A multi-polarization feeding method for ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased array

Abstract

The present application discloses a multi-polarization feeding method for an ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased array, wherein the phased array is composed of N×N antenna units; any antenna unit is composed of a horizontally polarized vibrator and a vertically polarized vibrator, which are orthogonal to each other, and a T / R component channel is connected to its rear end, and the horizontally polarized vibrator or the vertically polarized vibrator of any antenna unit is fed by switching the switch component in the T / R component channel; the switch component includes a plurality of switching switches, so as to change the feeding mode of any antenna unit by the cooperation of the plurality of switching switches; the phased array is divided into several sub-arrays, and any sub-array includes 2×2 antenna units, so as to use the switch component to control the feeding mode of each antenna unit in any sub-array, so as to realize multiple polarization feeding modes of the phased array. The feeding method of the present application can flexibly control the antenna vibrators excited by the tightly coupled antenna units, and realize multiple polarization functions in combination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular to a multi-polarization feeding method for a broadband tightly coupled phased array. Background Art

[0002] The existing multi-polarization feeding method of ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased array is to connect the two polarization oscillators of the dual-polarization tightly coupled antenna unit to two component channels at the same time, and realize multi-polarization by controlling the phase of the phase shifter in the component channel. Due to the small spacing between the ultra-wideband tightly coupled array units, double T / R component channels need to be integrated within the small spacing range, which greatly increases the difficulty of T / R component design and T / R component heat dissipation on the one hand, and greatly increases the cost of the system on the other.

[0003] In order to realize multiple functions such as radar, communication, and electronic warfare, it is usually necessary for ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased arrays to have the ability to work in multiple polarizations. The current methods for realizing multiple polarizations of ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased arrays are:

[0004] The two dual polarizations of each unit are connected to two T / R component channels at the same time. Tightly coupled antenna arrays usually reduce the unit spacing to improve the coupling strength and achieve ultra-wideband operation. Therefore, it is necessary to design two T / R component channels within a small spacing range, which doubles the number of T / R component RF channels of the active antenna array, greatly increasing the design difficulty. Secondly, the power amplifier chip of the ultra-wideband phased array has low efficiency, and most of the energy is lost and converted into heat energy. The doubling of the number of component channels greatly increases the difficulty of heat dissipation of the phased array within a small spacing range. Finally, the T / R components of the phased array antenna contribute most of its cost, and the doubling of the number of T / R component channels also greatly increases the cost of the system. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiment of the present application provides a multi-polarization feeding method for a broadband tightly coupled phased array, which is used to flexibly control the antenna element excited by the tightly coupled antenna unit, and realize the required horizontal, vertical, left-hand circular polarization, right-hand circular polarization, slant polarization and other polarization functions through combination.

[0006] The embodiment of the present application provides a multi-polarization feeding method for an ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased array, wherein the phased array is composed of N×N antenna units;

[0007] Any antenna unit: composed of a horizontally polarized vibrator and a vertically polarized vibrator, the horizontally polarized vibrator and the vertically polarized vibrator are orthogonal to each other, and a T / R component channel is connected to the rear end thereof, and the horizontally polarized vibrator or the vertically polarized vibrator of any antenna unit is fed by switching the switch component in the T / R component channel;

[0008] The switch assembly includes a plurality of switching switches, so as to change the feeding mode of any antenna unit through the cooperation of the plurality of switching switches;

[0009] The phased array is divided into several sub-arrays, and any sub-array includes 2×2 antenna units. The switch component is used to control the feeding mode of each antenna unit in any sub-array to achieve multiple polarization feeding modes of the phased array.

[0010] Optionally, the T / R component channel includes:

[0011] A first switch, used to switch the horizontally polarized vibrator between the load and the third switch;

[0012] A second switch, used to switch the vertically polarized vibrator between the load and the third switch;

[0013] A third switch is used to switch between the output terminal of the power amplifier or the input terminal of the first low noise amplifier;

[0014] a fourth switch, configured to switch between the input end of the driver amplifier or the second low noise amplifier, and to form a path together with the third switch, wherein the output end of the driver amplifier is connected to the input end of the power amplifier, and the output end of the first low noise amplifier is connected to the input end of the second low noise amplifier, so as to form a transmission path and a reception path respectively;

[0015] The phase shifter is connected in series with the attenuator, and the other end of the phase shifter is connected to the fixed end of the fourth switch.

