Antenna front-end system and vehicle-mounted radar
By using a combination of microwave circuit modules and multiple transmitting and receiving antenna subarrays in vehicle-mounted radar, and utilizing power dividers, amplifiers, and phase shifters, the problems of low resolution and small coverage of vehicle-mounted radar are solved, achieving higher resolution and wider coverage.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202110564146.9
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2021-05-24
- Publication Date
- 2025-09-09
- Estimated Expiration
- 2041-05-24
AI Technical Summary
Existing vehicle-mounted radars have low resolution, a high risk of erroneous detection results, and limited coverage.
A microwave circuit module is used in combination with a transmitting antenna array and a receiving antenna array. The transmitting antenna array includes multiple transmitting antenna sub-arrays, and the receiving antenna array includes multiple receiving antenna sub-arrays. A power divider, amplifier and phase shifter are set in each sub-array to improve signal resolution and coverage.
It improves the radar's resolution capability in dense target environments, increases coverage, enhances anti-interference capability, and improves detection accuracy and stability.
Smart Images

Figure CN113311425B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present application relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular to an antenna front-end system and a vehicle-mounted radar. Background Art
[0002] With the rapid increase in my country's vehicle population, traffic safety issues have attracted widespread attention from both the government and society, leading to the emergence of in-vehicle safety warning technologies. Currently, vehicle collision avoidance detection primarily utilizes infrared, laser, camera, and radar measurement methods. While optical technologies like infrared, laser, and camera are inexpensive and simple, they generally suffer from shortcomings such as poor all-weather performance and short detection ranges.
[0003] In comparison, radar, due to its stable detection performance and good environmental adaptability, has gradually become the preferred active collision avoidance technology. In existing technologies, the most common radar is phased array radar, which is a phase-controlled electronically scanned array radar. Although it can form a narrow beam to achieve strong anti-interference capabilities, the resolution of phased array radar is relatively low, and the risk of radar detection errors is high. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The embodiments of the present application aim to provide an antenna front-end system and a vehicle-mounted radar, which can improve the resolution of the radar.
[0005] To achieve the above objectives, in a first aspect, the present application provides an antenna front-end system, comprising:
[0006] Microwave circuit module, transmitting antenna array and receiving antenna array;
[0007] The microwave circuit module is connected to the transmitting antenna array and the receiving antenna array respectively, and is used to output a first signal to the transmitting antenna array and to receive a second signal from the receiving antenna array;
[0008] The transmitting antenna array includes at least one transmitting antenna subarray, the transmitting antenna subarray is connected to the microwave circuit module, the transmitting antenna subarray includes at least one transmitting antenna, and the transmitting antenna is used to receive the first signal from the microwave circuit module and transmit the first signal;
[0009] The receiving antenna array includes at least one receiving antenna subarray, which is connected to the microwave circuit module. The receiving antenna subarray includes at least one receiving antenna, which is used to receive the second signal and transmit it to the microwave circuit module.
[0010] In an optional manner, the transmitting antenna subarray further includes a first power divider, the first power divider includes a first input end and at least one first output end, and the first output end corresponds one-to-one to the transmitting antenna;
[0011] The transmitting antenna is connected to the microwave circuit module through the power divider, the first input end is connected to the microwave circuit module, and the first output end is connected to the transmitting antenna. The power divider is used to distribute the first signal into at least one first sub-signal and transmit the first sub-signal to the transmitting antenna, wherein each first sub-signal is output from one first output end.
[0012] In an optional manner, the transmitting antenna subarray further includes at least one first amplifier, and the first amplifier corresponds to the transmitting antenna one-to-one;
[0013] The transmitting antenna is connected to the first output end of the power divider through the first amplifier. The first amplifier is used to receive the first sub-signal and amplify the first sub-signal before transmitting it to the transmitting antenna.
