Packaged antenna and wireless communication device having the packaged antenna

Abstract

The present invention provides a packaged antenna and a wireless communication device having the packaged antenna, wherein the packaged antenna comprises a substrate, an intermediate dielectric layer and a radiation unit stacked in sequence from bottom to top, wherein the radiation unit is used to receive a first feed signal to excite a first working mode and generate a radiation signal of a first radiation frequency band, and the substrate is a dielectric material and is used to receive a second feed signal to excite a second working mode and generate a radiation signal of a second radiation frequency band. The packaged antenna provided by the present invention can increase the working mode of the packaged antenna without increasing the volume of the antenna.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an antenna, and in particular to a packaged antenna supporting multiple frequency bands simultaneously and a wireless communication device having the packaged antenna. Background Art

[0002] Lower cost, more reliable, faster and higher density circuits are the goals pursued by integrated circuit packaging. Integrated circuit packaging improves the integration density of various electronic components by continuously reducing feature sizes. Antennas are an indispensable component in RF front-end systems. As RF circuits develop towards integration and miniaturization, system integration and packaging of antennas and RF front-end circuits will become an inevitable trend in the future development of RF front-ends. However, most of the existing packaged antennas only support one working mode. Therefore, when wireless communication devices need to support different working modes, different packaged antennas still need to be set up, which takes up too much space in the mobile phone. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the above problems, it is necessary to provide a packaged antenna that supports multiple frequency bands simultaneously and a wireless communication device having the packaged antenna.

[0004] On one hand, the present invention provides a packaged antenna, which includes a substrate, an intermediate dielectric layer and a radiation unit stacked in sequence from bottom to top, wherein the radiation unit is used to receive a first feed signal to excite a first working mode and generate a radiation signal in a first radiation frequency band, and the substrate is a dielectric material, which is used to receive a second feed signal to excite a second working mode and generate a radiation signal in a second radiation frequency band.

[0005] Furthermore, the dielectric constant and / or length of the substrate is changed to adjust the frequency range of the second radiation frequency band.

[0006] Furthermore, the substrate is made of polycarbonate.

[0007] Furthermore, the second operating mode is a Sub-6G operating mode, and the second radiation frequency band includes a 3.2 GHz to 5.0 GHz frequency band.

[0008] Furthermore, the intermediate dielectric layer is arranged on a surface of the substrate, the radiation unit is arranged on a side of the intermediate dielectric layer away from the substrate, and the intermediate dielectric layer is provided with an accommodating cavity for accommodating the radio frequency unit.

[0009] Furthermore, the radio frequency unit includes a switching module, and the switching module is used to control the packaged antenna to switch between the first working mode and the second working mode.

[0010] Furthermore, the packaged antenna also includes a connector, one end of the switching module is electrically connected to the connector, and the other end is electrically connected to the RF unit and the substrate respectively.

[0011] Furthermore, the switching module includes a first signal input terminal, a second signal input terminal, a first signal output terminal and a second signal output terminal, the first signal input terminal and the second signal input terminal are respectively electrically connected to the connector, the first signal output terminal is electrically connected to the RF unit, and the second signal output terminal is electrically connected to the substrate.

[0012] Furthermore, the first operating mode is a millimeter wave operating mode, and the first radiation frequency band includes a frequency band of 28 GHz to 40 GHz.

[0013] Another aspect of the present invention provides a wireless communication device, comprising the packaged antenna as described in any one of the above items.

[0014] The packaged antenna provided by the present invention, by changing the substrates with different dielectric constants, enables the substrate to play a supporting role and, when receiving a feed signal, to excite the corresponding working mode and generate a radiation signal of the corresponding radiation frequency band. In this way, the working mode of the packaged antenna can be increased without increasing the antenna space. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 FIG. 4 is a side view of a packaged antenna according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 for Figure 1 The circuit diagram of the switching module in the packaged antenna is shown.

