A zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator and spatial multi-beam steerable antenna

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of beam-controllable antenna technology, and in particular to a zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator and a spatial multi-beam controllable antenna, comprising a patch antenna and a zero-order resonant antenna integrated together with a common aperture, wherein the patch antenna is used to excite an odd-mode electric field component in one of the radiation mode generators to form directional lateral radiation; and the zero-order resonant antenna is used to excite an even-mode electric field component in the other radiation mode generator to form omnidirectional radiation. The present invention adopts zero-order electromagnetic metamaterials and common aperture design technology, making the entire zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator compact in size and having a high aperture utilization rate; the patch antenna excites the odd-mode electric field component, and the zero-order resonant antenna excites the even-mode electric field component, so that the odd-mode lateral radiation and the even-mode omnidirectional radiation are vector-synthesized together, and then by regulating the feeding excitation of the odd and even modes, spatial multi-beam switching is achieved, that is, flexible multi-beam control is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of beam-controllable antennas, in particular to a zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator and a spatial multi-beam controllable antenna. Background Art

[0002] While providing high-speed, highly stable, and high-capacity wireless communication interconnection services, the Smart Internet of Things and 5G wireless communication systems also face increasingly complex and harsh communication environments and application scenarios, placing increasing demands on antennas. Traditional fixed-pattern antennas, due to their single radiation pattern, struggle to establish stable and reliable channels in dynamically changing environments and scenarios with severe multipath effects. Beam-steerable antennas, on the other hand, can dynamically switch radiation beams to achieve spatial scanning coverage and adaptive beam alignment. With their multiple, switchable radiation patterns, beam-steerable antennas can mitigate multipath effects in complex scenarios and provide full, dynamic radiation coverage, making them particularly suitable for indoor applications, large venues, and industrial production lines.

[0003] At present, beam-steerable antennas are roughly divided into four categories: multi-port multi-beam antennas, switch-type directional pattern reconfigurable antennas, liquid beam reconfigurable antennas, and low-cost array antennas. Multi-port multi-beam antennas achieve coverage in multiple directions by stimulating feeding ports in different directions, but multi-port multi-beam antennas require an additional multi-port switching network, so they have the disadvantages of complex structure and limited beam switching capability; switch-type directional pattern reconfigurable antennas load switch-controllable parasitic structures around the antenna to form controllable reflectors or directors, thereby achieving spatial directional pattern reconfiguration, but they require electronic switching devices and supporting DC control circuits, so they have the disadvantages of large losses and high costs; liquid beam reconfigurable antennas use liquid-controllable directors or reflector structures to tilt and deflect the beam of the central radiation source. Since they require a precise water pump servo system, they have the disadvantages of complex control systems and slow beam switching speeds; low-cost array antennas use a small number of array elements and phase shifter structures to construct a low-cost phased array antenna, thereby achieving spatial multi-beam scanning. Although this method can achieve flexible beam scanning, it has the problems of large size and high cost.

[0004] Based on the analysis of the above existing technologies, it can be seen that it is difficult to simultaneously achieve miniaturization, low cost and rich beam control in current beam-steerable antennas. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, the present invention provides a zero-order metamaterial multi-mode radiator and a spatial multi-beam steerable antenna to achieve miniaturization while realizing rich beam control.

[0006] A zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator, comprising a patch antenna and a zero-order resonant antenna integrated together with a common aperture, wherein the patch antenna is used to excite an odd-mode electric field component in one of the radiation mode generators to form directional lateral radiation;

[0007] The zero-order resonant antenna is used to excite another radiation mode generator to produce an even-mode electric field component to form omnidirectional radiation.

[0008] The present invention adopts zero-order electromagnetic metamaterials and co-aperture design technology, making the entire zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator compact in size and highly space-efficient. The present invention excites odd-mode electric field components through patch-type antennas and excites even-mode electric field components through zero-order resonant antennas, thereby synthesizing the odd-mode sideways radiation and the even-mode omnidirectional radiation vectors. Furthermore, by regulating the feeding excitation of the odd and even modes, spatial multi-beam switching is achieved, thereby realizing flexible multi-beam control.

