Antenna array device

Abstract

An antenna array device includes a ground plane, a substrate, an antenna array, and a plurality of patch elements. The substrate is disposed on the ground plane. The antenna array is disposed on the substrate. The plurality of patch elements is disposed on the substrate and arranged around the antenna array, and the plurality of patch elements is not connected to the ground plane.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to 5G new radio (5G NR) technology, and more particularly to an antenna array device. Background Technology

[0002] In 5G new radio (5G NR) millimeter-wave (mmWave) antenna arrays, the steering angle is a measure of the achievable scanning range of the antenna beam. However, due to the surface waves generated during signal transmission and reception, coupling effects occur between antenna arrays, often affecting the steering angle. Therefore, reducing coupling effects between antenna arrays to achieve a symmetrical scanning pattern and increase gain at a larger steering angle is a problem that those skilled in the art urgently need to solve. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention provides an antenna array device, comprising a ground plane, a substrate, an antenna array, and a plurality of patch elements. The substrate is disposed on a ground plane. The antenna array is disposed on the substrate. A plurality of patch elements are disposed on the substrate and arranged around the antenna array, and the patch elements are not connected to the ground plane.

[0004] This invention provides an antenna array device, comprising a ground plane, a substrate, multiple antenna arrays, and multiple patch elements. The substrate is disposed on a ground plane. The multiple antenna arrays are placed on the substrate. Multiple patch elements are disposed on the substrate and arranged around each of the multiple antenna arrays, and the patch elements are not connected to the ground plane.

[0005] Based on the above, the antenna array device provided by the present invention can reduce the coupling effect between antenna arrays and increase the gain at a larger scanning angle by using multiple ungrounded patch elements surrounding the antenna array. Attached Figure Description

[0006] Figure 1 This is a top view of an antenna array device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0007] Figure 2 A side view of an antenna array device is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0008] Figure 3 This is a top view of an antenna array device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0009] Figure 4A schematic diagram of the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of an antenna array device with horizontal polarization scanning in the horizontal direction is shown according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of a horizontally polarized antenna array device scanning in the vertical direction is shown according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Explanation of icon numbers

[0012] 100, 200: Antenna array device

[0013] ant: antenna unit

[0014] arr, arr1~arr4: Antenna array

[0015] PAT: Surface Mount Component

[0016] fp: Feed point

[0017] a1~a3: Annular region

[0018] D1, D3: Distance

[0019] D2: Minimum Distance

[0020] S: Substrate

[0021] G: Grounding

[0022] HE1, VE1, HE2, VE2: Curves of radiation efficiency

[0023] HG1, VG1, HG2, VG2: Antenna gain curves Detailed Implementation

[0024] Figure 1 This is a top view of an antenna array device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein... Figure 1 It is a top view on the xy plane. Figure 2 A side view of an antenna array device 100 is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein Figure 2 This is a side view on the xz plane. Also refer to... Figure 1 as well as Figure 2 The antenna array device 100 of the present invention includes a ground plane G, a substrate S, an antenna array arr, and a plurality of patch elements pat. The substrate S is disposed on the ground plane G, the antenna array arr is disposed on the substrate S, and the plurality of patch elements pat are disposed on the substrate S and arranged around the antenna array arr. These patch elements pat are not connected to the ground plane G (i.e., they are floating).

[0025] In some embodiments, the ground plane G may be made of a metal material such as copper foil. In some embodiments, the substrate S may be a printed circuit board (PCB) made of an insulating material, wherein the material of the substrate S may be a material commonly used to manufacture PCBs, such as Teflon (PTFE) or epoxy resin (FR4).

[0026] In some embodiments, the antenna array arr may include a plurality of antenna elements ant, wherein the distance D1 between adjacent antenna elements ant may be half the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the antenna array arr, wherein the antenna elements ant and the plurality of patch elements pat may be a plurality of metal sheets printed on the substrate S.

[0027] In some embodiments, the number of antenna elements (ant) can be a power of 2, where n can be any positive integer. In a preferred embodiment, the number of antenna elements (ant) can be 16.