[0016] Optionally, when the phased array performs horizontal polarization operation, the first switch of the T / R component channel of each antenna unit in the subarray is switched to a third switch;

[0017] When the phased array performs vertical polarization operation, the second switch of the T / R component channel of each antenna unit in the subarray is switched to the third switch.

[0018] Optionally, when the phased array performs left-hand circular polarization, the phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray perform vertical polarization feeding of 0°, horizontal polarization feeding of 90°, vertical polarization feeding of 180°, and horizontal polarization feeding of 270° in a clockwise direction.

[0019] Optionally, when the phased array performs right-hand circular polarization, the phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray perform vertical polarization feeding of 0°, horizontal polarization feeding of 90°, vertical polarization feeding of 180°, and horizontal polarization feeding of 270° in a counterclockwise direction.

[0020] Optionally, when the phased array performs ±45° slant polarization operation, the phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray perform vertical polarization feeding 0°, horizontal polarization feeding 0°, horizontal polarization feeding 0°, and vertical polarization feeding 0° in a counterclockwise manner; or,

[0021] The phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray respectively perform horizontal polarization feeding 0°, vertical polarization feeding 0°, vertical polarization feeding 0°, and horizontal polarization feeding 0° in a counterclockwise order.

[0022] The embodiment of the present application uses a single T / R component channel to feed the dual-polarized oscillator, realizing multiple polarization feeding, which greatly reduces the difficulty of designing the T / R component channel in a small space. The solution of the present application can reduce the heat consumption of the T / R component channel by half within a limited space, while increasing the space for heat dissipation, which greatly reduces the heat dissipation difficulty of the tightly coupled active phased array.

[0023] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present application. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present application, it can be implemented in accordance with the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are listed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present application. Also, the same reference symbols are used throughout the accompanying drawings to represent the same components. In the accompanying drawings:

[0025] Figure 1 A basic structural diagram of a multi-polarization feeding method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 2 This is an example of a T / R component channel principle block diagram of an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 3 An example of a multi-polarization feeding method according to an embodiment of the present application performing left-hand circular polarization operation;

[0028] Figure 4 An example of a multi-polarization feeding method according to an embodiment of the present application performing right-hand circular polarization operation;

[0029] Figure 5 An example of performing slant polarization work for the multi-polarization feeding method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 6-8This is an example of simulation results of the multi-polarization feeding method according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0032] The present application embodiment provides a multi-polarization feeding method for an ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased array, wherein the phased array is composed of N×N antenna units. Figure 1 As shown, in this example, a 4×4 ultra-wideband tightly coupled antenna array is taken as an example to describe the steps and processes of the present application. The implementation process of other larger-scale ultra-wideband tightly coupled antenna arrays can be inferred by analogy with the solution of the present application.

[0033] Any antenna unit: consists of a horizontal polarization oscillator and a vertical polarization oscillator, the horizontal polarization oscillator and the vertical polarization oscillator are orthogonal to each other, and a T / R component channel is connected to the rear end thereof, and the horizontal polarization oscillator or the vertical polarization oscillator of any antenna unit is fed by switching the switch component in the T / R component channel. Figure 1 As shown, the 4×4 array has a total of 16 antenna units, each of which is composed of two orthogonal polarization elements, and unit 1 is composed of a horizontally polarized element and a vertically polarized element.

[0034] The switch assembly includes a plurality of switching switches, so as to change the feeding mode of any antenna unit through the cooperation of the plurality of switching switches.

[0035] The phased array is divided into several sub-arrays, and any sub-array includes 2×2 antenna units, so that the switching component is used to control the feeding mode of each antenna unit in any sub-array to realize multiple polarization feeding modes of the phased array. In this example, in order to realize multiple polarization feeding, the phased array is divided into 2×2 minimum basic sub-arrays, and the 4×4 ultra-wideband tightly coupled array can be divided into 4 minimum basic sub-arrays to change the feeding mode of the sub-array or the phased array based on the coordination of the switch components of the T / R component channels of each sub-array.

[0036] The embodiment of the present application uses a single T / R component channel to feed the dual-polarized oscillator, realizing multiple polarization feeding, which greatly reduces the difficulty of designing the T / R component channel in a small space. The solution of the present application can reduce the heat consumption of the T / R component channel by half within a limited space, while increasing the space for heat dissipation, which greatly reduces the heat dissipation difficulty of the tightly coupled active phased array.