[0014] In an optional manner, the transmitting antenna subarray further includes at least one first phase shifter, and the first phase shifter corresponds one-to-one to the transmitting antenna;
[0015] The transmitting antenna is connected to the first amplifier via the first phase shifter. The first phase shifter is used to receive the amplified first sub-signal, adjust the phase of the amplified first sub-signal, and then transmit it to the transmitting antenna.
[0016] In an optional manner, the transmitting antenna subarray further includes a second amplifier;
[0017] The first input end of the power divider is connected to the microwave circuit module through the second amplifier, and the second amplifier is used to amplify the first signal and transmit it to the first input end of the power divider.
[0018] In an optional manner, the transmitting antenna subarray further includes at least one second phase shifter, and the second phase shifter corresponds one-to-one to the transmitting antenna;
[0019] The transmitting antenna is connected to the first output end of the power divider through the second phase shifter. The second phase shifter is used to receive the first sub-signal and adjust the phase of the first sub-signal before transmitting it to the transmitting antenna.
[0020] In an optional manner, the receiving antenna subarray further includes a second power divider, the second power divider includes a second output end and at least one second input end, and the second input end corresponds one-to-one to the receiving antenna;
[0021] The receiving antenna is connected to the microwave circuit module through the second power divider, the second input end is connected to the receiving antenna, and the second output end is connected to the microwave circuit module. The second power divider is used to receive the second signal and transmit the received second signal to the microwave circuit module after merging.
[0022] In an optional manner, the receiving antenna subarray further includes at least one third phase shifter, and the third phase shifter corresponds one-to-one to the second input end of the second power divider;
[0023] The receiving antenna is connected to the second power divider via the third phase shifter, and the third phase shifter is used to adjust the phase of the second signal and then transmit it to the second input end of the second power divider.
[0024] In an optional manner, the receiving antenna subarray further includes at least one low noise amplifier, and the low noise amplifier corresponds to the receiving antenna one-to-one;
[0025] The receiving antenna is connected to the third phase shifter via the low noise amplifier, and the low noise amplifier is used to amplify the second signal and transmit the amplified signal to the third phase shifter.
[0026] In an optional manner, the microwave circuit module includes a monolithic microwave integrated circuit, and the monolithic microwave integrated circuit includes at least one high-frequency transmitting port and at least one high-frequency receiving port;
[0027] The high-frequency transmitting port is connected to the transmitting antenna subarray, and the high-frequency transmitting port is used to transmit the first signal;
[0028] The high-frequency receiving port is connected to the receiving antenna subarray, and the high-frequency receiving port is used to receive the second signal.
[0029] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a vehicle-mounted radar, comprising the antenna front-end system as described above.
[0030] The beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application are as follows: the antenna front-end system provided by the present application includes a microwave circuit module, a transmitting antenna array, and a receiving antenna array, wherein the microwave circuit module is connected to the transmitting antenna array and the receiving antenna array, respectively, and the microwave circuit module is used to output a first signal to the transmitting antenna array and to receive a second signal from the receiving antenna array. The transmitting antenna array includes at least one transmitting antenna subarray, which is connected to the microwave circuit module and includes at least one transmitting antenna. The transmitting antenna subarray is used to receive the first signal from the microwave circuit module and transmit the first signal. The receiving antenna array includes at least one receiving antenna subarray, which is connected to the microwave circuit module and includes at least one receiving antenna. The receiving antenna subarray is used to receive the second signal and transmit it to the microwave circuit module. Therefore, by providing multiple transmitting subarrays and multiple receiving subarrays in the antenna front-end system, and providing multiple transmitting antennas in each transmitting subarray and multiple receiving antennas in each receiving subarray, when the antenna front-end system is applied to a radar, it can improve the radar's ability to distinguish multiple targets in a dense target environment, that is, it can improve the radar's resolution. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] One or more embodiments are exemplarily illustrated by pictures in the corresponding drawings. These exemplifications do not constitute limitations on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings are represented as similar elements. Unless otherwise stated, the figures in the drawings do not constitute proportional limitations.