[0009] Furthermore, the patch antenna includes a first metal layer, a metal patch is overlapped on the top surface of the first metal layer, and a gap is retained between the first metal layer and the metal patch; a second metal layer is overlapped on the bottom surface of the first metal layer, and a gap is retained between the first metal layer and the second metal layer;

[0010] A coupling feeding slot is etched on the first metal layer for coupling excitation of the patch antenna;

[0011] A coupling feed T-shaped microstrip line is arranged on the first metal layer, and the coupling feed T-shaped microstrip line passes through the coupling feed slot to excite the coupling feed slot;

[0012] A first feeding probe passes through the first metal layer, and a feeding interface is formed between the first feeding probe and the second metal layer.

[0013] Furthermore, two coupling feeding slots are etched on the first metal layer, and the two coupling feeding slots are arranged in parallel along their own length directions.

[0014] Furthermore, the zero-order resonant antenna includes a first metal layer arranged between two metal short-circuit walls, and a second metal layer overlapping the bottom surface of the first metal layer, a gap is retained between the first metal layer and the second metal layer, and the second metal layer and the first metal layer are electrically connected through the metal short-circuit wall;

[0015] An opening gap is provided on the first metal layer, and a switch and a first switch control circuit for controlling electrical switching of the switch are connected across both sides of the opening gap;

[0016] A second feeding probe passes through the middle of the zero-order resonant antenna, one end of the second feeding probe is short-circuited with the first metal layer, and a feeding interface is formed between the other end of the second feeding probe and the second metal layer.

[0017] Furthermore, the first metal layer is provided with an even number of opening slots symmetrically distributed on both sides of the first metal layer, and the positions of the opening slots are related to the direction of the controllable beam, and each of the opening slots is bridged by at least one of the switches.

[0018] Furthermore, the switch is a PIN diode, a varactor, or a switch chip.

[0019] A spatial multi-beam steerable antenna comprising the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator of the present invention, a two-way switch-controlled feed network, and an interconnected transmission cable;

[0020] The two ports of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator are connected one-to-one with the two output ends of the two-way switch-controlled feeding network through an interconnected transmission cable, and the feeding excitation to the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator is changed based on regulating the two-way switch-controlled feeding network.

[0021] The present invention changes the feeding excitation of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator through a two-way switch-controlled feeding network, thereby realizing spatial multi-beam control. Moreover, the present invention realizes half-plane beam scanning by only using a two-way switch-controlled feeding network, which has the advantages of low cost and simplified structure and is suitable for a wide range of wireless communication applications.

[0022] Furthermore, the two-way switch-controlled feeding network is established based on a power splitter and a half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter;

[0023] The power divider is used to divide the two signals into two equal parts, and simultaneously stimulate the directional lateral radiation and omnidirectional radiation of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator;

[0024] The half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter is used to provide two signals of 0° and 180°.

[0025] Furthermore, the two-way switch-controlled feed network includes a double-sided low-loss dielectric substrate serving as a carrier of the entire two-way switch-controlled feed network, a third metal layer mounted on the back side of the double-sided low-loss dielectric substrate, a second switch control circuit for controlling the switching of the entire two-way switch-controlled feed network, and a single-pole three-throw switch, a two-equal power divider, a half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter, a metal microstrip line, an isolation resistor, and a single-pole double-throw switch integrated on the double-sided low-loss dielectric substrate;

[0026] The single-pole triple-throw switch is connected to the two-way power divider and the metal microstrip line;

[0027] The half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter is connected to the metal microstrip line;

[0028] The isolation resistor is connected across both sides of the bisection power divider;

[0029] The single-pole double-throw switch is connected to the metal microstrip line.

[0030] Furthermore, the half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter is a 0° / 180° switchable phase shifter structure.

[0031] The beneficial effects of the present invention are embodied in that:

[0032] 1. The present invention utilizes zero-order electromagnetic metamaterials and co-aperture design technology, resulting in a compact zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator with high space utilization. The present invention utilizes a patch antenna to excite odd-mode electric field components and a zero-order resonant antenna to excite even-mode electric field components, thereby synthesizing the sideways-radiating odd-mode and omnidirectionally-radiating even-mode vectors. By regulating the odd-mode and even-mode feed excitations, spatial multi-beam switching is achieved, thereby realizing flexible multi-beam control.