[0017] Main component symbols

[0018] Package antenna 100

[0019] Substrate 10

[0020] First surface 101

[0021] Second surface 102

[0022] Intermediate dielectric layer 20

[0023] Accommodating chamber 201

[0024] Radiating unit 30

[0025] Connector 40

[0026] Radio frequency unit 50

[0027] Switching module 51

[0028] The following specific implementation manner will further illustrate the present invention in conjunction with the above-mentioned drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "electrically connected" to another element, it may be directly on the other component or there may be an intermediate element. When an element is considered to be "electrically connected" to another element, it may be a contact connection, for example, a wire connection, or a contactless connection, for example, a contactless coupling.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art of the present invention. The terms used herein in the specification of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

[0032] Some embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0033] It can be understood that the antenna is an important component in the wireless system, and there are two forms: separate and integrated. Integrated antennas mainly include two types: antenna on chip (Antenna on-Chip, AoC) and packaged antenna (Antenna-in-Package, AiP). Among them, the packaged antenna refers to an antenna that is integrated into the package carrying the chip through packaging materials and processes. The packaged antenna takes into account the antenna performance, cost and volume well, and is the mainstream direction of millimeter wave technology application. The packaged antenna system has a short design cycle, is convenient and flexible, and can use the same chip with different packaged antennas to meet different needs. The packaged and modular antenna design makes it more convenient to replace the antenna.

[0034] Please also read Figure 1 A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a packaged antenna 100, which can be used in wireless communication devices such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants to transmit and receive radio waves to transmit and exchange wireless signals.

[0035] The packaged antenna 100 includes a substrate 10 , an intermediate dielectric layer 20 , a radiation unit 30 and a connector 40 .

[0036] It can be understood that in this embodiment, the substrate 10, the intermediate dielectric layer 20 and the radiation unit 30 are stacked in sequence from bottom to top. The substrate 10 is used to support the packaged antenna 100. The intermediate dielectric layer 20 is provided with a receiving cavity 201 for accommodating the radio frequency unit 50. The radiation unit 30 is used to receive a feed signal to excite a first working mode and generate a radiation signal of a first radiation frequency band. The connector 40 is provided on one side of the packaged antenna 100 to realize the electrical connection between the packaged antenna 100 and other electronic components.

[0037] In this embodiment, the substrate 10 is made of dielectric material and can be used as an antenna to receive a feed signal. It can be understood that different dielectric materials have different dielectric constants. By changing the dielectric constant and length of the substrate 10, the substrate 10 can excite different second working modes, thereby generating radiation signals of the corresponding second radiation frequency band to meet different engineering requirements.

[0038] In this embodiment, the substrate 10 is roughly a cuboid with a length of 0.02 meters and a width of 0.00481 meters. When the second working mode is the Sub-6G working mode, that is, the first frequency band is the 3.2GHz to 5.0GHz frequency band, the calculation formula (3) of the dielectric constant of the material required for the substrate 10 to excite the Sub-6G working mode can be obtained according to the calculation formula (1) of the antenna wavelength and frequency and the calculation formula (2) of the antenna wavelength and length.

[0039] It can be understood that the calculation formula of antenna wavelength and frequency is:

[0040]

[0041] It can be understood that, in one embodiment, the calculation formula of the wavelength of the antenna and the length of the antenna is:

[0042]

[0043] In formula (1) and formula (2), λ represents the antenna wavelength, c represents the speed of light, f represents the frequency band supported by the antenna, ε represents the dielectric constant of the antenna material, and a represents the length of the antenna. Thus, the dielectric constant of the substrate 10 can be obtained by formula (3):

[0044]

[0045] For example, when the substrate 10 needs to work in the Sub-6G frequency band, its working frequency band is 3.2GHz~5.0GHz. Then the center frequency of 3.2GHz~5.0GHz is 4.1GHz. Combining formula (1) and formula (2), substituting the speed of light c of 3.0×108 meters / second, the antenna length a of 0.02 meters, and the frequency f of 4.1GHz into formula (3), it can be obtained that the dielectric constant of the material required for the substrate 10 to excite the Sub-6G working mode is approximately 3.346. Looking up the dielectric constant table related to the material, it can be seen that the dielectric constant of polycarbonate (PC) is 3.3.

[0046] Thus, in this embodiment, when the length of the substrate 10 is 0.02 meters and the material of the substrate 10 is polycarbonate, after receiving the feed signal, the substrate 10 can excite the Sub-6G working mode and generate a radiation signal in the 3.2GHz to 5.0GHz frequency band. That is, in this embodiment, the second working mode is the Sub-6G working mode, and the second radiation frequency band is the 3.2GHz to 5.0GHz frequency band.

[0047] It is understood that in other embodiments, the length of the antenna may have other proportional relationships with the corresponding wavelength. For example, the length of the antenna may also be one quarter of the wavelength or three quarters of the wavelength of the corresponding antenna. It is understood that those skilled in the art may design the antenna according to the actual situation and in accordance with the concept of the present invention. The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention and do not limit the present invention.