[0032] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the antenna front-end system provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0033] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the connection between the receiving antenna subarray, the transmitting antenna subarray, and the microwave circuit module provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0034] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a transmitting antenna subarray provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0035] Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating the coverage of a radar in the prior art and a radar provided in the present application;
[0036] Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of a transmitting antenna subarray provided in another embodiment of the present application;
[0037] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a receiving antenna subarray provided in an embodiment of the present application;
[0038] Figure 7A schematic structural diagram of an antenna front-end system provided in another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0039] To make the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application more clear, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.
[0040] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the antenna front-end system provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the antenna front-end system includes a microwave circuit module 10, a transmitting antenna array 20, and a receiving antenna array 30. The microwave circuit module 10 is connected to the transmitting antenna array 20 and the receiving antenna array 30, respectively. The microwave circuit module 10 is used to output a first signal to the transmitting antenna array 20 and to receive a second signal from the receiving antenna array 30.
[0041] Specifically, the transmit antenna array 20 includes at least one transmit antenna subarray, which is connected to the microwave circuit module 10. That is, the transmit antenna array 20 includes a transmit antenna subarray A1, a transmit antenna subarray A2, ..., and a transmit antenna subarray AN, where N is a positive integer greater than 0. Each of the transmit antenna subarrays A1, A2, ..., and AN is connected to the microwave circuit module 10.
[0042] Each transmitting antenna subarray also includes at least one transmitting antenna. Take the transmitting antenna subarray A1 as an example for explanation. Figure 1 Reference Figure 2 .like Figure 2 As shown, transmit antenna subarray A1 includes transmit antenna A11, transmit antenna A12, ..., transmit antenna A1J, where J is a positive integer greater than 0. Each transmit antenna is configured to receive a first signal from the microwave circuit module and transmit the first signal. When the transmitted first signal encounters an obstacle, a reflected signal is generated. By receiving and analyzing the transmitted signal, the object detection function can be achieved.
[0043] Please refer again Figure 1The receiving antenna array 30 includes at least one receiving antenna subarray, and each receiving antenna subarray is connected to the microwave circuit module 10. Specifically, the receiving antenna array 30 includes a receiving antenna subarray B1, a receiving antenna subarray B2, ..., and a receiving antenna subarray BM, where M is a positive integer greater than 0. The receiving antenna subarrays B1, B2, ..., and BM are all connected to the microwave circuit module 10.
[0044] Each receiving antenna subarray also includes at least one receiving antenna. Take the receiving antenna subarray B1 as an example for explanation. Figure 1 Reference Figure 2 .like Figure 2 As shown, receiving antenna subarray B1 includes receiving antennas B11, B12, ..., B1K, where K is a positive integer greater than 0. Each receiving antenna is configured to receive a second signal and transmit the received second signal to microwave circuit module 10. The second signal is a reflection signal generated by the first signal transmitted by each transmitting antenna after encountering an obstacle. Subsequently, microwave circuit module 10 can detect the presence of an obstacle and determine whether the transmission will collide with the obstacle based on the received second signal.
[0045] It should be noted that, in the above embodiment, the number of transmitting antenna subarrays and receiving antenna subarrays may be the same or different, and the number of transmitting antennas and receiving antennas may be the same or different, and there is no limitation here.
[0046] In summary, in the embodiments of the present application, multiple transmitting subarrays and multiple receiving subarrays are provided in the antenna front-end system, and multiple transmitting antennas are provided in each transmitting subarray, and multiple receiving antennas are provided in each receiving subarray. When this antenna front-end system is applied to a radar, it can improve the radar's ability to distinguish multiple targets in a dense target environment, that is, the radar has a higher angular resolution. Furthermore, as the number of transmitting subarrays and receiving subarrays increases, or as the number of transmitting antennas and receiving antennas increases, the angular resolution of the antenna front-end system also increases.