[0028] In some embodiments, the antenna element ant can be any antenna element arranged in the antenna array, such as a single-polarized antenna element or a dual-polarized antenna element, without any particular limitation on the antenna element ant. In a preferred embodiment, the antenna element ant can be a dual-polarized antenna element, and can be a patch antenna element, wherein the antenna element ant can have a first polarization direction and a second polarization direction. For example, the antenna element ant can have horizontal polarization in the x-direction and vertical polarization in the y-direction on the xy-plane.

[0029] In some embodiments, the shape of the antenna element ant can be any shape of metal sheet (e.g., square, rectangular, or rhomboid), and there are no particular limitations on the shape of the antenna element ant. In a preferred embodiment, the shape of the antenna element ant can be square.

[0030] In some embodiments, the antenna element ant may have two feed points fp, which are used to feed signals to receive or transmit dual-polarized signals. For example, the two feed points fp of the antenna element ant are both connected to another substrate (not shown) parallel to the substrate S, and are used to feed signals to receive or transmit horizontally polarized signals in the x-direction and vertically polarized signals in the y-direction of the xy-plane, respectively.

[0031] In some embodiments, the feed points fp on the multiple antenna elements ant can be arranged symmetrically (for example, the antenna elements ant in the first and second rows have a left-hand feed point fp, and the antenna elements ant in the third and fourth rows have a right-hand feed point fp to generate a horizontally polarized signal. The antenna elements ant in the first and second columns have an upper feed point fp, and the antenna elements ant in the third and fourth columns have a lower feed point fp to generate a vertically polarized signal).

[0032] In some embodiments, multiple patch elements pat can be disposed on the substrate S from the inside out and arranged along annular regions a1 to a3, wherein the annular regions a1 to a3 are hollow squares. Furthermore, the minimum distance D2 between the geometric center of these patch elements pat and the geometric center of the multiple antenna elements ant can be greater than or equal to one-quarter of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the antenna array arr, and less than or equal to three-quarters of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the antenna array arr.

[0033] In detail, multiple patch elements pat can be arranged into three hollow squares in the annular regions a1 to a3, and there is a minimum distance D2 between the geometric center of the patch element pat in the annular region a1 and the geometric center of the outermost antenna element ant in the antenna array arr. The minimum distance D2 can be one-quarter of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the antenna array arr, and less than or equal to three-quarters of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the antenna array arr.

[0034] It is worth noting that the number of annular regions with patch elements can be any positive integer not less than 2, and there is no particular limitation on the number of annular regions. In a preferred embodiment, the number of annular regions can be 3.

[0035] In some embodiments, the patch element pat can also be a metal sheet of any shape (e.g., square, rectangular, or rhomboid), and there are no particular limitations on the shape of the patch element pat. In a preferred embodiment, the patch element pat can be square, and the area of ​​the patch element pat can be equal to the area of ​​the antenna element ant.

[0036] In some embodiments, the distance D3 between the geometric centers of two adjacent patch elements pat can be greater than or equal to one-quarter of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the antenna array arr, and less than or equal to three-quarters of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the antenna array arr. In a preferred embodiment, the distance D3 can be equal to the distance D1 and the minimum distance D2 mentioned above.

[0037] Specifically, there is a distance D3 between the geometric centers of two adjacent patch elements pat in annular region a1. There is also a distance D3 between the geometric centers of two adjacent patch elements pat in annular region a2. There is also a distance D3 between the geometric centers of two adjacent patch elements pat in annular region a3. Furthermore, there is another minimum distance equal to D3 between the geometric centers of patch elements pat in annular region a1 and pat in annular region a2. There is also another minimum distance equal to D3 between the geometric centers of patch elements pat in annular region a2 and pat in annular region a3.

[0038] In some embodiments, the antenna array ARR can resonate with multiple patch elements PAN to increase the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the antenna array ARR in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction.

[0039] In detail, when the antenna array ARR transmits or receives signals, it may generate surface waves on the substrate S. Surface waves affect the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the antenna array ARR at large scanning angles in the horizontal direction, as well as at large scanning angles in the vertical direction.

