Millimeter wave antenna array device

Abstract

The invention relates to a millimeter wave RF antenna array device. The device comprises a monolithic MMIC comprising active circuit elements of the antenna array device. The active circuit elements comprise at least an antenna feed circuit configured to feed antenna elements of the antenna array. The device comprises an interposer made of a low-loss RF material, such as glass, low-temperature co-fired ceramic, LTCC, or printed circuit board, PCB. The interposer comprises transmission lines of an RF distribution network and a plurality of antenna elements of the antenna array. The transmission lines of the interposer are coupled to the MMIC to provide RF connections for distributing RF signals to or from the antenna feed circuit. The area of the interposer comprising the transmission lines of the RF distribution network and the plurality of antenna elements is collocated with the area of the MMIC comprising the antenna feed circuit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to antennas, and more particularly to antenna arrays suitable for beamforming at millimeter wave (mm wave) frequencies.

[0002] This invention relates to apparatuses related to millimeter-wave antenna arrays. More particularly, this invention relates to the structure of apparatuses for millimeter-wave antenna arrays. Background Technology

[0003] Phased antenna arrays at millimeter-wave frequencies provide a path to support multiple users at high data rates by establishing high-bandwidth directional links between base stations and mobile devices. Millimeter waves occupy the spectrum from 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm. Millimeter-wave frequencies are of great significance for future 5G networks with high capacity requirements.

[0004] The number of elements in an antenna array is a key parameter concerning the performance of a phased array antenna. The number of elements limits the effective isotropic radiated power and characteristics of the antenna beam, including beamwidth. For example, a typical 64-element, 94 GHz silicon phased array antenna can only cover tens of meters, while a 1024-element silicon phased array antenna can form a link exceeding 10 km. Therefore, proportionally adjusting the number of antenna elements in an antenna array is important; in other words, increasing the number of antenna elements in an antenna array is crucial.

[0005] When implementing an antenna array device coupled to a transmitter or receiver, multiple radio frequency (RF) signals, direct current (DC) signals, and digital distribution networks such as a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) signal must be assigned to the RF chip. SPI is an example of an interface used to control the operation of active circuit elements. Additionally, the transceiver may require local oscillator (LO) signals, baseband signals, and intermediate frequency (IF) signals, depending on the architecture. Even with a small number of antenna array elements, routing the RF, DC, and SPI interconnects at mm-wave frequencies on the interposer is a challenge. The term interposer refers to a carrier platform commonly used in electronic applications, such as a carrier printed circuit board (PCB) or other equivalent carrier platform. Signal routing is one of the main reasons why the number of antenna elements is practically limited to approximately 64 to 256, depending on the frequency.

[0006] The complexity of this problem increases further with frequency. For example, in a D-band antenna array operating at wavelengths between 2.7 mm and 1.8 mm in the frequency range of 110 GHz to 170 GHz, the distance between adjacent antenna elements is only about 1 mm. Therefore, the space available for routing multiple interconnects is very limited. Furthermore, practical applications of the D-band require arrays with more than 1000 antenna elements.

[0007] To date, this method of scaling antenna arrays is the most popular among silicon-based phased antenna arrays that scale using multiple ICs.

[0008] Description of related technologies

[0009] In their article "60-GHz 64- and 256-Elements Wafer-Scale Phased-Array Transmitters Using Full-Reticle and Subreticle Stitching Techniques" published in IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Volume 64, Issue 12, December 2016, Samet Zihir et al. proposed using an antenna array with a single large chip to solve the routing problem. All RF modules and digital blocks used for beam steering, RF, DC, and digital distribution network (SPI) connections are built on the same silicon chip. This chip can be placed on a low-cost printed circuit board because it only requires baseband or intermediate frequency signals, a crystal reference signal for the local oscillator, and digital control. The chip is flip-chip mounted using a doppler, on which antenna elements of the antenna array are fabricated.

[0010] This single-chip architecture solves the routing problem. However, using silicon for RF signal distribution introduces another issue: millimeter-wave transmission lines on silicon have very high losses. For example, a coplanar waveguide transmission line on silicon has a loss of approximately 1.5 dB / mm at 150 GHz (D-band). A 1000-element antenna array in the D-band measures 32 × 32 mm. To distribute RF signals in such an antenna, the RF signal needs to be distributed over a distance of 30 mm to 40 mm. In this case, the loss in distributing the RF signal can be as high as 45 dB to 60 dB. To compensate for these losses, additional amplifiers are used in known “single” chip architectures, which require additional power. Although MMICs are not very effective at high frequencies, these additional amplifiers generate a significant amount of heat, complicating the thermal management of the antenna array.