[0047] In one embodiment, if Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a transmitting antenna subarray provided in an embodiment of the present application. Taking transmitting antenna subarray A1 as an example, transmitting antenna subarray A1 also includes a first power divider A21. First power divider A21 includes a first input terminal and at least one first output terminal, i.e., first power divider A21 includes a first input terminal A210, as well as first output terminals A211, A212, ..., and A21J. It can be seen that the first output terminals correspond one-to-one with the transmitting antennas, i.e., the number of first output terminals is the same as the number of transmitting antennas.
[0048] Specifically, each transmitting antenna is connected to the microwave circuit module 10 through a first power divider, wherein the first input end A210 of the first power divider A21 is connected to the microwave circuit module 10, and the first output end of the first power divider A21 is connected to the corresponding transmitting antenna, for example, the first output end A211 is connected to the transmitting antenna A11, the first output end A212 is connected to the transmitting antenna A12...the first output end A21J is connected to the transmitting antenna A1J.
[0049] The full name of the power divider is power distributor. It is a device that divides the energy of one input signal into two or more outputs of equal or unequal energy. It can also combine the energy of multiple signals into one energy output. In this case, it can also be called a combiner. Therefore, in actual applications, the first power divider A21 is used to divide the first signal output by the microwave circuit module 10 into at least one first sub-signal and transmit the first sub-signal to the transmitting antenna, wherein each first sub-signal is output from a first output terminal. That is, the first input terminal A210 of the first power divider A21 obtains the first signal from the microwave circuit module 10 and divides the first signal into J first sub-signals, each of which is output from the corresponding first output terminal to the transmitting antenna. For example, the first first sub-signal is output from the first output terminal A211 to the transmitting antenna A11 and is transmitted through the transmitting antenna A11.
[0050] Optionally, the transmitting antenna subarray A1 further includes at least one first amplifier, that is, the transmitting antenna subarray A1 includes a first amplifier A31, a first amplifier A32...a first amplifier A3J. It can be seen that the first amplifiers correspond one-to-one to the transmitting antennas, that is, the number of first amplifiers is the same as the number of transmitting antennas.
[0051] Each transmitting antenna is connected to the first output of the corresponding first power divider via a corresponding first amplifier. For example, transmitting antenna A11 is connected to first output A211 via first amplifier A31, transmitting antenna A12 is connected to first output A212 via first amplifier A32, and transmitting antenna A1J is connected to first output A21J via first amplifier A3J.
[0052] Specifically, an amplifier is a device that amplifies the voltage or power of an input signal, that is, increases the signal amplitude or power. Therefore, the first amplifier is used to receive the first sub-signal at the first output terminal, amplify the first sub-signal, and output it to the transmitting antenna. For example, the first amplifier A31 receives the first first sub-signal from the first output terminal A211, amplifies it, and then transmits it to the transmitting antenna A11. Alternatively, the first amplifier A32 receives the second first sub-signal from the first output terminal A212, amplifies it, and then transmits it to the transmitting antenna A12.
[0053] Furthermore, the transmitting antenna subarray A1 also includes at least one first phase shifter, that is, the transmitting antenna also includes a first phase shifter A41, a first phase shifter A42...a first phase shifter A4N, and the first phase shifters correspond one-to-one to the transmitting antennas. In other words, the number of first phase shifters is the same as the number of transmitting antennas.
[0054] Each transmitting antenna is connected to a corresponding first amplifier via a corresponding first phase shifter. For example, transmitting antenna A11 is connected to first amplifier A31 via first phase shifter A41, transmitting antenna A12 is connected to first amplifier A32 via first phase shifter A42, and transmitting antenna A1J is connected to first amplifier A3J via first phase shifter A4J.
