A multi-path plug and play radio frequency module amplitude and phase extraction device

Abstract

The application provides a multi-path plug-and-play radio frequency module amplitude-phase extraction device, which comprises an upper cover plate, an amplitude-phase extraction network, a matching load, amplitude-phase information input and output ports, a lower cover plate and a floating elastic connector; the amplitude-phase extraction network is arranged between the upper cover plate and the lower cover plate; the upper cover plate and the lower cover plate are both provided with 4 rows of 16 columns of a total of 64 floating elastic connectors; the inner conductor of the floating elastic connector is a hair button, which is directly and vertically connected to the amplitude-phase extraction network pad after elastic compression without welding; and the outer conductor is radially floating through a spring. The application can directly extract the amplitude-phase information of the whole-link channel by blind insertion into the system link, and can also extract the amplitude-phase information of an independent radio frequency module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of microwave technology, and in particular to a multi-channel plug-and-play radio frequency module amplitude and phase extraction device. Background Technology

[0002] Phased array technology has been widely applied in radar, electronic warfare, and other fields. Phased arrays achieve beam scanning through a large number of transceiver components. During operation, the performance of transceiver components in a phased array system can deteriorate to some extent due to environmental factors and component reliability issues. Some radio frequency (RF) channels may even fail. If the number of failed RF channels exceeds 10% and is not detected and repaired in time, it will directly lead to a significant reduction in the performance of the phased array system, severely impacting its effectiveness. In addition to fault diagnosis of RF channels, due to amplitude and phase inconsistencies in the RF channels of the transceiver components, amplitude and phase calibration is required after replacing the transceiver components in the service state of the phased array system to ensure the correct beam shape. Before service, RF channel calibration was completed using a phased array near-field testing system. However, in service, platforms lack near-field conditions and must perform this work in the field using measurement methods. The amplitude and phase information extraction device of the RF module can be used to diagnose, locate, and evaluate microwave link faults in the phased array system.

[0003] Conventional phased array systems are typically single-polarized, and their RF module's amplitude and phase monitoring is usually directly integrated with the feed line of the printed single-polarized antenna. In dual-polarized phased array systems, due to the overlapping arrangement of antennas, it is difficult to directly integrate the amplitude and phase extraction network with the antenna. Conventional single-channel couplers only perform amplitude and phase extraction for a single RF channel, making integration difficult in the multi-channel RF environment of a phased array system. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a multi-channel plug-and-play RF module amplitude and phase extraction device, which can be used to solve the technical problem that conventional single-channel couplers can only perform amplitude and phase extraction on a single RF channel.

[0005] This application provides a multi-channel plug-and-play RF module amplitude and phase extraction device, the device comprising:

[0006] Top cover plate, amplitude and phase extraction network, matching load, amplitude and phase information input / output port, bottom cover plate, floating elastic connector;

[0007] A phase extraction network is installed between the upper and lower cover plates;

[0008] Both the upper and lower cover plates are equipped with 4 rows × 16 columns of floating flexible connectors, totaling 64 channels;

[0009] The inner conductor of the floating elastic connector is a fuzzy button, which, after elastic compression, is directly and vertically interconnected with the phase extraction network pads without soldering; the outer conductor floats radially by a spring.

[0010] Optionally, the phase extraction network is in the form of a printed circuit board, and the substrate has a two-layer structure; the lower surface of the upper printed circuit board has a phase coupling network printed on it.

[0011] The quasi-coaxial structure for direct signal transmission in the printed circuit board penetrates the substrate. The quasi-coaxial structure includes a central pin and a ring of metallized vias around it. The pads are connected to the metallized vias of the central pin.

[0012] Coupled buses and coupled branch lines are printed on the lower surface of the upper dielectric substrate;

[0013] A coupling bus 112 and a coupling branch line 113 are printed on the lower surface of the upper dielectric substrate.

[0014] Optional, the amplitude extraction network includes 2 coupled printed buses and 64 coupled printed branch lines;

[0015] The coupled printed bus is located in the middle of two adjacent rows of coaxial structures. One coupled printed bus is used to extract 32 through signals from the two rows.

