A multi-band reconfigurable reflectarray antenna

Abstract

The application discloses a multi-band reconfigurable reflectarray antenna, which comprises a feed horn and a reflectarray surface, and the reflectarray surface comprises a plurality of periodically and equidistantly arranged reflectarray units; the reflectarray unit comprises a dielectric plate, a radiation structure, a phase-shifting device and a control network; the radiation structure is a ring-shaped slot structure; two phase-shifting devices are mirror-installed on the radiation structure, and the on-off state of the phase-shifting devices is controlled by the control network to realize polarization conversion function and 1-bit phase control. The unit can work in multiple modes, thereby realizing multi-band reconfiguration. In particular, the unit can work in a first mode, a second mode and a third mode, and the corresponding frequencies are approximately one frequency, two frequencies and three frequencies. The application can realize dynamic scanning of multiple frequency bands by using the same aperture, and has wide application prospects in many fields such as satellite communication and mobile communication.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of antenna engineering, and particularly relates to a multi-band reconfigurable reflectarray antenna. BACKGROUND

[0002] In wireless communication, an antenna is an essential energy transmitting and receiving device. A high-gain antenna can focus energy and improve channel capacity. A high-gain antenna that can dynamically scan a beam plays an important role in key fields such as mobile communication, satellite communication, and mobile communication while moving. In recent years, a reconfigurable reflectarray antenna has been increasingly applied due to low cost and high gain. In wireless communication, there is an accurate frequency band division of electromagnetic spectrum, and different frequency bands realize different communication functions. Due to the limited transmission bandwidth of a high-gain antenna, multiple antennas are often used for different frequency bands, which has a high cost and occupies a large volume. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application aims to at least solve one of the technical problems in the related art to some extent.

[0004] In view of the problems in the prior art that a multi-band reconfigurable antenna is difficult to reuse, multiple antennas are placed side by side to occupy a large volume and increase the cost, the present application aims to provide a multi-band reconfigurable reflectarray antenna.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the present application provides a multi-band reconfigurable reflectarray antenna, comprising: a feed horn and a reflectarray surface, wherein,

[0006] The reflectarray surface comprises a plurality of reflectarray antenna units.

[0007] The reflectarray antenna unit comprises a dielectric plate, a radiation structure, a phase-shifting device, and a control network; wherein the radiation structure is a ring-shaped slot for connecting the control network to change the voltage between slots, and the phase-shifting device is mirror-imaged on the radiation structure to control the on-off state of the phase-shifting device.

[0008] The feed horn is arranged at a preset direction position of the reflectarray surface.

[0009] The multi-band reconfigurable reflectarray antenna implemented by the present application can further have the following additional technical features:

[0010] Further, the plurality of reflectarray antenna units comprises M*N periodically and equally spaced reflectarray antenna units; wherein M and N are both integers greater than 2.

[0011] Further, the on-off state of the phase-shifting device is controlled to switch between two states of the reflectarray antenna unit; wherein the two states comprise a first state and a second state.

[0012] Furthermore, the phase difference between the reflective array antenna element in the first state and the reflective array antenna element in the second state is 180°.

[0013] Furthermore, the reflective array antenna element operates in at least three different modes to phase-shift and beamform incident electromagnetic waves at multiple frequencies.

[0014] Furthermore, the dielectric substrate is made of microwave material.

[0015] Furthermore, the feed horn is positioned directly in front of the reflector array, or rotated 0°-30° clockwise or counterclockwise around the reflector array starting from the position directly in front of the reflector array.

[0016] Furthermore, it also includes: scanning beam.

[0017] Furthermore, the reflective array antenna unit also includes a feed via, a metal structure, a prepreg, a metal reflective ground, and a bias line.

[0018] The multi-band reconfigurable reflective array antenna of this invention can support multiple frequency bands on the same aperture and can achieve dynamic beam scanning in each frequency band; it has a simple structure, is easy to manufacture, and has low cost; the structure has multiple resonant frequency points, all of which can achieve high-gain dynamic beam scanning, making it suitable for both terrestrial and satellite communications, and has high market application potential.

[0019] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0020] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily understood from the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0021] Figure 1 This is a top view of the reconfigurable reflective array antenna element of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a side view of the reconfigurable reflective array antenna element of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the reconfigurable reflective array antenna array of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a physical structural diagram of the reflector array according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 The reflection phase difference diagrams of the first and second states of the reflective array antenna elements in this embodiment of the invention are shown.