[0055] Specifically, the function of a phase shifter is to shift the phase of a signal by an angle. Therefore, the first phase shifter can be used to receive the first sub-signal after amplification by the first amplifier and adjust the phase of the first sub-signal, i.e., shift the phase of the first sub-signal by a preset angle. Finally, the phase-adjusted first sub-signal is transmitted to the transmitting antenna. By using different first phase shifters to shift the phase of different first sub-signals by different angles, the transmitting antenna can emit beams with different directions, thereby enabling the antenna front-end system to have a wider coverage range. For example, if the first sub-signal outputted from the first amplifier A31 is adjusted by an angle of a after passing through the first phase shifter A41, the beam emitted from the transmitting antenna A11 is beam L11. Meanwhile, if the first sub-signal outputted from the first amplifier A3J is adjusted by an angle of b after passing through the first phase shifter A4J, the beam emitted from the transmitting antenna A1J is beam L1J. It can be seen that the beams finally transmitted are beam L11...beam L1N. When beams L11...beam L1N are directed in different directions, they can cover different areas, thereby having a larger coverage range. Moreover, as the number of beams increases, the coverage range becomes wider.
[0056] In summary, if Figure 3The illustrated transmit antenna subarray includes a first power divider, a first amplifier, a first phase shifter, and a transmit antenna. The first power divider divides the first signal output from the microwave power module 10 into J first sub-signals, amplifies each first sub-signal through a corresponding first amplifier, and then adjusts its phase through a first phase shifter, ultimately enabling the transmit antenna to output beams in different directions. This indicates that, by setting the angle at which the first phase shifter adjusts the signal phase, the output beam can be made flexible and controllable, thereby providing strong anti-interference capabilities. Furthermore, beams in different directions can be output, resulting in a wider coverage area.
[0057] As is well known, in the existing vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar, a single wide beam is usually emitted, such as the mimo radar architecture. This method will make the range that the vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar can cover smaller. When the antenna front-end system in this application is applied to the vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar, the coverage range of the vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar can be increased. In actual applications, the range of the existing technology is shown as R2, and the technical solution of this application can obtain the range shown as R1, and the range shown by R1 is larger than the range shown by R2. It can be seen that the antenna front-end system provided by this application can greatly improve the coverage range of the radar.
[0058] It should be noted that if Figure 3 The hardware structure of the transmitting antenna subarray shown is only an example, and the transmitting antenna subarray may have more or fewer components than shown in the figure, may combine two or more components, or may have a different component configuration. The various components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software, including one or more signal processing and / or application-specific integrated circuits.
[0059] For example, Figure 5 As shown, Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of a transmitting antenna subarray provided in another embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 The transmitting antenna subarray in Figure 3 The transmitting antenna subarrays in the embodiment are similar in that they all include transmitting antenna A11, transmitting antenna A12… transmitting antenna A1J, and a first power divider A21. The difference is that: Figure 5 The transmitting antenna subarray in further includes a second amplifier A51.
[0060] The first input terminal A210 of the first power divider A21 is connected to the microwave circuit module 10 via the second amplifier A51. The second amplifier A51 is configured to amplify the first signal and transmit it to the first input terminal A210 of the first power divider A21. In other words, the first signal output from the microwave circuit module 10 is first amplified and then distributed into J first sub-signals by the first power divider A21.
[0061] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the transmitting antenna subarray also includes at least one second phase shifter, that is, the transmitting antenna subarray A1 includes a second phase shifter A61, a second phase shifter A62...a second phase shifter A6J. It can be seen that the second phase shifters correspond one-to-one to the transmitting antennas, that is, the number of second phase shifters is the same as the number of transmitting antennas.
[0062] Specifically, each transmitting antenna is connected to the first output terminal of the corresponding power divider via a corresponding second phase shifter. For example, transmitting antenna A11 is connected to the first output terminal A211 of the first power divider A21 via a second phase shifter A61, transmitting antenna A12 is connected to the first output terminal A212 of the first power divider A21 via a second phase shifter A62, and transmitting antenna A1J is connected to the first output terminal A21J of the first power divider A21 via a second phase shifter A6J.
[0063] The second phase shifter functions similarly to the first phase shifter: it receives the first sub-signal and adjusts its phase before transmitting it to the transmitting antenna. For example, second phase shifter A61 receives the first sub-signal from first output terminal A211 of first power divider A21, adjusts its phase by a predetermined angle, and then transmits it to transmitting antenna A11 for transmission.