[0037] In some embodiments, Figure 2 As shown, the T / R component channel includes:

[0038] A first switch 201, used to switch the horizontally polarized vibrator between the load and the third switch 203;

[0039] A second switch 202, used to switch the vertically polarized vibrator between the load and the third switch 203;

[0040] A third switch 203, used to switch between the output terminal of the power amplifier 204 or the input terminal of the first low noise amplifier 206;

[0041] a fourth switch 208, for switching between the input end of the driver amplifier 205 or the second low noise amplifier 207, and forming a path together with the third switch 203, wherein the output end of the driver amplifier 205 is connected to the input end of the power amplifier 204, and the output end of the first low noise amplifier 206 is connected to the input end of the second low noise amplifier 207, so as to form a transmitting path and a receiving path respectively;

[0042] The phase shifter 209 is connected in series with the attenuator 210 , and the other end thereof is connected to the fixed end of the fourth switch 208 , and the attenuator 210 is connected to the RF signal.

[0043] Specifically, in this example, when the antenna unit transmits a signal, the signal passes through the attenuator → phase shifter → fourth switch → driver amplifier → power amplifier → third switch in sequence, and then passes through the first switch or the second switch to be emitted from the horizontally polarized vibrator or the vertically polarized vibrator.

[0044] When the antenna unit receives a signal, the spatial signal enters from the horizontally polarized oscillator or the vertically polarized oscillator, passes through the first switch or the second switch, and then passes through the third switch → first low-noise amplifier → second low-noise amplifier → fourth switch → phase shifter → attenuator in sequence, and enters the back-end processing.

[0045] In some embodiments, when the phased array performs horizontal polarization operation, the first switch of the T / R component channel of each antenna unit in the subarray is switched to a third switch;

[0046] When the phased array performs vertical polarization operation, the second switch of the T / R component channel of each antenna unit in the subarray is switched to the third switch.

[0047] In some embodiments, when the phased array performs left-hand circular polarization, the phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray perform vertical polarization feeding 0°, horizontal polarization feeding 90°, vertical polarization feeding 180°, and horizontal polarization feeding 270° in clockwise order. Figure 3 As shown, for the subarray composed of antenna unit 1, antenna unit 5, antenna unit 6, and antenna unit 2, the vertical polarization of antenna unit 1 is fed 0°, the horizontal polarization of antenna unit 5 is fed 90°, the vertical polarization of antenna unit 6 is fed 180°, and the horizontal polarization of antenna unit 2 is fed 270°. Taking the 4×4 ultra-wideband tightly coupled antenna array as an example, similarly, the other three subarrays are fed in combination in this way to realize the left-hand circular polarization operation of the phased array.

[0048] In some embodiments, when the phased array performs right-hand circular polarization, the phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray perform vertical polarization feeding 0°, horizontal polarization feeding 90°, vertical polarization feeding 180°, and horizontal polarization feeding 270° in a counterclockwise manner. Figure 4 As shown, still taking the subarray composed of antenna unit 1, antenna unit 5, antenna unit 6, and antenna unit 2 as an example, the vertical polarization of antenna unit 1 is fed 0°, the horizontal polarization of antenna unit 2 is fed 90°, the vertical polarization of antenna unit 6 is fed 180°, and the horizontal polarization of antenna unit 5 is fed 270°. Taking the 4×4 ultra-wideband tightly coupled antenna array as an example, similarly, the other three subarrays are fed in combination in this way to realize the right-hand circular polarization operation of the phased array.

[0049] In some embodiments, when the phased array performs ±45° slant polarization, the phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray perform vertical polarization feeding 0°, horizontal polarization feeding 0°, horizontal polarization feeding 0°, and vertical polarization feeding 0° in a counterclockwise manner. Figure 5 As shown, still taking the subarray composed of antenna unit 1, antenna unit 5, antenna unit 6, and antenna unit 2 as an example, the vertical polarization of antenna unit 1 is fed 0°, the horizontal polarization of antenna unit 2 is fed 0°, the horizontal polarization of antenna unit 6 is fed 0°, and the vertical polarization of antenna unit 5 is fed 0°. Taking the 4×4 ultra-wideband tightly coupled antenna array as an example, similarly, the other three subarrays are fed in combination in this way, so that the -45° / 45° slant polarization operation of the phased array can be realized.

[0050] or

[0051] The phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray respectively perform horizontal polarization feeding 0°, vertical polarization feeding 0°, vertical polarization feeding 0°, and horizontal polarization feeding 0° in a counterclockwise order.

