A tile-type multi-channel T / R component

Abstract

The present invention provides a tile-type multi-channel T / R component, including N channels, each channel including 1 A module and 1 / 2 B module, the transmitting branch of the A module includes a power amplifier chip, an attenuator and a driving amplifier chip, and the receiving branch includes a single-pole three-throw switch, a limiter and a low-noise amplifier chip; the B module is a dual-channel chip with phase shifting and attenuation functions, and the power divider divides one signal into two paths, each of which includes a phase shifter, an attenuator and a single-pole double-throw switch chip; the C chip is a bidirectional amplifier chip with an amplification function. The present invention adopts multi-chip integration technology and microwave signal vertical transition technology to solve the difficulty of component layout caused by miniaturization, high density and multi-channel problems of tile-type T / R components, solves the contradiction between the number of channels and volume, realizes multi-channels in a small volume, meets the use requirements of a certain type of phased array radar, and provides a new idea for component miniaturization design.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of phased array radar, and in particular to a miniaturized, high-density, low-cost multi-channel T / R component, which is mainly used in a certain type of phased array radar system. The main function of the component is to amplify, phase-shift and attenuate weak echo signals received by an antenna during reception; and to amplify and phase-shift excitation signals during transmission and transmit them through an antenna. Background Art

[0002] T / R components can be divided into two structures: brick-type and tile-type according to the assembly method. In recent years, the brick-type structure has been widely used in phased arrays because of its high technical maturity, simple circuit design and easy assembly. However, the disadvantages are low integration, large longitudinal dimensions, unfavorable conformal, and frequent heat dissipation paths. The tile-type structure is technically difficult and has a small unit size. It must adopt high-density integration technology and miniaturized, high-performance and high-reliability RF vertical interconnection structures. Tile-type components can be cooled by overall liquid cooling. With the continuous improvement of chip integration, the volume of tile-type T / R components is reduced by 20% to 80% compared with miniaturized brick-type T / R components. Due to the significant reduction in longitudinal dimensions, the heat dissipation effect is also improved accordingly, with higher reliability, but with the multi-channel, miniaturized components, and high-density chips, the design of tile-type components is also difficult. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a tile-type multi-channel T / R component, which adopts multi-chip integration technology and microwave signal vertical transition technology to solve the difficulty of component layout caused by miniaturization, high density and multi-channel problems of tile-type T / R components.

[0004] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problem is:

[0005] A tile-type multi-channel T / R component, the entire tile-type T / R component includes N channels, including N A modules, N / 2 B modules and a C chip, each channel includes 1 A module and 1 / 2 B module, wherein the A module has an amplification function, the transmitting branch of the A module includes a power amplifier chip, an attenuator and a driver amplifier chip, and the receiving branch includes a single-pole three-throw switch, a limiter and a low-noise amplifier chip; the B module is a dual-channel chip with phase shifting and attenuation functions, the power divider divides one signal into two paths, each path includes a phase shifter, an attenuator and a single-pole double-throw switch chip; the C chip is a bidirectional amplifier chip with an amplification function, and has an amplifier in the transmitting branch and the receiving branch respectively.

[0006] In the tile-type multi-channel T / R component, when transmitting a signal, one RF signal is amplified by the C chip, and then divided into N / 2 RF signals by an N / 2 power divider, and enters the B module. The B module further divides the RF signal into two, and each RF signal enters the A module for amplification and output after phase shifting and attenuation; when receiving a signal, the received RF signal is first amplified by the A module and enters the B module. After phase shifting and attenuation, each B chip synthesizes the two RF signals into one RF signal. N / 2 B chips synthesize N RF signals into N / 2 RF signals, and then synthesize them into one RF signal through the N / 2 power divider, and then amplify them through the C chip for output.

[0007] The tile-type multi-channel T / R component is located in a cavity where the outer wall (1) of the component is located. The partition wall (4) inside the component divides the internal cavity into an upper cavity (2) and a lower cavity (3) of the component. The upper surface of the partition wall (4) inside the component is a printed circuit board (7) of the upper cavity, and the lower surface of the partition wall (4) inside the component is a printed circuit board (8) of the lower cavity. The partition wall (4) inside the component is provided with N / 2 insulators (6) for connecting the upper and lower cavities for radio frequency signal transmission. At the same time, the partition wall (4) inside the component is provided with a transition board (5) for connecting the upper and lower cavities for control signal transmission. A connector (9) is provided in the middle of the partition wall (4) inside the component, which passes through the lower cavity of the component and reaches the upper cavity of the component. The radio frequency signal passes through the connector. (9) enters the upper cavity (2) of the component, passes through the C chip and the N / 2 power dividers; the N / 2 radio frequency signals of the upper cavity (2) of the component respectively reach the lower cavity (3) of the component through the N / 2 insulators (6) and enter the B module and the A module; the low-frequency control signals of the A module and the B module enter the lower cavity (3) of the component from the upper cavity (2) of the component through the transition plate (5), and reach the A module and the B module in the lower cavity (3) of the component through the printed circuit board (8) of the lower cavity (3) of the component, thereby realizing the control of the A module and the B module; the through holes of the upper cavity (2) of the component and the lower cavity (3) of the component must correspond to each other one by one, and the A module and the B module of any four channels in the lower cavity (3) of the component are controlled through the transition plate (5).