[0064] It should be understood that Figure 5 The transmitting antenna subarray shown is also capable of outputting beams in different directions, so it also has a larger coverage range. At the same time, by setting the angle of the signal phase adjustment of the second phase shifter, the output beam can be made flexible and controllable, thereby also having a strong anti-interference ability.
[0065] In another embodiment, Figure 6 As shown, Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a receiving antenna subarray provided in an embodiment of the present application. Taking receiving antenna subarray B1 as an example, receiving antenna subarray B1 includes a second power divider B21, wherein the second power divider includes first and second output terminals and at least one second input terminal. That is, second power divider B21 includes a second output terminal B210, as well as a second input terminal B211, a second input terminal B212, and a second input terminal B21K. Therefore, the second input terminals correspond one-to-one to the receiving antennas, i.e., the number of second input terminals is the same as the number of receiving antennas.
[0066] Specifically, each receiving antenna is connected to the microwave circuit module through a second power divider, wherein each second input end is connected to the corresponding receiving antenna, and the first output end is connected to the microwave circuit module 10, that is, the second input end B211 is connected to the receiving antenna B11, the second input end B212 is connected to the receiving antenna B12... the second input end B21K is connected to the receiving antenna B1K, and the first output end B210 is connected to the microwave circuit module 10.
[0067] The function of the second power divider B21 is to combine the energy of multiple signals into one energy output. Therefore, the second power divider B21 is used to obtain second signals from the receiving antenna, combine the received second signals, and transmit them to the microwave circuit module 10. Specifically, the second input terminal B211 obtains the first second signal from the receiving antenna B11, the second input terminal B212 obtains the second second signal from the receiving antenna B12, and the second input terminal B21K obtains the Kth second signal from the receiving antenna B1K. These obtained second signals are combined and output from the second output terminal B210 of the second power divider B21 to the microwave circuit module 10.
[0068] Optionally, the receiving antenna subarray also includes at least one third phase shifter, that is, the receiving antenna subarray B1 includes a third phase shifter B21, a third phase shifter B22...a third phase shifter B2K, and the third phase shifters correspond one-to-one to the second input ends of the second power divider, that is, the number of third phase shifters is the same as the number of second input ends of the second power divider.
[0069] Among them, each receiving antenna is connected to the second power divider through the corresponding third phase shifter, that is, the receiving antenna B11 is connected to the second input end B211 of the second power divider B21 through the third phase shifter B31, the receiving antenna B12 is connected to the second input end B212 of the second power divider B21 through the third phase shifter B32... The receiving antenna B1K is connected to the second input end B21K of the second power divider B21 through the third phase shifter B3K.
[0070] The function of the third phase shifter is similar to that of the second phase shifter and the first phase shifter, and will not be described in detail here. The third phase shifter is used to receive the second signal transmitted by the receiving antenna and adjust the phase of the second signal, that is, after the phase of the second signal is shifted by a preset angle, it is transmitted to the second input end of the second power divider B21. Similarly, different third phase shifters can be set to move the phase of the corresponding second signal at different angles, so that the phase of the received second signal can be adjusted, so that the second power divider B21 can better merge the different received second signals without interfering with each other, thereby ensuring a more stable operation of the antenna front-end system, and the signal received by the microwave circuit module 10 is also more stable.
[0071] Furthermore, the receiving antenna subarray B1 further includes at least one low-noise amplifier, i.e., the receiving antenna subarray further includes a low-noise amplifier B41, a low-noise amplifier B42, ..., and a low-noise amplifier B4K. Each low-noise amplifier corresponds to a receiving antenna, i.e., the number of low-noise amplifiers is the same as the number of receiving antennas.
[0072] Specifically, each receiving antenna is connected to the third phase shifter through a corresponding low noise amplifier, that is, the receiving antenna B11 is connected to the third phase shifter B31 through a low noise amplifier B41, the receiving antenna B12 is connected to the third phase shifter B32 through a low noise amplifier B42... The receiving antenna B1K is connected to the third phase shifter B3K through a low noise amplifier B4K.