[0033] 2. The present invention changes the feeding excitation of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator through a two-way switch-controlled feeding network, thereby realizing spatial multi-beam control. Moreover, the present invention only uses a two-way switch-controlled feeding network to realize half-plane beam scanning, which has the advantages of low cost and simple structure, and is suitable for a wide range of wireless communication applications.

[0034] 3. The spatial multi-beam steerable antenna of the present invention only uses a two-way switch-controlled feed network to achieve spatial multi-beam controllability, does not require a complex amplitude and phase control system, and solves the problem of complex structure existing in traditional array antennas.

[0035] 4. Based on the non-wavelength-limited resonant characteristics of the zero-order metamaterial, the present invention realizes a zero-order resonant radiator with variable radiation aperture but constant frequency by loading a switching element on the zero-order metamaterial, that is, for the first time, an omnidirectional radiation pattern with reconfigurable maximum radiation direction is realized. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] Figure 1 This is a 3D view of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator provided by the present invention.

[0037] Figure 2 This is a plan view of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator provided by the present invention, wherein part (a) is a top view, and part (b) is a top view after removing the metal patch.

[0038] Figure 3These are the radiation performance diagrams corresponding to different ports of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator provided by the present invention, where part (a) is the lateral radiation mode of the patch antenna, part (b) is the zero-order metamaterial resonant small-angle omnidirectional radiation mode, and part (c) is the zero-order metamaterial resonant large-angle omnidirectional radiation mode.

[0039] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of the two-way switch-controlled feed network provided by the present invention.

[0040] Figure 5 This is the impedance bandwidth diagram of the two-way switch-controlled feed network provided by the present invention.

[0041] Figure 6 This is a structural diagram of the spatial multi-beam steerable antenna provided by the present invention.

[0042] Figure 7 The radiation patterns corresponding to the different switchable states of the spatial multi-beam controllable antenna provided by the present invention, wherein part (a) is a large-angle left-deflection beam, part (b) is a small-angle left-deflection beam, part (c) is a small-angle right-deflection beam, part (d) is a large-angle right-deflection beam, part (e) is a directional side-radiation beam, part (f) is a small-angle omnidirectional beam, and part (g) is a large-angle omnidirectional beam.

[0043] Figure 1: 1. Patch antenna; 2. Zero-order resonant antenna; 3. Metal patch; 4. First metal layer; 5. Coupled feed slot; 6. Coupled feed T-type microstrip line; 7. First feed probe; 8. Metal short-circuit wall; 9. Second metal layer; 10. Open slot; 11. Switch; 12. First switch control circuit; 13. Second feed probe; 14. Single-pole three-throw switch; 15. Bisection Wilkinson power divider; 16. Half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter; 17. Double-sided low-loss dielectric substrate; 18. Isolation resistor; 19. Single-pole double-throw switch; 20. Metal microstrip line; 21. Third metal layer; 22. Second switch control circuit; 23. Zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator; 24. Two-way switch-controlled feed network; 25. Interconnection transmission cable. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0045] Reference Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown, an embodiment of a zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator is described in detail;

[0046] See also Figure 1 As shown, a zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator includes a patch antenna 1 and a zero-order resonant antenna 2 integrated together with a common aperture. The patch antenna 1 is used to excite an odd-mode electric field component in one of the radiation mode generators to form directional lateral radiation;

[0047] The zero-order resonant antenna 2 is used to excite another radiation mode generator to produce an even-mode electric field component to form omnidirectional radiation.

[0048] Based on the above technical solution, it can be seen that the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 of the present invention integrates the patch radiation mode of odd-mode distribution and the zero-order resonant mode of even-mode distribution.

[0049] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown in parts (a) and (b), the first metal layer 4 of the patch antenna 1 is used as a reference floor of the microstrip antenna to achieve directional radiation of an odd-mode side-firing pattern; the top surface of the first metal layer 4 is overlapped with a metal patch 3, and a gap is retained between the first metal layer 4 and the metal patch 3. The metal patch 3 generates a half-wavelength resonator effect and serves as a radiation generator of the patch antenna 1. The bottom surface of the first metal layer 4 is overlapped with a second metal layer 9, and a gap is retained between the first metal layer 4 and the second metal layer 9.