[0040] To prevent the aforementioned effects, multiple patch elements pat arranged from the inside out along the annular region a1 to a3 can resonate with this surface wave, thereby greatly increasing the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the antenna array arr at large scanning angles in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0041] Based on the above, by arranging multiple patch elements pat from the inside out along the annular region a1 to a3, the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the antenna array device 100 at a large scanning angle can be greatly increased.

[0042] Figure 3 This is a top view of an antenna array device 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention. (See also...) Figure 3 The antenna array device 200 has the same characteristics as... Figure 1 The antenna array device 100 has a similar structure, the only difference being the number of antenna arrays. The antenna arrays arr1 to arr4 and the patch elements pat surrounding the antenna arrays arr1 to arr4 have the same structure as the antenna array device 100. Therefore, only the differences will be described here, and the other similarities will not be repeated.

[0043] First, the antenna array device 200 includes four antenna arrays arr1 to arr4. In some embodiments, the number of antenna arrays in the antenna array device 200 can be any positive integer greater than 1, and there is no particular limitation on the number of antenna arrays. In a preferred embodiment, the number of antenna arrays in the antenna array device 200 can be four.

[0044] It is worth noting that these patch elements pat around the antenna arrays arr1 to arr4 can not only increase the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the antenna arrays arr1 to arr4 at large scanning angles in both the horizontal and vertical directions, but also greatly reduce the scanning asymmetry caused by the surface waves generated by the antenna arrays arr1 to arr4 interfering with the neighboring antenna arrays.

[0045] In other words, by arranging these patch elements (PATs) around the antenna arrays arr1 to arr4, the horizontal and vertical scanning angles of the antenna arrays arr1 to arr4, as well as the isolation between the antenna arrays arr1 to arr4, can be greatly increased.

[0046] Based on the above, by using multiple patch elements pat surrounding the antenna arrays arr1 to arr4, the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the antenna array device 200 at large scanning angles can be greatly increased, and the isolation between the antenna arrays arr1 to arr4 in the antenna array device 200 can be greatly increased.

[0047] The following explanation uses horizontal polarization as an example; the effect of vertical polarization is similar and will not be elaborated upon. Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the horizontally polarized antenna array device 200 scanned in the horizontal direction is shown according to another embodiment of the present invention. (See also...) Figure 3 as well as Figure 4When antenna arrays arr1 to arr4 do not have surrounding patch elements pat and are arranged adjacent to each other, antenna array arr4 has a horizontally polarized radiation efficiency curve HE2 when the horizontal scanning angle is -50 to 50 degrees. When the antenna array device 200 is used, antenna array arr4 has a horizontally polarized radiation efficiency curve HE1 when the azimuth angle of the scanning angle is -50 to 50 degrees. Therefore, it can be seen that when the horizontal scanning angle is -50 to -30 degrees and 30 to 50 degrees, antenna array device 200 can increase the horizontal radiation efficiency by 10% to 15%, and the values ​​at the same positive and negative angles are more consistent. Furthermore, when antenna arrays arr1 to arr4 do not have surrounding patch elements pat and are arranged adjacent to each other, antenna array arr4 has a horizontal antenna gain curve HG2 when the horizontal scanning angle is -50 to 50 degrees. When the antenna array device 200 is used, the antenna array arr4 has a horizontally polarized antenna gain curve HG1 when the horizontal scanning angle is -50 to 50 degrees. Therefore, it can be seen that when the horizontal scanning angle is -50 to -30 degrees and 30 to 50 degrees, the antenna array device 200 can increase the antenna gain by 2dB to 3dB in the horizontal direction. At the same time, the scanning values ​​of the antenna array device 200 are more consistent at the same positive and negative angles.

[0048] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the horizontal polarization scanning radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the antenna array device 200 in the vertical direction is shown according to another embodiment of the present invention. (See also...) Figure 3 as well as Figure 5 When antenna arrays arr1 to arr4 do not have surrounding patch elements pat and are arranged adjacent to each other, antenna array arr4 exhibits a horizontally polarized radiation efficiency curve VE2 with a vertical scan angle of -50 to 50 degrees. However, when the antenna array device 200 is used, antenna array arr4 exhibits a horizontally polarized radiation efficiency curve VE1 with a vertical scan angle of -50 to 50 degrees. Therefore, it can be seen that when the vertical scan angle is -50 to -30 degrees and 30 to 50 degrees, antenna array device 200 can increase the vertical radiation efficiency by 5% to 10%.