[0073] A low-noise amplifier (LNA) is an amplifier with a very low noise figure. LNAs are commonly used as high-frequency or intermediate-frequency preamplifiers in various radio receivers, as well as amplifier circuits in highly sensitive electronic detection equipment. When amplifying weak signals, the amplifier's inherent noise can significantly interfere with the signal, so it's desirable to reduce this noise to improve the output signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore, a LNA is used to amplify the second signal and transmit the amplified second signal to the third phase shifter. Specifically, LNA B41 amplifies the second signal received by receiving antenna B11, LNA B42 amplifies the second signal received by receiving antenna B12, and LNA B4K amplifies the second signal received by receiving antenna B1K. Because the LNA's inherent noise is low, the output signal-to-noise ratio is high, enabling microwave circuit module 10 to receive more effective signals and achieve more accurate detection results.
[0074] In one embodiment, the microwave circuit module includes a monolithic microwave integrated circuit. A monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC), sometimes also called a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), is a type of high-frequency amplifier device that has emerged with the development of semiconductor manufacturing technology, particularly the improvement of ion doping control and the maturity of transistor self-arrangement technology. It is widely used in radio frequency, intermediate frequency, and local oscillator circuits in various types of equipment, such as communications and GPS.
[0075] Therefore, all embodiments of this application (including Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 5 or Figure 6 In the embodiment shown in FIG), the microwave circuit module may include a monolithic microwave integrated circuit. Figure 1 Taking the antenna front-end system as an example, Figure 7 As shown, the microwave circuit module 10 includes a monolithic microwave integrated circuit 11, wherein the monolithic microwave integrated circuit 11 includes at least one high-frequency transmitting port and at least one high-frequency receiving port, that is, the monolithic microwave integrated circuit 11 includes high-frequency transmitting ports out1, out2, ..., and outN, and includes high-frequency receiving ports in1, in2, ..., and inN.
[0076] Specifically, each high-frequency transmitting port is connected to the corresponding transmitting antenna subarray, and the single-chip microwave integrated circuit 11 transmits the first signal through each high-frequency transmitting port, that is, the single-chip microwave integrated circuit 11 transmits the first signal to the transmitting antenna subarray A1 through the high-frequency transmitting port out1, the single-chip microwave integrated circuit 11 transmits the first signal to the transmitting antenna subarray A2 through the high-frequency transmitting port out2... The single-chip microwave integrated circuit 11 transmits the first signal to the transmitting antenna subarray AN through the high-frequency transmitting port out2.
[0077] Each high-frequency receiving port is connected to a corresponding receiving antenna subarray, and the single-chip microwave integrated circuit 11 receives the second signal through each receiving and transmitting port, that is, the single-chip microwave integrated circuit 11 receives the second signal from the receiving antenna subarray B1 through the high-frequency receiving port in1, the single-chip microwave integrated circuit 11 receives the second signal from the receiving antenna subarray B2 through the high-frequency receiving port in2... The single-chip microwave integrated circuit 11 receives the second signal from the receiving antenna subarray BM through the high-frequency receiving port inM.
[0078] An embodiment of the present application also provides a vehicle-mounted radar, including an antenna front-end system as in any of the above embodiments.
[0079] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Based on the concept of the present application, the technical features in the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, the steps can be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations in different aspects of the present application as described above. For the sake of simplicity, they are not provided in detail. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. These modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.