[0050] A coupling feeding slot 5 is etched on the first metal layer 4. The half-wavelength slot resonates to generate a horizontal electric field component for coupling excitation of the patch antenna 1.

[0051] A coupling feed T-shaped microstrip line 6 is arranged on the first metal layer 4, for exciting the coupling feed slot 5 to generate a horizontal electric field component;

[0052] See also Figure 1 As shown, the coupling and feeding T-type microstrip line 6 is perpendicular to the coupling and feeding slot 5 and passes through the coupling and feeding slot 5 .

[0053] A first feeding probe 7 passes through the first metal layer 4 , and a feeding interface is formed between the first feeding probe 7 and the second metal layer 9 ; the first feeding probe 7 is used to perform signal excitation on the coupled feeding T-type microstrip line 6 , thereby feeding and exciting the patch antenna 1 .

[0054] The zero-order resonant antenna 2 includes a first metal layer 4 and a second metal layer 9, which are used to generate an even-mode electric field component perpendicular to the ground. The second metal layer 9 and the first metal layer 4 are electrically connected via the metal short-circuit wall 8. That is, in this embodiment, the zero-order resonant antenna 2 and the patch antenna 1 share the first metal layer 4, the second metal layer 9, and the metal short-circuit wall 8.

[0055] A second feeding probe 13 passes through the middle of the zero-order resonant antenna 2 . One end of the second feeding probe 13 is short-circuited with the first metal layer 4 , and a feeding interface is formed between the other end of the second feeding probe 13 and the second metal layer 9 .

[0056] The first metal layer 4 is provided with an open slot 10, with switches 11 and a first switch control circuit 12 for controlling the electrical switching of the switch 11 connected across the two sides of the open slot 10. The zero-order resonant antenna 2 is divided based on the open slot 10 to control the size of the radiation aperture of the zero-order resonant antenna 2, thereby achieving spatial beam controllability. The switches 11 connected across the two sides of the open slot 10 control the short-circuit and open states of the open slot 10, thereby selecting the radiation aperture of the zero-order resonant antenna 2.

[0057] See attached Figure 1 As shown, two parallel opening slots 10 are provided on the first metal layer 4 , and the two opening slots 10 are parallel to the coupling feed slot 5 . The two opening slots 10 are located on both sides of the metal patch 3 , and three switches 11 are connected across each opening slot 10 .

[0058] When the switch 11 is in a closed state, the open slot 10 is short-circuited, and the radiation aperture of the zero-order resonant antenna 2 is selected to be larger. At this time, the radiation pattern is an omnidirectional beam with a small deflection angle.

[0059] When the switch 11 is in the off state, the opening slot 10 is also off, and the radiation port of the zero-order resonant antenna 2 is selected to be in a smaller state. At this time, the radiation pattern is an omnidirectional beam with a large deflection angle; by switching the switch 11 across the opening slot 10, the control of the zero-order omnidirectional radiation pattern can be achieved.

[0060] As a possible implementation of this embodiment, the switch 11 is a PIN diode or a variable capacitance element or a switch chip.

[0061] As a possible implementation, two coupling feed slots 5 are etched on the first metal layer 4, see the attached Figure 1 The two coupling feed slots 5 are arranged in parallel along their own length direction; a balanced electric field distribution is generated by the two coupling feed slots 5 to ensure the symmetry of isolation and radiation.

[0062] In this embodiment, the switch 11 on the open slot 10 is controlled by an electrical signal through the first switch control circuit 12 to achieve short-circuiting and opening of the open slot 10. By integrating the patch antenna 1 and the zero-order resonant antenna 2 together with the same aperture, a zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 is constructed. By selecting the feed of the two radiating structures of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23, the control of the spatial radiation beam is achieved. The specific control is as follows:

[0063] When only the patch antenna 1 is excited, the first feeding probe 7 is driven, and the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 generates a lateral directional radiation beam; when only the zero-order resonator is excited, and the switch 11 connected across the opening slot 10 is in a closed state, the radiation aperture of the zero-order resonant antenna 2 becomes larger, and an omnidirectional beam with a small deflection angle is generated; when only the zero-order resonant antenna 2 is excited, and the switch 11 connected across the opening slot 10 is in an open state, the radiation aperture of the zero-order resonant antenna 2 becomes smaller, and an omnidirectional beam with a large deflection angle is generated; when the patch antenna 1 and the zero-order resonant antenna 2 are excited at the same time, the odd-mode electric field distribution of the patch antenna 1 and the even-mode electric field distribution of the zero-order resonant antenna 2 are The mode electric field distributions interact and synthesize, the in-phase distribution areas of the electric field components are superimposed, and the anti-phase distribution areas are offset, forming an unbalanced electric field distribution, and then generating a directional deflected radiation beam; when the patch antenna 1 and the zero-order resonant antenna 2 are excited in phase, the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 generates a directional radiation beam deflected to the left; when the patch antenna 1 and the zero-order resonant antenna 2 are excited in anti-phase, the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 generates a directional radiation beam deflected to the right; when the patch antenna 1 and the zero-order resonant antenna 2 are excited at the same time, and the switch 11 across the open gap 10 is controlled, the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 generates a spatially scannable directional pattern.

[0064] The present invention selectively controls the feeding of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 and controls the switch 11 connected across the open slot 10 of the zero-order resonant antenna 2, so that different directional odd-mode radiation patterns and even-mode omnidirectional radiation patterns are phase vector-synthesized, thereby achieving selective control of the spatial radiation beam, that is, spatial multi-beam controllability.

[0065] See also Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 The radiation performance diagram corresponding to different ports of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 . At this time, the patch antenna 1 radiates a directional beam, that is, Figure 3 (a); The zero-order resonant antenna 2 radiates an omnidirectional beam. Specifically, when the switch 11 is closed, it radiates an omnidirectional beam with a low tilt angle, i.e. Figure 3 (b); When the switch 11 is disconnected, an omnidirectional beam with a large tilt angle is radiated, that is, Figure 3(c) By selecting the feed of the two modes and controlling the switch 11, multi-beam scanning coverage is achieved in the half-plane space.

[0066] See attached Figure 6 As shown, a spatial multi-beam steerable antenna includes the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23, a two-way switch-controlled feed network 24, and an interconnected transmission cable 25 as described in the above embodiment;

[0067] The two ports of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 are connected one-to-one with the two output ends of the two-way switch-controlled feeding network 24 through an interconnected transmission cable 25, and the feeding excitation to the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 is changed based on regulating the two-way switch-controlled feeding network 24.

[0068] See also Figure 7 As shown, Figure 7 1 shows the spatial multi-beam steerable antenna of the present invention, which corresponds to the spatial multi-beam scanning coverage (i.e., the multi-beam radiation performance diagram) through the selection of two mode feed excitations and the action of the switch 11. Figure 7 (a) Both modes are excited and switch 11 is disconnected, resulting in a large left-deflected beam. Figure 7 (b) Both modes are excited and switch 11 is closed, resulting in a small left-deflected beam. Figure 7 (c) When both modes are excited, switch 11 is closed and the feeding phase of the two modes is 180 degrees apart, the corresponding small angle right deflection beam; Figure 7 (d) The two modes are excited, the switch 11 is disconnected and the feeding phase of the two modes is 180 degrees apart, which corresponds to a large-angle right-deflected beam; Figure 7 (e) is the corresponding lateral radiation pattern when only the patch antenna 1 is excited; Figure 7 (f) is the low-tilt omnidirectional pattern corresponding to the case where only the zero-order resonant antenna 2 is excited and the switch 11 is closed; Figure 7 (g) is the corresponding large-tilt omnidirectional pattern when only the zero-order resonant antenna 2 is excited and the switch 11 is disconnected.

[0069] The present invention changes the feeding excitation of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 through a two-way switch-controlled feeding network 24, thereby realizing spatial multi-beam control. Moreover, the present invention only uses a two-way switch-controlled feeding network 24 to realize half-plane beam scanning, which has the advantages of low cost and simplified structure, and is suitable for a wide range of wireless communication applications.