[0008] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that the tile-type T / R component solves the contradiction between the number of channels and the volume, realizes multiple channels in a small volume, meets the use requirements of a certain type of phased array radar, and provides a new idea for the miniaturization design of components. Many successful experiences provide reference experience for the design of other circuits. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 It is a principle block diagram of the tile-type T / R assembly of the present invention.

[0010] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the interior of the component of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 3 This is the front layout diagram of the 16-channel tile-type T / R assembly of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 4 It is the reverse layout diagram of the 16-channel tile-type T / R assembly of the present invention.

[0013] Among them, 1 is the outer wall of the component; 2 is the upper cavity of the component; 3 is the lower cavity of the component; 4 is the partition wall inside the component; 5 is the transition board for connecting the upper and lower cavities of the component to control the signal transmission; 6 is N / 2 insulators for connecting the upper and lower cavities to transmit radio frequency signals; 7 is the printed circuit board of the upper cavity; 8 is the printed circuit board of the lower cavity; 9 is the connector that passes through the lower cavity of the component to reach the upper cavity of the component, 10 is channel 1 and channel 2; 11 is channel 3 and channel 4; 12 is channel 5 and channel 6; 13 is channel 7 and channel 8; 14 is channel 9 and channel 10; 15 is channel 11 and channel 12; 16 is channel 13 and channel 14; 17 is channel 15 and channel 16; 18 is the positive low-frequency control signal of channels 1 to 4; 19 is the positive low-frequency Control signal; 20 is the front low-frequency control signal of channels 9 to 12; 21 is the front low-frequency control signal of channels 13 to 16; 22 is the front power supply control circuit of channels 1 to 8; 23 is the front power supply control circuit of channels 9 to 16; 24 is the front RF signal of channels 1 to 4 and channels 9 to 12; 25 is the front RF signal of channels 5 to 8 and channels 13 to 16; 26 is the back low-frequency control signal of channels 1 to 4; 27 is the back low-frequency control signal of channels 5 to 8; 28 is the back low-frequency control signal of channels 9 to 12; 29 is the back low-frequency control signal of channels 13 to 16; 30 is the back RF signal of channels 1 to 4 and channels 9 to 12; 31 is the back RF signal of channels 5 to 8 and channels 13 to 16. 32 is the back C chip. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0015] The T / R component in the present invention is a multi-channel tile-type T / R component. The number of channels of the T / R component is considered from two aspects. On the one hand, it is the scale of the sub-array where the T / R component is located; on the other hand, it is the difficulty of assembling the T / R and the yield rate of the component. Taking both aspects into comprehensive consideration, the present invention takes N channels as an example for explanation.

[0016] When the T / R component transmits, the excitation signal is divided into N transmission signals through a one-to-N power splitter, and the N transmission signals are amplified by the power amplifier and then transmitted through the antenna; when the T / R component receives, the N signals received by the antenna are amplified by the low-noise amplifier, and then synthesized into one RF signal through a one-to-N power splitter and sent to the back-end circuit for processing. The schematic diagram of the T / R component is as follows Figure 1In order to realize the miniaturization design of the components, bare chips are used for the design of the components, the structure adopts a tile structure, and the process is realized through micro-assembly.