[0026] Figure 6 This is a reflection amplitude response diagram of a reconfigurable reflective array antenna element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 7 This is a gain test diagram for the 73GHz band according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 8 This is a 73GHz normalized test radiation beam scan pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0030] 1. Annular groove, 2. Phase shifting device, 3. Feed via, 4. Metal structure, 5. Dielectric layer, 6. Prepreg, 7. Metal reflective ground, 8. Bias line, 9. Feed horn, 10. Scanning beam, 11. Antenna array. Detailed Implementation

[0031] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in the present invention can be combined with each other. The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0032] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] The following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, describes a multi-band reconfigurable reflective array antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the reconfigurable reflective array antenna array of the present invention, as shown below. Figure 3 As shown: It includes a feed horn 9 and a reflector array 11. The reflector array 11 includes M*N periodically spaced reflector array antenna elements, where M and N are both integers greater than 2. The reflector array antenna element includes a dielectric substrate, a radiating structure, a phase shifting device, and a control network. The radiating structure is a ring-shaped slot structure, which is connected to the control network to change the voltage between the slots. Two phase shifting devices are mirror-mounted on the radiating structure to control their on / off state.

[0035] Furthermore, by changing the voltage between slots, the phase-shifting device can be controlled to switch between two states of the reflective array antenna element.

[0036] Furthermore, the phase difference between the first-state and second-state reflective array antenna elements is 180°, i.e., 1-bit phase modulation. Simultaneously, the reflected polarization is orthogonal to the incident polarization, meaning the element performs polarization conversion. By arranging the reflective array antenna elements in a focusing manner, i.e., the beam of each reflective array antenna points towards the normal, their superposition results in focusing, leading to high gain and a narrow beam.

[0037] Furthermore, the reconfigurable unit can operate in at least three different modes, thereby enabling phase shifting and beamforming of incident electromagnetic waves at multiple frequencies.

[0038] Furthermore, the dielectric substrate is made of microwave-safe material.

[0039] Furthermore, the feed horn 9 is positioned directly in front of the reflector array 11, or rotated 0°-30° clockwise or counterclockwise around the reflector array 11 from the position directly in front of the reflector array 11.

[0040] Specifically, such as Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the multi-band reconfigurable reflective array antenna includes a feed horn 9, a scanning beam 10, and a reflective array 11. The reflective array 11 includes M*N periodically spaced reflective array antenna elements, where M and N are both integers greater than 2. The feed horn 9 is positioned at a 30° angle to the reflective array 11 and is 32 mm above the reflective array 11.

[0041] In this embodiment, both M and N are 16, meaning that the reflector array 11 includes 16*16 periodically spaced reflector array antenna elements, such as... Figure 4 As shown. The reflective array antenna element includes a ring slot 1, a phase-shifting device 2 (such as a PIN diode), a dielectric substrate 5, and control feed circuitry (feed vias 3, bias lines 8), etc. Figure 1 The top view of the reconfigurable reflective array antenna element shown includes an annular slot 1, a phase shifting device 2, a feed via 3, and a metal structure 4. Figure 2 The side view of the reconfigurable reflective array antenna element shown includes a feed via 3, a metal structure 4, a dielectric layer 5, a prepreg 6, a metal reflective ground 7, and a bias line 8. The dielectric 5 is made of Rogers 5880 microwave material with a relative permittivity of 2.2. The metal reflector 7 is the metal reflective ground.

[0042] Furthermore, such as Figure 1 As shown, two phase-shifting devices 2, positioned in opposite directions, are mounted mirror-image between annular slots. Applying positive and negative voltages between the slots controls the alternating conduction of the phase-shifting devices, thereby generating two states for the unit.

[0043] Specifically, the reflective array antenna element has two states: a first state and a second state. The reflective array antenna element in the first state is mirrored to obtain the reflective array antenna element in the second state. The common polarization reflection phase difference curve of this structure is shown below. Figure 5 As shown, the reflection phase difference between the first-state and second-state reflective array antenna elements is 180° across the entire frequency band, which is 1-bit phase modulation.

[0044] Furthermore, the reflection amplitude of this structure is as follows: Figure 6 As shown, the reflection amplitude indicates that this antenna has three operating modes: primary mode, secondary mode, and tertiary mode, resonating in the 28GHz, 61GHz, and 85GHz frequency bands. The ratio of these three resonant frequencies is approximately 1:2:3, which roughly corresponds to the first, second, and third harmonics. Therefore, this structure can support frequency reuse of the first, second, and third harmonics.

[0045] Furthermore, regarding the reconfigurable reflective array antenna of the present invention, such as Figure 4 As shown, beamforming and scanning tests were performed. Figures 7-8 The results are from the test. Due to factors such as the imperfect switching characteristics of the actual PIN diode, the actual third resonant mode of this antenna shifts downward to 73GHz. Figure 7 The gain curve measured at 73 GHz shows a maximum gain of 16.9 dBi, verifying that beam focusing is possible.

[0046] Figure 8 This is the beam scanning pattern for the 73GHz array. It can be seen that the beam can scan a wide range between -70° and 70°, verifying the dynamic beam scanning capability of the reconfigurable reflector array. The beamwidth is narrow, with no grating lobes and low sidelobes.