[0070] See attached Figure 4As shown, the two-way switch-controlled feed network 24 includes a double-sided low-loss dielectric substrate 17 as a carrier of the entire two-way switch-controlled feed network 24, a third metal layer 21 mounted on the back of the double-sided low-loss dielectric substrate 17, a second switch control circuit 22 for controlling the switching of the entire two-way switch-controlled feed network 24, and a single-pole triple-throw switch 14, a two-equal Wilkinson power divider 15, a half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter 16, a metal microstrip line 20, an isolation resistor 18 and a single-pole double-throw switch 19 integrated on the double-sided low-loss dielectric substrate 17;

[0071] The third metal layer 21 is used as a reference ground for the entire two-way switch control feed network 24;

[0072] The single-pole triple-throw switch 14 is connected to the two-way power divider 15 and the metal microstrip line 20;

[0073] The half-wavelength open circuit phase shifter 16 is connected to the metal microstrip line 20;

[0074] The isolation resistor 18 is connected across both sides of the bisection power divider 15. Based on the isolation resistor 18 serving as the isolation resistor 18 of the bisection power divider 15, isolation is provided between the output branches of the bisection Wilkinson power divider 15. The bisection power divider 15 is used to divide two signals into two equal parts, that is, to select and simultaneously excite the two radiation modes of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23.

[0075] The single-pole double-throw switch 19 is connected to the metal microstrip line 20 , and different port excitation forms are achieved through the coordinated operation of the single-pole double-throw switch 19 and the single-pole triple-throw switch 14 .

[0076] As a possible implementation, the half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter 16 is a 0° / 180° switchable phase shifter structure, providing two signals of 0° (in-phase) and 180° (anti-phase).

[0077] As a possible implementation in this embodiment, the SP3T switch 14 is a single SP3T switch chip or a collection of three switch diodes.

[0078] As a possible implementation in this embodiment, the single-pole double-throw switch 19 is a single single-pole double-throw switch chip or a combination of two switch diodes.

[0079] As possible implementations of this embodiment, the power divider adopts but is not limited to a Wilkinson power divider, a T-junction, a coupling transformer, or the like.

[0080] Based on the above implementation scheme and combined with the attached Figure 4 Attachment Figure 6It can be seen that the single-pole three-throw switch 14 is used to select the input signal. When the single-pole three-throw switch 14 is turned on the left signal, the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 excites an omnidirectional beam; when the single-pole three-throw switch 14 is turned on the middle signal, the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 excites a directional deflection beam; when the single-pole three-throw switch 14 is turned on the right signal, the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 excites a directional lateral radiation beam.

[0081] See also Figure 5 As shown, Figure 5 The figure shows the impedance bandwidth of the two-way switch-controlled feed network 24. The impedance bandwidth for each port of the two-way switch-controlled feed network 24, with a reflection coefficient below -10dB, is 3.0-4.0GHz, and the impedance bandwidth for the port transmission coefficient is better than -6.0dB is 3.2-4.0GHz, fully covering mainstream sub-6GHz frequency bands such as 5G-N78 / LTE-B42 / B43. Therefore, the two-way switch-controlled feed network 24 is suitable for spatial beam steering of zero-order multimode radiators.

[0082] Based on the above embodiments, it can be seen that the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator 23 proposed in the present invention realizes spatial multi-beam scanning and half-plane beam scanning coverage similar to a phased array, solving the limitation that traditional directional pattern reconfigurable antennas or beam controllable antennas are difficult to achieve half-plane multi-beam coverage; and the spatial multi-beam controllable antenna described in the present invention is compact in size, solving the shortcomings of large size and high cross-section of traditional reconfigurable antennas; and the present invention only uses two-way switch control feeding network 24 to realize spatial multi-beam controllability, without the need for complex and expensive amplitude and phase control systems, solving the problem of complex structure of traditional array antennas; therefore, based on the above, it can be seen that the overall structure of the spatial multi-beam controllable antenna of the present invention is streamlined, the control circuit is efficient, cost control is achieved, and the high cost problem of traditional reconfigurable antennas or array antennas is solved.

[0083] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "center", "top", "bottom", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "inner side", "outer side" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the purpose of facilitating the description of the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention. Among them, "inside" refers to an internal or enclosed area or space. "Periphery" refers to the area surrounding a specific component or specific area.

[0084] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, the terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature specified as "first," "second," "third," or "fourth" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0085] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "installed," "connected," "connected," and "assembled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they may refer to direct connections, indirect connections through an intermediate medium, or internal connections between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention in specific circumstances.