[0017] The implementation of multi-chip integration technology is as follows Figure 1 As shown, the tile-type component has N channels, each of which contains 1 A module and 1 / 2 B modules. The entire tile-type T / R component consists of N A modules, N / 2 B modules, and a C chip. The A module has an amplification function, the transmitting branch contains a power amplifier chip, an attenuator, and a driver amplifier chip, and the receiving branch contains a single-pole three-throw switch, a limiter, and a low-noise amplifier chip; the B module is a dual-channel chip with phase shifting and attenuation functions. The power divider divides one signal into two paths, each of which contains a phase shifter, an attenuator, and a single-pole double-throw switch chip; the C chip is a bidirectional amplifier chip with an amplification function, and there is an amplifier in the transmitting branch and the receiving branch respectively. The number of chips in the entire T / R component is N (A module) + N / 2 (B module) + 1 (N-way power divider chip) + 1 (C chip) = (1.5N + 2) chips, while the number of chips in the traditional tile-type component is 6×N + 7×N / 2 + 1 (N-way power divider chip) + 1 (C chip) = (9.5N + 2) chips. The present invention reduces the number of chips inside the component by nearly 80%.

[0018] During transmission, one RF signal is amplified by the C chip, and then divided into N / 2 RF signals through an N / 2 power divider, and enters the B module. The B module splits the RF signal into two paths, and each RF signal is phase-shifted and attenuated before entering the A module for amplification and output.

[0019] During reception, the received RF signal is first amplified by module A and enters module B. After phase shifting and attenuation, each B chip combines two RF signals into one RF signal. N / 2 B chips combine N RF signals into N / 2 RF signals, which are then combined into one RF signal through N / 2 power dividers and amplified by chip C before output.

[0020] Figure 2 Component internal diagram

[0021] Microwave vertical interconnection implementation Figure 2 As shown, Figure 1 1 represents the outer wall of the component; 2 represents the upper cavity of the component; 3 represents the lower cavity of the component; 4 represents the partition wall inside the component; 5 represents the transition board for connecting the upper and lower cavities of the component to control signal transmission; 6 represents N / 2 insulators for connecting the upper and lower cavities for RF signal transmission; 7 represents the printed circuit board of the upper cavity; 8 represents the printed circuit board of the lower cavity; 9 represents the connector that passes through the lower cavity of the component and reaches the upper cavity of the component.

[0022] The tile-type multi-channel T / R component is located in a cavity where the outer wall (1) of the component is located. The partition wall (4) inside the component divides the internal cavity into an upper cavity (2) and a lower cavity (3) of the component. The upper surface of the partition wall (4) inside the component is a printed circuit board (7) of the upper cavity, and the lower surface of the partition wall (4) inside the component is a printed circuit board (8) of the lower cavity. The partition wall (4) inside the component is provided with N / 2 insulators (6) for connecting the upper and lower cavities for radio frequency signal transmission. At the same time, the partition wall (4) inside the component is provided with a transition board (5) for connecting the upper and lower cavities for control signal transmission. A connector (9) is provided in the middle of the partition wall (4) that passes through the lower cavity of the component to reach the upper cavity of the component. The radio frequency signal enters the upper cavity inside the component through the connector (9) and passes through the C chip and the N / 2 power divider. The N / 2 radio frequency signals of the upper cavity respectively reach the lower cavity of the component through N / 2 insulators (6) and enter the B module and the A module. The low-frequency control signals of the A module and the B module enter the lower cavity of the component from the upper cavity through the transition plate (5) and reach the A module and the B module in the lower cavity of the component through the printed circuit board (8) of the lower cavity to realize the control of the A module and the B module.

[0023] The present invention will now be further described with reference to examples and drawings. Figure 3 This is the front layout of the 16-channel tiled T / R component. Figure 4 This is the reverse layout diagram of the 16-channel tiled T / R component.

[0024] The present invention takes a 16-way tile T / R assembly as an example. Figure 3 and Figure 4 In the figure, 10 represents channel 1 and channel 2; 11 represents channel 3 and channel 4; 12 represents channel 5 and channel 6; 13 represents channel 7 and channel 8; 14 represents channel 9 and channel 10; 15 represents channel 11 and channel 12; 16 represents channel 13 and channel 14; 17 represents channel 15 and channel 16; 18 represents the positive low-frequency control signal of channels 1 to 4; 19 represents the positive low-frequency control signal of channels 5 to 8; 20 represents the positive low-frequency control signal of channels 9 to 12; 21 represents the positive low-frequency control signal of channels 13 to 16; 22 represents the positive low-frequency control signal of channels 1 to 8 23 represents the front power supply control circuit of channels 9 to 16; 24 represents the front RF signals of channels 1 to 4 and 9 to 12; 25 represents the front RF signals of channels 5 to 8 and 13 to 16; 26 represents the reverse low-frequency control signals of channels 1 to 4; 27 represents the reverse low-frequency control signals of channels 5 to 8; 28 represents the reverse low-frequency control signals of channels 9 to 12; 29 represents the reverse low-frequency control signals of channels 13 to 16; 18 and 26, 19 and 27, 20 and 28, 21 and 29, the through holes of the upper and lower cavities should correspond to each other, and through Figure 2The transition plate (5) in the lower chamber controls the A module and the B module of any four channels in the lower chamber; 30 represents the radio frequency signals on the reverse side of channels 1 to 4 and channels 9 to 12; 31 represents the radio frequency signals on the reverse side of channels 5 to 8 and channels 13 to 16; 24 and 30, 25 and 31 are connected by Figure 2 The insulator (6) in the middle is used to transmit the radio frequency signal; 32 is the C chip on the reverse side.