[0052] Specifically, the horizontal polarization of antenna unit 1 can be fed with 0°, the vertical polarization of antenna unit 2 can be fed with 0°, the vertical polarization of antenna unit 6 can be fed with 0°, and the horizontal polarization of antenna unit 5 can be fed with 0°. Taking the 4×4 ultra-wideband tightly coupled antenna array as an example, the other three sub-arrays can be fed in this way to realize the -45° / 45° slant polarization operation of the phased array.

[0053] The applicant further constructed a 4×4 tightly coupled antenna array model and simulated the above multi-polarization feeding method. The horizontal polarization, vertical polarization, and slant polarization of the array are relatively simple to implement. Here, the relatively complex combined feeding circular polarization is simulated. The antenna array model is fed in combination with left circular polarization and right circular polarization feeding methods. The simulation obtains the left and right circular polarization axes of the 6.5GHz, 10.5GHz, and 17GHz antenna arrays. Figure 6-8 As shown. Figure 6-8 The simulation results show that the antenna array has good circular polarization characteristics within the main beam range in the normal direction, which confirms the effectiveness of the combined feeding multi-polarization of the present application.

[0054] The solution of the present application uses a single T / R component channel to feed the dual-polarized oscillator, realizing multiple polarization feeding, which greatly reduces the difficulty of designing T / R component channels within a small space. The solution of the present application can reduce the heat consumption of the T / R component channel by half within a limited space, while increasing the space for heat dissipation, which greatly reduces the heat dissipation difficulty of the tightly coupled active phased array. Compared with the existing methods, the solution of the present application uses half the number of T / R component channels, greatly reducing the cost of the ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased array system.

[0055] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0056] The serial numbers of the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application are for description only and do not represent the advantages or disadvantages of the embodiments.

[0057] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of the present application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A multi-polarization feeding method for an ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased array, characterized in that: The phased array is composed of N×N antenna units; Any antenna unit: composed of a horizontally polarized vibrator and a vertically polarized vibrator, the horizontally polarized vibrator and the vertically polarized vibrator are orthogonal to each other, and a T / R component channel is connected to the rear end thereof, and the horizontally polarized vibrator or the vertically polarized vibrator of any antenna unit is fed by switching the switch component in the T / R component channel; The switch assembly includes a plurality of switching switches, so as to change the feeding mode of any antenna unit through the cooperation of the plurality of switching switches; The phased array is divided into a plurality of sub-arrays, and any sub-array includes 2×2 antenna units, so that the switching component is used to control the feeding mode of each antenna unit in any sub-array to realize multiple polarization feeding modes of the phased array; The T / R component channel includes: A first switch, used to switch the horizontally polarized vibrator between the load and the third switch; A second switch, used to switch the vertically polarized vibrator between the load and the third switch; A third switch is used to switch between the output terminal of the power amplifier or the input terminal of the first low noise amplifier; a fourth switch, configured to switch between the input end of the driver amplifier or the second low noise amplifier, and to form a path together with the third switch, wherein the output end of the driver amplifier is connected to the input end of the power amplifier, and the output end of the first low noise amplifier is connected to the input end of the second low noise amplifier, so as to form a transmission path and a reception path respectively; The phase shifter is connected in series with the attenuator, and the other end of the phase shifter is connected to the fixed end of the fourth switch.

2. The multi-polarization feeding method for an ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased array according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the phased array performs horizontal polarization operation, switching the first switch of the T / R component channel of each antenna unit in the subarray to the third switch; When the phased array performs vertical polarization operation, the second switch of the T / R component channel of each antenna unit in the subarray is switched to the third switch.

3. The multi-polarization feeding method for an ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased array according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the phased array performs left-hand circular polarization, the phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray respectively perform vertical polarization feeding of 0°, horizontal polarization feeding of 90°, vertical polarization feeding of 180°, and horizontal polarization feeding of 270° in a clockwise direction.

4. The multi-polarization feeding method for an ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased array according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the phased array performs right-hand circular polarization, the phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray perform vertical polarization feeding of 0°, horizontal polarization feeding of 90°, vertical polarization feeding of 180°, and horizontal polarization feeding of 270° in a counterclockwise manner.

5. The multi-polarization feeding method for an ultra-wideband tightly coupled phased array according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the phased array performs ±45° slant polarization, the phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray respectively perform vertical polarization feeding 0°, horizontal polarization feeding 0°, horizontal polarization feeding 0°, and vertical polarization feeding 0° in a counterclockwise manner; or, The phase shifters of the T / R component channels of the antenna units in the subarray respectively perform horizontal polarization feeding 0°, vertical polarization feeding 0°, vertical polarization feeding 0°, and horizontal polarization feeding 0° in a counterclockwise order.

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