Claims
1. An antenna front-end system, characterized in that: include: Microwave circuit module, transmitting antenna array and receiving antenna array; The microwave circuit module is connected to the transmitting antenna array and the receiving antenna array respectively, and is used to output a first signal to the transmitting antenna array and to receive a second signal from the receiving antenna array; The transmitting antenna array includes at least one transmitting antenna subarray, the transmitting antenna subarray is connected to the microwave circuit module, the transmitting antenna subarray includes at least one transmitting antenna, and the transmitting antenna is used to receive the first signal from the microwave circuit module and transmit the first signal; The receiving antenna array includes at least one receiving antenna subarray, the receiving antenna subarray is connected to the microwave circuit module, the receiving antenna subarray includes multiple receiving antennas, and the receiving antennas are used to receive the second signal and transmit it to the microwave circuit module; The receiving antenna subarray further includes a second power divider, the second power divider including a second output terminal and a plurality of second input terminals, and the second input terminals correspond one-to-one to the receiving antennas; The receiving antenna is connected to the microwave circuit module via the second power divider, the second input end is connected to the receiving antenna, and the second output end is connected to the microwave circuit module, and the second power divider is used to receive the second signal and transmit the received second signal to the microwave circuit module after merging. The receiving antenna subarray further includes a plurality of third phase shifters, wherein the third phase shifters correspond one-to-one to the second input terminals of the second power divider; The receiving antenna is connected to the second power divider through the third phase shifter, and the third phase shifter is used to adjust the phase of the second signal and then transmit it to the second input end of the second power divider, wherein different third phase shifters can be set to shift the phase of the corresponding second signal by different angles.
2. The antenna front-end system according to claim 1, wherein: The transmitting antenna subarray further includes a first power divider, the first power divider including a first input end and at least one first output end, the first output end corresponding to the transmitting antenna in a one-to-one manner; The transmitting antenna is connected to the microwave circuit module through the power divider, the first input end is connected to the microwave circuit module, and the first output end is connected to the transmitting antenna. The power divider is used to distribute the first signal into at least one first sub-signal and transmit the first sub-signal to the transmitting antenna, wherein each first sub-signal is output from one first output end.
3. The antenna front-end system according to claim 2, wherein: The transmitting antenna subarray further includes at least one first amplifier, wherein the first amplifier corresponds to the transmitting antenna in a one-to-one manner; The transmitting antenna is connected to the first output end of the power divider through the first amplifier. The first amplifier is used to receive the first sub-signal and amplify the first sub-signal before transmitting it to the transmitting antenna.
4. The antenna front-end system according to claim 3, wherein: The transmitting antenna subarray further includes at least one first phase shifter, wherein the first phase shifter corresponds one-to-one to the transmitting antenna; The transmitting antenna is connected to the first amplifier via the first phase shifter. The first phase shifter is used to receive the amplified first sub-signal, adjust the phase of the amplified first sub-signal, and then transmit it to the transmitting antenna.
5. The antenna front-end system according to claim 2, wherein: The transmitting antenna subarray further includes a second amplifier; The first input end of the power divider is connected to the microwave circuit module through the second amplifier, and the second amplifier is used to amplify the first signal and transmit it to the first input end of the power divider.
6. The antenna front-end system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The transmitting antenna subarray further includes at least one second phase shifter, wherein the second phase shifter corresponds one-to-one to the transmitting antenna; The transmitting antenna is connected to the first output end of the power divider through the second phase shifter. The second phase shifter is used to receive the first sub-signal and adjust the phase of the first sub-signal before transmitting it to the transmitting antenna.
7. The antenna front-end system according to claim 1, wherein: The receiving antenna subarray further includes at least one low noise amplifier, and the low noise amplifier corresponds to the receiving antenna one-to-one; The receiving antenna is connected to the third phase shifter via the low noise amplifier, and the low noise amplifier is used to amplify the second signal and then transmit it to the third phase shifter.
8. The antenna front-end system according to claim 1, wherein: The microwave circuit module includes a monolithic microwave integrated circuit, and the monolithic microwave integrated circuit includes at least one high-frequency transmitting port and at least one high-frequency receiving port; The high-frequency transmitting port is connected to the transmitting antenna subarray, and the high-frequency transmitting port is used to transmit the first signal; The high-frequency receiving port is connected to the receiving antenna subarray, and the high-frequency receiving port is used to receive the second signal.
9. A vehicle-mounted radar, characterized in that: Comprising the antenna front-end system as described in any one of claims 1-8.
Citation Information
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