[0025] according to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The design is based on the layout diagram shown in the figure. Due to the high degree of circuit integration and the large number and variety of components (more than 25 types of bare chips and more than 100 pieces in number), a traditional brick structure is adopted. The surface of 110mm*30mm is only enough for device arrangement and there is no space for routing. Therefore, a multi-layer board design is adopted in the actual design. The transmission of RF signals adopts strip lines, and the power management chip and RF chip are arranged on the surface of the multi-layer board.

[0026] The embodiment finally realized a 16-channel T / R assembly with a size of only 110mm×30mm×9mm, and achieved functional and index testing.

[0027] In the transmitting branch, the single-channel output power is ≥27dBm, the input standing wave ratio is ≤1.5, and the output envelope pulse top drop is ≤0.5dB; in the receiving branch, the channel gain is ≥22dB, the gain flatness is ≤±1dB, the noise figure is ≤4dB, the input standing wave ratio is ≤1.8, and the channel gain consistency is: ≤±1dB.

Claims

1. A tile-type multi-channel T / R assembly, characterized in that: The tile-type multi-channel T / R component includes N channels, including N A modules, N / 2 B modules and a C chip, each channel includes 1 A module and 1 / 2 B module, wherein the A module has an amplification function, the transmitting branch of the A module includes a power amplifier chip, an attenuator and a driver amplifier chip, and the receiving branch includes a single-pole three-throw switch, a limiter and a low-noise amplifier chip; the B module is a dual-channel chip with phase shifting and attenuation functions, and the power divider divides one signal into two paths, each of which includes a phase shifter, an attenuator and a single-pole double-throw switch chip; the C chip is a bidirectional amplifier chip with an amplification function, and has an amplifier in the transmitting branch and the receiving branch respectively; In the tile-type multi-channel T / R component, when transmitting a signal, one RF signal is amplified by the C chip, and then divided into N / 2 RF signals by an N / 2 power divider, and enters the B module. The B module further divides the RF signal into two, and each RF signal enters the A module after phase shifting and attenuation, and then is amplified and output; when receiving a signal, the received RF signal is first amplified by the A module and enters the B module. After phase shifting and attenuation, each B chip synthesizes the two RF signals into one RF signal. N / 2 B chips synthesize N RF signals into N / 2 RF signals, and then synthesize them into one RF signal through the N / 2 power divider, and then amplified by the C chip and output; The tile-type multi-channel T / R component is located in a cavity where the outer wall (1) of the component is located. The partition wall (4) inside the component divides the internal cavity into an upper cavity (2) and a lower cavity (3) of the component. The upper surface of the partition wall (4) inside the component is a printed circuit board (7) of the upper cavity, and the lower surface of the partition wall (4) inside the component is a printed circuit board (8) of the lower cavity. The partition wall (4) inside the component is provided with N / 2 insulators (6) for connecting the upper and lower cavities for radio frequency signal transmission. At the same time, the partition wall (4) inside the component is provided with a transition board (5) for connecting the upper and lower cavities for control signal transmission. A connector (9) is provided in the middle of the partition wall (4) inside the component, which passes through the lower cavity of the component and reaches the upper cavity of the component. The radio frequency signal passes through the connector. (9) enters the upper cavity (2) of the component, passes through the C chip and the N / 2 power dividers; the N / 2 radio frequency signals of the upper cavity (2) of the component respectively reach the lower cavity (3) of the component through the N / 2 insulators (6) and enter the B module and the A module; the low-frequency control signals of the A module and the B module enter the lower cavity (3) of the component from the upper cavity (2) of the component through the transition plate (5), and reach the A module and the B module in the lower cavity (3) of the component through the printed circuit board (8) of the lower cavity (3) of the component, thereby realizing the control of the A module and the B module; the through holes of the upper cavity (2) of the component and the lower cavity (3) of the component must correspond to each other one by one, and the A module and the B module of any four channels in the lower cavity (3) of the component are controlled through the transition plate (5).

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