[0047] The multi-band reconfigurable reflective array antenna according to embodiments of the present invention can support multiple frequency bands on the same aperture and can realize dynamic beam scanning in each frequency band; it has a simple structure, is easy to manufacture, and has low cost; the structure has multiple resonant frequency points, all of which can realize high-gain dynamic beam scanning, making it suitable for both terrestrial and satellite communications, and has high market application potential.

[0048] It should be noted that the computer-readable medium described in this disclosure can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium, or any combination thereof. A computer-readable storage medium can be, for example,—but not limited to—an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium may include, but are not limited to: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage device, magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof. In this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium can be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that can be used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. In this disclosure, a computer-readable signal medium can include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying computer-readable program code. Such propagated data signals can take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer-readable signal medium can be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, which can send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The program code contained on the computer-readable medium can be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to: wires, optical fibers, RF (radio frequency), etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0049] The aforementioned computer-readable medium may be included in the aforementioned electronic device; or it may exist independently and not assembled into the electronic device. The aforementioned computer-readable medium carries one or more programs, which, when executed by the electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform a method for determining the sediment content in flowing water according to the above embodiments.

[0050] Computer program code for performing the operations of this disclosure can be written in one or more programming languages ​​or a combination thereof, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, Smalltalk, and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the "C" language or similar programming languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In cases involving remote computers, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer via any type of network—including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN)—or can be connected to an external computer (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0051] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate the different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as the features of different embodiments or examples.

[0052] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this application, "multiple" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0053] Any process or method described in the flowchart or otherwise herein can be understood as representing a module, segment, or portion of code comprising one or more executable instructions for implementing a particular logical function or process, and the scope of the preferred embodiments of this application includes additional implementations in which functions may be performed not in the order shown or discussed, including substantially simultaneously or in reverse order depending on the function involved, as will be understood by those skilled in the art to which embodiments of this application pertain.

[0054] The logic and / or steps represented in the flowchart or otherwise described herein, for example, can be considered as a sequenced list of executable instructions for implementing logical functions, and can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by, or in conjunction with, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device (such as a computer-based system, a processor-included system, or other system that can fetch and execute instructions from, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device). For the purposes of this specification, "computer-readable medium" can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transmit programs for use by, or in conjunction with, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of computer-readable media include: an electrical connection having one or more wires (electronic device), a portable computer disk drive (magnetic device), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable and editable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), fiber optic devices, and portable optical disc read-only memory (CDROM). Furthermore, computer-readable media can even be paper or other suitable media on which programs can be printed, because programs can be obtained electronically, for example, by optically scanning the paper or other media, followed by editing, interpreting, or otherwise processing as necessary, and then stored in computer memory.

[0055] It should be understood that various parts of this application can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the above embodiments, multiple steps or methods can be implemented using software or firmware stored in memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented in hardware, as in another embodiment, it can be implemented using any one or a combination of the following techniques known in the art: discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing logical functions on data signals, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having suitable combinational logic gates, programmable gate arrays (PGAs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.

[0056] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of the methods described in the above embodiments can be implemented by a program instructing related hardware. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, it includes one or a combination of the steps of the method embodiments.

[0057] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into a processing module, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into a module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. If the integrated module is implemented as a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0058] The storage medium mentioned above can be a read-only memory, a disk, or an optical disk, etc. Although embodiments of this application have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting this application. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A multi-band reconfigurable reflective array antenna, characterized in that, include: The feed horn and the reflector array, among which, The reflective array includes multiple reflective array antenna elements; The reflective array antenna unit includes a dielectric substrate, a radiating structure, a phase-shifting device, and a control network; wherein, the radiating structure is an annular slot, used to connect to the control network to change the inter-slot voltage, and by changing the inter-slot voltage, the phase-shifting device is controlled to switch on and off, thereby realizing the switching between two states of the reflective array antenna unit; and the phase-shifting device is mirror-mounted on the radiating structure, with two phase-shifting devices in opposite directions mirror-mounted between the annular slots. The feed horn is positioned at a preset direction on the reflector array. The plurality of reflective array antenna elements includes M*N periodically spaced reflective array antenna elements; where M and N are both integers greater than 2; By controlling the on / off state of the phase-shifting device, the reflective array antenna element can be switched between two states; wherein the two states include a first state and a second state; The phase difference between the reflective array antenna element in the first state and the reflective array antenna element in the second state is 180°. The reflective array antenna element operates in at least three different modes to provide phase shifting and beamforming for incident electromagnetic waves at multiple frequencies. The dielectric substrate is made of microwave material; The feed horn is positioned directly in front of the reflector array, or rotated 0°-30° clockwise or counterclockwise around the reflector array starting from the position directly in front of the reflector array.

2. The multi-band reconfigurable reflective array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: Scanning beam.

3. The multi-band reconfigurable reflective array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that, The reflective array antenna unit also includes a feed via, a metal structure, a prepreg, a metal reflective ground, and a bias line.

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