[0016] One end of the coupled printed bus is connected to the amplitude and phase information input / output port via a button, and the other end is connected to the matching load via a button; the amplitude and phase information input / output port is a conventional RF connector;

[0017] The coupled printed branch lines are connected to the central metallized vias of the coaxial structure, and the transmission of phase information with the coupled printed bus is achieved through slot coupling.

[0018] Optionally, the upper cover plate is provided with 4×16 SBMA floating connector fixing threaded holes, 4 upper and lower cover plate fixing threaded holes evenly spaced, two positioning pins and two amplitude and phase extraction network RF connector fixing holes.

[0019] Optionally, the lower cover plate is provided with 4×16 SMP floating elastic connector fixing thread holes and 2 locating pin holes.

[0020] Optionally, the elastic connector mounted on the upper cover is of the SBMA type; the elastic connector mounted on the lower cover is of the SMP floating type.

[0021] Optionally, the inner conductor of the floating resilient connector can also be a spring pin.

[0022] This invention can extract amplitude and phase information from 64 RF channels, and can also be extended to extract more RF channels; this invention can directly extract amplitude and phase information from the entire link channel through blind insertion into the system link, and can also extract amplitude and phase information from independent RF modules; the amplitude and phase extraction device of this invention achieves solderless interconnection and low insertion loss. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 A diagram of a multi-channel plug-and-play radio frequency module amplitude and phase extraction device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0024] Figure 2 These are front and back views of the upper cover plate of the phase extraction device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0025] Figure 3 The amplitude-phase coupling network provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0026] Figure 4 These are front and back views of the lower cover plate of the phase extraction device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0027] Figure 5 This application provides standing wave ratio (SWR) at the signal pass-through port of the internal monitoring module for embodiments;

[0028] Figure 6 The signal coupling degree of each port of the internal monitoring module is provided for the embodiments of this application;

[0029] Figure 7 This application provides an internal monitoring module for through-insertion loss in its embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0030] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] The embodiments of this application will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0032] This application provides a multi-channel plug-and-play RF module amplitude and phase extraction device, the device comprising:

[0033] Upper cover plate 101, amplitude and phase extraction network 102, matching load 103, amplitude and phase information input / output port 104, lower cover plate 105, floating elastic connector 106;

[0034] A phase extraction network 102 is provided between the upper cover plate 101 and the lower cover plate 105;

[0035] Both the upper cover plate 101 and the lower cover plate 105 are equipped with 64 floating flexible connectors 106 arranged in 4 rows × 16 columns, enabling quick insertion and removal with the RF module under test.

[0036] The inner conductor of the floating elastic connector 106 is a fuzzy button. After elastic compression, it is directly and vertically interconnected with the pads of the amplitude and phase extraction network 102 without soldering, realizing low-loss direct transmission of RF signals. The outer conductor floats radially through a spring, realizing blind mating and fast interconnection with the RF module under test, which is plug-and-play.

[0037] Optionally, the phase extraction network 102 is in the form of a printed circuit board, with a two-layer structure; the thickness of both the upper and lower printed circuit boards is 0.787 mm. The copper plating thickness on the upper surface of the upper substrate and the lower surface of the lower substrate is 35 μm.

[0038] A phase coupling network is printed on the lower surface of the upper printed circuit board;

[0039] A coaxial structure 110 for direct signal transmission in the printed circuit board penetrates the substrate. The coaxial structure 110 includes a central pin and a ring of metallized vias around it. The radius of the solid metal hole of the central pin is 0.25 mm, and the radius of the ring of metallized vias around it is 0.25 mm. The radius of the pad 111 is 0.3 mm.

[0040] Pad 111 is connected to the metallized via in the center.

[0041] A coupling bus 112 and a coupling branch line 113 are printed on the lower surface of the upper dielectric substrate;

[0042] A coupling bus 112 and a coupling branch line 113 are printed on the lower surface of the upper dielectric substrate.