[0011] Patent application US 2020 / 0194901 discloses a radio frequency (RF) antenna array comprising a plug assembly and conductive posts. The plug assembly, having a single microstrip trace, feeds signals from a small MMIC to a patch antenna arranged in series. The conductive posts maintain the distance between the plug assembly and the ground plane on an RF printed circuit board. Summary of the Invention

[0012] The objective is to provide a device that addresses the issues of reducing power consumption and simplifying thermal management of millimeter-wave antenna arrays, while also enabling more universal routing of the signals required for operation.

[0013] The object of the present invention is achieved by means of the apparatus provided according to the first aspect described below.

[0014] Preferred embodiments of the invention are also disclosed below.

[0015] According to a first aspect, a millimeter-wave radio frequency (RF) antenna array device is provided. The device includes a single-chip monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC), the MMIC including active circuitry of the antenna array device. The active circuitry includes at least an antenna feed circuit configured to feed antenna elements of the antenna array. The antenna array device includes a connector made of a low-loss RF material such as glass, low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC), or printed circuit board (PCB). The connector includes transmission lines of an RF distribution network and a plurality of antenna elements of the antenna array. The transmission lines of the connector are coupled to the MMIC to provide RF connectivity for distributing RF signals to or from the antenna feed circuit. The region of the connector including the transmission lines of the RF distribution network and the plurality of antenna elements is juxtaposed with the region of the MMIC including the antenna feed circuit.

[0016] According to the second aspect, each part of the MMIC, which includes a portion of an antenna feed circuit configured to feed a corresponding antenna element, is juxtaposed with a portion of the insert that includes the corresponding antenna element.

[0017] According to the third aspect, the antenna feed circuit includes active circuit elements for performing beamforming, such as a variable gain amplifier and a phase shifter.

[0018] According to the fourth aspect, the antenna array device includes multiple transmit signal paths, each transmit signal path traveling from the output of a transmitter via a corresponding portion of the transmission line of an RF distribution network on a connector and via a corresponding antenna feed circuit of the transmit signal path in the MMIC to the input of one of the multiple antenna elements. Alternatively or additionally, the antenna array device includes multiple receive signal paths, each receive signal path traveling from the output of one of the multiple antenna elements via a corresponding antenna feed circuit of the receive signal path in the MMIC and via a corresponding portion of the transmission line of an RF distribution network on a connector to the input of a receiver.

[0019] According to the fifth aspect, the active circuit element includes at least one of a transmitter, a receiver, an amplifier, a phase shifter, an analog-to-digital converter, a digital-to-analog converter, and a serial peripheral interface, and wherein the MMIC further includes a DC supply voltage interconnect and / or a digital distribution network such as a serial peripheral interface interconnect.

[0020] According to the sixth aspect, the RF distribution network includes one or more power dividers.

[0021] According to the seventh aspect, the one or more power dividers are included in the MMIC and / or plug-in.

[0022] According to the eighth aspect, the MMIC includes at least one first power divider in the transmit signal path or receive signal path, and wherein the insert includes one or more additional power dividers in the corresponding transmit signal path or receive signal path, wherein the one or more additional power dividers are further away from the corresponding antenna element along the corresponding transmit signal path or receive signal path than the at least one first power divider.

[0023] According to the ninth aspect, the power division obtained through the plurality of power dividers is symmetrical or asymmetrical. Possible asymmetry in the power divider network is compensated for by one or more amplifiers and phase shifters in the antenna feed circuit.

[0024] According to the tenth aspect, flip-chip technology, which forms multiple electrical contacts between the MMIC and the insert, is used to interconnect the insert and the MMIC. The electrical contacts are configured to maintain at least a minimum predefined vertical distance between the MMIC and the insert to avoid interference.

[0025] According to the eleventh aspect, the insert and the MMIC are interconnected using both electrical contacts and capacitive and / or inductive couplings, which together form multiple coupling points between the MMIC and the insert. The electrical contacts are configured to maintain at least a minimum predefined vertical distance between the MMIC and the insert to avoid interference.

[0026] According to aspect 12, multiple electrical contacts are solder balls, copper pillar bumps, or nail head bumps.