[0086] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, specific features, structures, materials or characteristics may be combined in an appropriate manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0087] In describing the embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that "-" and "~" represent a range between two values, and the range includes the endpoints. For example, "AB" represents a range greater than or equal to A and less than or equal to B. "A~B" represents a range greater than or equal to A and less than or equal to B.

[0088] In describing the embodiments of the present invention, the term "and / or" is used herein to describe a relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " is generally used herein to indicate that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0089] While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, and that the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator, characterized in that: It includes a patch antenna and a zero-order resonant antenna integrated together with a common aperture, wherein the patch antenna is used to excite an odd-mode electric field component in one of the radiation mode generators to form directional lateral radiation; The zero-order resonant antenna is used to excite another radiation mode generator to produce an even-mode electric field component to form omnidirectional radiation; The patch antenna includes a first metal layer; a metal patch is overlapped on the top surface of the first metal layer, and a gap is retained between the first metal layer and the metal patch; a second metal layer is overlapped on the bottom surface of the first metal layer, and a gap is retained between the first metal layer and the second metal layer; a coupling feed slot is etched on the first metal layer for coupling excitation of the patch antenna; a coupling feed T-shaped microstrip line is arranged on the first metal layer, and the coupling feed T-shaped microstrip line passes through the coupling feed slot for exciting the coupling feed slot; a first feeding probe passes through the first metal layer, and a feeding interface is formed between the first feeding probe and the second metal layer; The zero-order resonant antenna includes a first metal layer arranged between two metal short-circuit walls, and a second metal layer overlapping the bottom surface of the first metal layer, with a gap retained between the first metal layer and the second metal layer, and the second metal layer and the first metal layer are electrically connected through the metal short-circuit wall; a second feeding probe passes through the middle position of the zero-order resonant antenna, one end of the second feeding probe is short-circuited with the first metal layer, and the other end of the second feeding probe forms a feeding interface with the second metal layer.

2. The zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator according to claim 1, characterized in that: Two coupling feeding slots are etched on the first metal layer, and the two coupling feeding slots are arranged in parallel along the length direction of the first metal layer.

3. The zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator according to claim 1, characterized in that: An opening gap is provided on the first metal layer, and a switch and a first switch control circuit for controlling electrical switching of the switch are connected across both sides of the opening gap.

4. The zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first metal layer is provided with an even number of opening slots symmetrically distributed on both sides of the first metal layer, and the positions of the opening slots are related to the direction of the controllable beam, and each of the opening slots is bridged with at least one of the switches.

5. The zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator according to claim 3, characterized in that: The switch is a PIN diode, a variable capacitance element, or a switch chip.

6. A spatial multi-beam steerable antenna, characterized in that: The invention comprises the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, a two-way switch-controlled feeding network, and an interconnecting transmission cable; The two ports of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator are connected one-to-one with the two output ends of the two-way switch-controlled feeding network through an interconnected transmission cable, and the feeding excitation to the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator is changed based on regulating the two-way switch-controlled feeding network.

7. The spatial multi-beam steerable antenna according to claim 6, characterized in that: Establishing the two-way switch-controlled feeding network based on a power divider and a half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter; The power divider is used to divide the two signals into two equal parts, and simultaneously stimulate the directional lateral radiation and omnidirectional radiation of the zero-order metamaterial multimode radiator; The half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter is used to provide two signals of 0° and 180°.

8. The spatial multi-beam steerable antenna according to claim 6, characterized in that: The two-way switch-controlled feed network includes a double-sided low-loss dielectric substrate serving as a carrier of the entire two-way switch-controlled feed network, a third metal layer mounted on the back of the double-sided low-loss dielectric substrate, a second switch control circuit for controlling the switching of the entire two-way switch-controlled feed network, and a single-pole three-throw switch, a two-equal power divider, a half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter, a metal microstrip line, an isolation resistor, and a single-pole double-throw switch integrated on the double-sided low-loss dielectric substrate; The single-pole triple-throw switch is connected to the two-way power divider and the metal microstrip line; The half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter is connected to the metal microstrip line; The isolation resistor is connected across both sides of the bisection power divider; The single-pole double-throw switch is connected to the metal microstrip line.

9. The spatial multi-beam steerable antenna according to claim 8, characterized in that: The half-wavelength open-circuit phase shifter is a 0° / 180° switchable phase shifter structure.

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