[0049] Furthermore, when antenna arrays arr1 to arr4 do not have surrounding patch elements pat and are arranged adjacent to each other, antenna array arr4 has a horizontally polarized antenna gain curve VG2 when the vertical scanning angle is -50 to 50 degrees. However, when the antenna array device 200 is used, antenna array arr4 has a horizontally polarized antenna gain curve VG1 when the vertical scanning angle is -50 to 50 degrees. Therefore, it can be seen that when the vertical scanning angle is -50 to -30 degrees and 30 to 50 degrees, antenna array device 200 can increase the antenna gain in the vertical direction by 0.2 dB to 1.5 dB.

[0050] In summary, the antenna array device of the present invention can significantly increase the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the antenna array over a large scanning angle by utilizing the above-described arrangement of ungrounded patch elements. Furthermore, the patch elements can also greatly increase the isolation between multiple antenna arrays.

[0051] Although the present invention has been disclosed above by way of embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An antenna array device, comprising: Ground contact; A substrate is disposed on the grounding surface; An antenna array is disposed on the substrate; as well as Multiple patch elements are disposed on the substrate and arranged around the antenna array, and the multiple patch elements are not connected to the ground plane; The antenna array resonates with the plurality of patch elements to increase the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the antenna array when scanning in the horizontal direction and the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the antenna array when scanning in the vertical direction. The antenna array includes multiple antenna elements, each antenna element having two feed points. The two feed points are used to feed signals to receive or transmit dual-polarized signals, and the feed points on the multiple antenna elements are symmetrically arranged. The plurality of patch elements are disposed on the substrate from the inside out and arranged along at least two annular regions, wherein the shape of the at least two annular regions is a hollow square. The minimum distance between the geometric center of the plurality of patch elements and the geometric center of the plurality of antenna elements is one-quarter of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the antenna array, and is less than or equal to three-quarters of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the antenna array. The distance between the geometric centers of two adjacent patch elements is greater than or equal to one-quarter of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating band of the antenna array, and less than or equal to three-quarters of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating band of the antenna array.

2. The antenna array device according to claim 1, wherein... The distance between two adjacent antenna elements is half the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the antenna array, wherein the multiple antenna elements and the multiple patch elements are multiple metal sheets printed on the substrate.

3. An antenna array device, comprising: Ground contact; A substrate is disposed on the grounding surface; Multiple antenna arrays are disposed on the substrate; as well as Multiple patch elements are disposed on the substrate and arranged around each of the multiple antenna arrays, and the multiple patch elements are not connected to the ground plane; Each of the plurality of antenna arrays resonates with its neighbor among the plurality of patch elements to increase the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the plurality of antenna arrays scanning in the horizontal direction, the radiation efficiency and antenna gain of the plurality of antenna arrays scanning in the vertical direction, and the isolation between the plurality of antenna arrays. The plurality of antenna arrays include a plurality of antenna elements, each antenna element having two feed points, the two feed points being used to feed signals to receive or transmit dual-polarized signals respectively, and the feed points on the plurality of antenna elements being symmetrically arranged; The plurality of patch elements are disposed on the substrate from the inside out, centered on each of the plurality of antenna arrays, and arranged along at least two annular regions surrounding each of the plurality of antenna arrays, wherein the shape of the at least two annular substructures is a hollow square. The minimum distance between the geometric center of the plurality of patch elements and the geometric center of the plurality of antenna elements is one-quarter of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the plurality of antenna arrays, and is less than or equal to three-quarters of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the plurality of antenna arrays. The distance between the geometric centers of two adjacent patch elements is greater than or equal to one-quarter of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the plurality of antenna arrays, and less than or equal to three-quarters of the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the plurality of antenna arrays.

4. The antenna array device according to claim 3, wherein... The distance between two adjacent antenna elements is half the wavelength of the center frequency of the operating frequency band of the multiple antenna arrays, wherein the multiple antenna elements and the multiple patch elements are multiple metal sheets printed on the substrate.

Images