[0048] It can be understood that in this embodiment, when the substrate 10 is provided with corresponding feeding points for feeding electrical signals, the substrate 10 is also provided with corresponding grounding points for providing grounding for the substrate 10 .

[0049] In this embodiment, the substrate 10 includes a first surface 101 and a second surface 102 opposite to the first surface 101. The intermediate dielectric layer 20 is disposed on the second surface 102.

[0050] The intermediate dielectric layer 20 is provided with at least one accommodating cavity 201 for accommodating the RF unit 50. The RF unit 50 includes a wireless transceiver and a RF front-end component. In one embodiment, the RF unit 50 may also be an integrated circuit chip for wireless communication, which may be used to perform functions such as microwave mixing, power amplification, low noise amplification, and RF switching. The present invention does not limit the type and quantity of the RF unit in the accommodating cavity 201.

[0051] The material of the intermediate dielectric layer 20 is a non-conductive material, and the non-conductive material includes one or more injection molding materials such as EMC (Epoxy Molding Compound), ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), PC (Polycarbonate), and PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate).

[0052] It can be understood that in this embodiment, each of the radiation units 30 is a millimeter wave antenna. The first working mode is a millimeter wave working mode, and the first radiation frequency band includes a 28 GHz-40 GHz frequency band. In this embodiment, four of the radiation units 30 are arranged on a side of the intermediate dielectric layer 20 away from the substrate 10. In this way, the four radiation units 30 form a millimeter wave antenna array.

[0053] Of course, in other embodiments, the radiation unit 30 is not limited to a millimeter wave antenna, and may also be other types of antennas. The type, structure and operating frequency band of the radiation unit 30 are not limited herein.

[0054] It can be understood that, in one embodiment, the radiation unit 30 may be a chip antenna having a corresponding feeding terminal and a ground.

[0055] It can be understood that in one embodiment, the exposed surfaces of the radiation unit 30 and the intermediate dielectric layer 20 may be covered with a coating, which can protect the radiation unit 30 on the one hand and package the packaged antenna 100 on the other hand to make the packaged antenna 100 more beautiful.

[0056] It can be understood that the intermediate dielectric layer 20 may be provided with metal vias (not shown). The RF unit 50 is connected to the substrate 10 and the radiation unit 30 through the metal vias.

[0057] It is understood that a grounding layer may also be provided in the intermediate dielectric layer 20. The access point of the substrate 10 may be electrically connected to the grounding layer through the metal via, so that when the substrate 10 is used as an antenna, the substrate 10 is grounded.

[0058] The connector 40 is disposed at one end of the packaged antenna 100 to realize electrical connection between the packaged antenna 100 and other electronic components. In the present embodiment, the connector 40 is a board-to-board connector. It can be understood that the electrical signal is fed into the packaged antenna 100 through the connector 40, so that the substrate 10 excites the second working mode to generate a radiation signal of the second radiation frequency band, and / or the radiation unit 30 excites the first working mode to generate a radiation signal of the first radiation frequency band. It can be understood that the connector 40 can be electrically connected to the central processing unit (CPU) of the wireless communication device 200.

[0059] See also Figure 2 In one embodiment, the radio frequency unit 50 includes a switching module 51. The switching module 51 is used to switch the packaged antenna 100 between the first working mode and the second working mode.

[0060] In one embodiment, one end of the switching module 51 is electrically connected to the connector 40, and the other end is electrically connected to the radiation unit 30 and the substrate 10. The switching module 51 includes a first signal input terminal GPIO1, a second signal input terminal GPIO2, a first signal output terminal RF1, a second signal output terminal RF2, a power terminal VDD and a ground terminal GND.

[0061] The power supply terminal VDD is electrically connected to a power supply to supply power to the switching module 51. The ground terminal GND is used to provide grounding for the switching module 51. The first signal input terminal GPIO1 and the second signal input terminal GPIO2 are electrically connected to the connector 40, respectively. The first signal output terminal RF1 is electrically connected to the radiation unit 30. The second signal output terminal RF2 is electrically connected to the substrate 10.