[0043] Optionally, the amplitude and phase extraction network 102 includes two coupled printed buses 112 and 64 coupled printed branch lines 113;

[0044] The line width of coupling bus 112 is 0.5 mm. The line width of coupling branch line 113 is 1 mm. The gap width between coupling branch line 113 and coupling bus 112 is 0.2 mm. Adjusting the gap width between coupling branch line and coupling branch line can improve the coupling within the frequency band.

[0045] The coupled printed bus 112 is located in the middle of two adjacent rows of coaxial structure 110. One coupled printed bus is used to extract 32 through signals from the two rows.

[0046] One end of the coupled printed bus 112 is connected to the amplitude and phase information input / output port 104 via a button to realize the output of beneficial amplitude and phase signals, and the other end is connected to the matching load via a button to realize the absorption of useless signals; the amplitude and phase information input / output port 104 is a conventional RF connector;

[0047] The coupled printed branch line 113 is connected to the central metallized via of the coaxial structure 110, and transmits phase information with the coupled printed bus through slot coupling.

[0048] The intensity of the extracted amplitude and phase signals can be adjusted by changing the width of the slit.

[0049] Optionally, the upper cover (101) is provided with 4×16 SBMA floating connector fixing threaded holes (107), 4 upper and lower cover fixing threaded holes (108) evenly spaced, two positioning pins (109) and two amplitude and phase extraction network RF connector fixing holes.

[0050] Optionally, the lower cover plate (105) is provided with 4×16 SMP floating elastic connector fixing threaded holes (114) and 2 locating pin holes (115).

[0051] Optionally, the elastic connector mounted on the upper cover plate (101) is of the SBMA type; the elastic connector mounted on the lower cover plate (105) is of the SMP floating type.

[0052] Optionally, the inner conductor of the floating resilient connector (106) can also be a spring pin. The inner conductor of the floating resilient connector is directly and vertically interconnected with the circular pads on the upper and lower surfaces of the phase coupling network without soldering, effectively reducing insertion loss. The characteristic impedance of the resilient connector is 50 ohms.

[0053] The present application will be further described below with reference to a specific embodiment.

[0054] like Figure 1-4 As shown, this application discloses a 64-channel plug-and-play RF module amplitude and phase extraction device. The device interfaces with a dual-polarized antenna array on its upper side and with a transceiver assembly on its lower side. The device has two RF signal amplitude and phase information input / output ports, enabling the extraction of amplitude and phase information from 64 RF channels. The device includes an upper cover plate 101, an amplitude and phase extraction network 102, a matching load 103, amplitude and phase information input / output ports 104, a lower cover plate 105, and a floating elastic connector 106.

[0055] like Figure 2 The top cover plate 101 is 272mm long, 32.5mm wide, and 6mm thick. It is made of 6061 aluminum and contains 4×16 SBMA floating connector fixing threaded holes 107, 4 upper and lower cover plate fixing threaded holes 108, 2 positioning pins 109, and 2 amplitude and phase extraction network RF connector fixing holes.

[0056] Figure 3The phase extraction network 102 is a printed circuit board (PCB) made of TLY-5 substrate material with a dielectric constant of 2.2 and a thickness of 1.8 mm. The substrate has a two-layer structure, with both the upper and lower PCBs having a thickness of 0.787 mm. The copper plating thickness on the upper surface of the upper PCB and the lower surface of the lower PCB is 35 μm. A coaxial-like structure 110 for direct signal transmission penetrates the substrate, with a central solid metal via hole having a radius of 0.25 mm and a surrounding ring of metallized vias also having a radius of 0.25 mm. The pad 111 connecting to the central metallized via hole has a radius of 0.3 mm. A coupling bus 112 and a coupling branch line 113 are printed on the lower surface of the upper dielectric substrate. The coupling bus 112 has a line width of 0.5 mm, and the coupling branch line 113 has a line width of 1 mm. The gap width between the coupling branch line 113 and the coupling bus 112 is 0.2 mm. Adjusting the gap width between the coupling branch line and the coupling line can improve the coupling within the frequency band. The coupling branch line 113 is connected to the center metallized via of the coaxial-like structure 110, which enables direct signal coupling to the coupling bus 112. One end of the coupling bus 112 is a matching load 103, and the other end is an amplitude and phase information input / output port 104, which is a conventional RF connector.

