different implementations and may work with some or all of the systems shown or described herein. The various elements shown in the drawings may be the same or different. Which is referred to as the first element and which is referred to as the second element is arbitrary.

[0140] It should be understood that the details in the foregoing examples may be used anywhere in one or more embodiments. For example, all optional features of the computing device described above may also be implemented relative to the methods or computer-readable media described herein. In addition, although flow charts and / or state diagrams have been used herein to describe embodiments, the technology is not limited to those diagrams or corresponding descriptions herein. For example, the process does not need to pass through each illustrated box or state or move in exactly the same order as illustrated and described herein.

[0141] The present technology is not limited to the specific details listed herein. In fact, those skilled in the art who benefit from this disclosure will understand that many other variations can be made to the foregoing description and drawings within the scope of the present technology. Therefore, the appended claims (including any modifications thereto) define the scope of the present technology.

Claims

1. A handheld mobile electronic device having an end-fire antenna, comprising: A housing of the mobile electronic device; a first circuit board, the first circuit board comprising electronic components of the mobile electronic device, wherein the first circuit board is parallel to a main plane of the housing; an antenna coupled to the first circuit board, wherein at least a portion of the antenna is oriented perpendicular to the first circuit board to generate a radiation pattern having an amplitude in an endfire direction greater than an amplitude in a broadside direction, The antenna comprises a patch antenna, and the patch antenna is partially embedded in a substrate of the first circuit board.

2. The handheld mobile electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The patch antenna comprises: a ground layer oriented perpendicular to the first circuit board; and A patch component is oriented perpendicular to the first circuit board.

3. The handheld mobile electronic device according to claim 2, wherein: The ground layer includes a ground layer surface portion and a ground layer embedded portion, and the patch element includes a patch element surface portion and a patch element embedded portion.

4. The handheld mobile electronic device according to claim 2, wherein: The ground layer and the patch element are formed in a second circuit board and are mounted on the first circuit board using a ball grid array (BGA) surface mounting.

5. The handheld mobile electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The antenna comprises: a ground layer disposed on a bottom surface of the first circuit board; and A signal portion is disposed on a vertical substrate coupled to a top surface of the first circuit board.

6. The handheld mobile electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The antenna includes a first antenna element and a second antenna element, wherein the first antenna element and the second antenna element are disposed on a flexible circuit substrate and folded around a center line between the first antenna element and the second antenna element, wherein each of the first antenna element and the second antenna element includes a vertical portion and a horizontal portion.

7. The handheld mobile electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The antenna includes a first logarithmic periodic bow-tie antenna and a second periodic bow-tie antenna, wherein the second periodic bow-tie antenna and the first logarithmic periodic bow-tie antenna are arranged in a mirror configuration.

8. The handheld mobile electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The antenna includes a first slot antenna and a second slot antenna, wherein the second slot antenna is arranged in a mirror configuration with the first slot antenna.

9. The handheld mobile electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The antenna includes a first antenna element and a second antenna element, wherein the first antenna element is configured to generate a first polarization, and the second antenna element is configured to generate a second polarization orthogonal to the first polarization, wherein both the first polarization and the second polarization are oriented at 45 degrees to the plane of the first circuit board, and wherein both the first polarization and the second polarization are in the plane of the main propagation beam.

10. The handheld mobile electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The antenna is configured to operate in a frequency range of 24 GHz to 43 GHz.

11. A method for manufacturing an end-fire antenna, comprising: forming a ground layer on the first surface of the first circuit board; forming a patch layer on the second surface of the first circuit board; The first circuit board is vertically arranged on the second circuit board by partially embedding the first circuit board into the second circuit board; and The ground layer and the patch layer are coupled to contact pads of the second circuit board by ball grid array (BGA) surface mounting.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The patch layer is formed in an inner surface of the first circuit board, and the method includes forming a parasitic layer on a third surface of the circuit board.

13. The method according to any one of claims 11-12, comprising: A conductive via is formed at a portion of the first surface surrounded by the void in the ground layer, the conductive via coupling the patch layer to the first surface of the circuit board.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11-12, comprising: A first feed structure is coupled to a horizontal side of the patch layer and a second feed structure is coupled to a vertical side of the patch layer, wherein the first feed structure is used to provide a first polarization and the second feed structure is used to provide a second polarization.

15. A method of manufacturing an end-fire antenna, comprising: forming a ground layer on a bottom surface of the circuit substrate; mounting a dielectric block on a top surface of the circuit substrate; as well as forming a signal layer on a vertical side of the dielectric block, wherein the signal layer is perpendicular to the ground layer, wherein: The ground layer includes a first ground element and a second ground element, wherein the second ground element and the first ground element are arranged in a mirror configuration; The signal layer includes a first signal element located on a first vertical side of the dielectric block and a second signal element located on a second vertical side of the dielectric block; The first ground element and the first signal element form a first antenna element; and The second ground element and the second signal element form a second antenna element.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein: The signal layer is formed by edge plating.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein: The first antenna element includes a first log-periodic bow-tie antenna, and the second antenna element includes a second periodic bow-tie antenna, the second periodic bow-tie antenna being arranged in a mirror configuration with the first log-periodic bow-tie antenna.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein: The first antenna element includes a first slot antenna, and the second antenna element includes a second slot antenna, the second slot antenna being arranged in a mirror configuration with the first slot antenna.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, comprising: A first feed line is coupled to the first antenna element to feed a first polarization, and a second feed line is coupled to the second antenna element to provide a second polarization.

20. A method of manufacturing an end-fire antenna, comprising: forming a first antenna element on the flexible circuit substrate; forming a second antenna element on the flexible circuit substrate, wherein the second antenna element is a mirror image of the first antenna element about a centerline separating the first antenna element and the second antenna element; folding the flexible circuit substrate about the centerline to form vertical portions of the first antenna element and the second antenna element; folding a portion of the first antenna element and the second antenna element to form a horizontal base; and The first antenna element and the second antenna element are partially embedded within a circuit board that includes electronic components of an electronic device.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein: The first antenna element includes a first slot antenna and the second antenna element includes a second slot antenna.

22. The method according to claim 20, comprising: forming a first feed line on the bottom surface of the flexible circuit substrate to feed the first antenna element; And a second feed line is formed on the bottom surface of the flexible circuit substrate to feed the second antenna element.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein: The first antenna element is configured to generate a first polarization, and the second antenna element is configured to generate a second polarization orthogonal to the first polarization.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein: The first polarization and the second polarization are each oriented at 45 degrees to the plane of the horizontal base.

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