[0062] It can be understood that the connector 40 outputs a first control signal to the first signal input terminal GPIO1 of the switching module 51, and the connector 40 also outputs a second control signal to the second signal input terminal GPIO2 of the switching module 51. Under the control of the first control signal and the second control signal, the first signal output terminal RF1 of the switching module 51 outputs a first feed signal to the first radiation unit 30 to excite the first working mode, or the second signal output terminal RF2 of the switching module 51 outputs a second feed signal to the substrate 10 to excite the second working mode.

[0063] When the first control signal is at a first level, such as a high level, and the second control signal is at a second level, such as a low level, the first feed signal output by the first signal output terminal RF1 is at the first level, and the second feed signal output by the second signal output terminal RF2 is at the second level. In this way, the radiation unit 30 receives the first feed signal to excite the first working mode and generate a radiation signal of the first radiation frequency band.

[0064] When the first control signal is at the second level and the second control signal is at the first level, the first feed signal outputted by the first signal output terminal RF1 is at the second level and the second feed signal outputted by the second signal output terminal RF2 is at the first level. In this way, the substrate 10 receives the second feed signal to excite the second working mode and generate a radiation signal of the second radiation frequency band.

[0065] When the first control signal and the second control signal are both at the first level or both at the second level, the radiation unit 30 and the substrate 10 do not excite the first working mode and the second working mode.

[0066] It can be understood that in this embodiment, the RF unit 50 includes other RF components in addition to the switching module 51. For example, the RF unit 50 may also include a power amplifier, a filter, and a low noise amplifier. The power amplifier is used to amplify the RF signal in the transmitting channel, the filter is used to filter the signal, and the low noise amplifier is used to amplify the received signal in the receiving channel.

[0067] It is understood that in other embodiments, the switching module 51 is not limited to the circuit structure described in this embodiment. Engineers can select a suitable switching module according to actual needs and frequency range.

[0068] It can be understood that the present invention changes the material of the substrate 10 of the packaged antenna 100 so that the substrate 10 can not only play a supporting role but also excite the second working mode when receiving the feed signal. In this way, the working mode of the packaged antenna 100 can be increased without increasing the antenna space. In addition, the present invention also sets a switching module 51, so that the antenna can be effectively switched between the radiation unit 30 and the substrate 10, so as to flexibly use the packaged antenna 100.

[0069] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention is described in detail with reference to the above preferred embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solution of the present invention can be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may also make other changes within the spirit of the present invention and apply them to the design of the present invention, as long as they do not deviate from the technical effects of the present invention. These changes made according to the spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A packaged antenna, characterized in that: The packaged antenna includes a substrate, an intermediate dielectric layer and a radiation unit stacked in sequence from bottom to top. The radiation unit is used to receive a first feed signal to excite a first working mode and generate a radiation signal in a first radiation frequency band. The substrate is a dielectric material and serves as an antenna to receive a second feed signal to excite a second working mode and generate a radiation signal in a second radiation frequency band. The substrate is made of polycarbonate.

2. The packaged antenna according to claim 1, wherein: The dielectric constant and / or length of the substrate is changed to adjust the frequency range of the second radiation frequency band.

3. The packaged antenna according to claim 1, wherein: The second working mode is the Sub-6G working mode, and the second radiation frequency band includes the 3.2GHz~5.0GHz frequency band.

4. The packaged antenna according to claim 1, wherein: The intermediate dielectric layer is arranged on a surface of the substrate, the radiation unit is arranged on a side of the intermediate dielectric layer away from the substrate, and the intermediate dielectric layer is provided with an accommodating cavity for accommodating the radio frequency unit.

5. The packaged antenna according to claim 4, characterized in that: The radio frequency unit includes a switching module, and the switching module is used to control the packaged antenna to switch between the first working mode and the second working mode.

6. The packaged antenna according to claim 5, characterized in that: The packaged antenna further includes a connector, one end of the switching module is electrically connected to the connector, and the other end is electrically connected to the radiation unit and the substrate respectively.

7. The packaged antenna according to claim 6, wherein: The switching module includes a first signal input terminal, a second signal input terminal, a first signal output terminal and a second signal output terminal, the first signal input terminal and the second signal input terminal are electrically connected to the connector respectively, the first signal output terminal is electrically connected to the RF unit, and the second signal output terminal is electrically connected to the substrate.

8. The packaged antenna according to claim 1, wherein: The first operating mode is a millimeter wave operating mode, and the first radiation frequency band includes a 28 GHz to 40 GHz frequency band.

9. A wireless communication device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a packaged antenna as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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