[0057] Figure 4 The lower cover plate 105 is 272mm long, 32.5mm wide, and 6mm thick. It is made of 6061 aluminum and contains 4×16 SMP floating elastic connector fixing threaded holes 114 and 2 positioning pin holes 115.

[0058] The 106 floating flexible connector is divided into two types: the SBMA floating flexible connector with an upper cover and the SMP floating flexible connector with a lower cover. The inner conductors of both connectors are in the form of a button, extending 0.5mm beyond the connector and compressible to zero. The outer conductors are all in the form of a spring, allowing for a radial float of 1.5mm.

[0059] Figure 5-7 This refers to the electrical performance of the internal monitoring module. Figure 5 The actual measured pass-through standing wave ratio of the monitoring module signal within the 64-channel RF port was obtained. Figure 6 To measure the signal coupling of each port of the monitoring module within the 64-channel RF port. Figure 7 The measured isolation between the ports of the internal monitoring module shows that the through-wave VSWR of this internal monitoring module is less than 1.5, the coupling across the entire frequency band is between -42.5dB and -30dB, and the isolation between the ports of the internal monitoring module is less than -24dB. Therefore, this module can be used as a monitoring module.

[0060] This invention can extract amplitude and phase information from 64 RF channels, and can also be extended to extract more RF channels; this invention can directly extract amplitude and phase information from the entire link channel through blind insertion into the system link, and can also extract amplitude and phase information from independent RF modules; the amplitude and phase extraction device of this invention achieves solderless interconnection and low insertion loss.

[0061] The embodiments described above do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A multi-path plug and play radio frequency module amplitude and phase extraction apparatus, characterized by, The device includes: Upper cover plate (101), amplitude and phase extraction network (102), matching load (103), amplitude and phase information input and output port (104), lower cover plate (105), floating elastic connector (106). An amplitude and phase extraction network (102) is provided between the upper cover plate (101) and the lower cover plate (105); Both the upper cover plate (101) and the lower cover plate (105) are equipped with 64 floating flexible connectors (106) in 4 rows × 16 columns. The inner conductor of the floating elastic connector (106) is a fuzzy button, which, after elastic compression, is directly and vertically interconnected with the pads of the phase extraction network (102) without soldering; the outer conductor floats radially by a spring. Aspect-phase extraction network (102) includes two coupled printed buses (112) and 64 coupled printed branch lines (113). The coupled printed bus (112) is located in the middle of two adjacent rows of coaxial structures (110). One coupled printed bus is used to extract 32 through signals from two rows. One end of the coupled printed bus (112) is connected to the amplitude and phase information input / output port (104) via a button, and the other end is connected to the matching load via a button; the amplitude and phase information input / output port (104) is a conventional RF connector; The coupled printed branch line (113) is connected to the center metallized via of the coaxial structure (110) and transmits phase information with the coupled printed bus through gap coupling.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The phase extraction network (102) is in the form of a printed circuit board, and the substrate has a two-layer structure; the lower surface of the upper printed circuit board has a phase coupling network printed on it. A coaxial structure (110) for direct signal transmission in a printed circuit board penetrates the substrate. The coaxial structure (110) includes a central pin and a ring of metallized vias around it. The pad (111) is connected to the metallized vias of the central pin. A coupling bus (112) and a coupling branch line (113) are printed on the lower surface of the upper dielectric substrate. A coupling bus 112 and a coupling branch line 113 are printed on the lower surface of the upper dielectric substrate.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein, The upper cover (101) is provided with 4×16 SBMA floating connector fixing threaded holes (107), 4 upper and lower cover fixing threaded holes (108) evenly spaced, two positioning pins (109) and two amplitude and phase extraction network RF connector fixing holes.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein, The lower cover plate (105) is provided with 4×16 SMP floating elastic connector fixing thread holes (114) and 2 locating pin holes (115).

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein, The elastic connector installed on the upper cover plate (101) is of the SBMA type; the elastic connector installed on the lower cover plate (105) is of the SMP floating type.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The inner conductor of the floating elastic connector (106) can also be a spring pin.

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