[0027] According to aspect thirteen, the insert is a single-layer or multi-layer structure.

[0028] This invention is based on the concept of implementing antenna elements of an antenna array and transmission lines of an RF distribution network on a plug-in. Active RF elements, along with digital control, DC operating voltage, and a digital distribution network such as a serial peripheral interface distribution network, are placed on a single silicon chip. The size of the silicon chip is preferably similar to the size of the antenna element array on the plug-in, such that only RF signals on the corresponding transmit and / or receive signal paths are distributed in the area of ​​the plug-in juxtaposed with the antenna array area. Using flip-chip technology, other signals on the MMIC can be distributed outside the antenna area, but other signals on the MMIC can also be connected to the plug-in outside the antenna area. The plug-in is made of a low-loss RF material. The MMIC chip is flip-chip mounted on the plug-in. DC power feed connectors, digital signal connectors, and low-frequency RF connectors can also be provided on the plug-in for connection to external devices, functions, and / or circuits.

[0029] This invention offers the advantages of reducing power consumption in millimeter-wave antenna arrays and thus simplifying their thermal management. Compared to transmission lines implemented in silicon, the loss in the transmission line is reduced by implementing the RF transmission line in a low-loss RF material interposer, which reduces the need for amplifiers with additional power consumption. The antenna array can be scaled up to hundreds of antenna elements. Another advantage is that DC signals and signals at frequencies below the RF frequency, such as DC signals, baseband signals, and / or intermediate frequency signals, can be routed outside the area of ​​the antenna array within the MMIC and then connected to the interposer. Therefore, DC signals and lower frequency signals can be diffused over a larger area and then connected to the interposer. These signals can be combined using daisy-chaining techniques, which helps reduce the number of flip-chip connections required. Attached Figure Description

[0030] The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments, in which...

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a transmitter architecture with an antenna array.

[0032] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a receiver architecture with an antenna array.

[0033] Figure 3a A schematic top view of the insert is shown.

[0034] Figure 3bA top view schematically illustrates an antenna array assembly with an MMIC attached to a connector.

[0035] Figure 4 A side view of the antenna array device is schematically shown.

[0036] Figure 5 The diagram schematically illustrates the transmission of RF signals in the RF distribution network within an antenna array device. Detailed Implementation

[0037] Figure 1 A schematic illustration of a non-limiting exemplary transmitter architecture having an antenna array (110) with N antenna elements (10) known in the art is shown. N is an integer, preferably greater than 64, more preferably at least 1000. The transmitter (130) includes a modem (30) that provides digital signals to be transmitted by the antenna array (110) via an RF interface. The transmitter includes active signal processing elements such as a digital-to-analog converter (31), a filter (32), an amplifier (33), and in-phase and quadrature modulators (34) for modulating the radio frequency signals using in-phase and quadrature carrier signals. A local oscillator signal is generated by a local oscillator (50), and its frequency may be multiplied by one or more frequency multipliers (51) to generate a carrier signal that is modulated by the signal to be transmitted via the radio interface in the transmitter. The modulated in-phase and quadrature RF signals are combined by a summing element (35) and fed to an RF distribution network (120) via an amplifier (21). One or more amplifiers (not shown) and power dividers (not shown) can be placed in the RF distribution network (120) to compensate for losses in the RF distribution network and ensure appropriate signal levels. The RF distribution network feeds RF signals to the antenna feed circuit (150). The term antenna feed circuit refers to an active circuit specifically configured to feed signals to each individual antenna element (10) or to feed signals from each individual antenna element (10). In other words, the antenna feed circuit includes antenna element-specific active circuit elements for each antenna element. The antenna feed circuit (150) of the transmitter may include a variable gain amplifier (22) to compensate for gain variations between transmitted signal paths. For beamforming purposes, the phase of the RF signal fed to each antenna element (10) can be adjusted using a phase shifter (23) and the RF signal can be further amplified using a power amplifier PA (24) before feeding the signal to the respective antenna element (10). The variable gain amplifier VGA (22) can also be used for beamforming, for example, to control sidelobe levels. The phase shifter (23) can be implemented as a vector modulator.

[0038] The RF distribution network includes multiple power dividers (not shown) that branch the RF signal into multiple transmit signal paths (300), which extend from the output of the transmitter (130) via the RF distribution network (120) to an antenna feed circuit (150) for feeding multiple antenna elements (10). The RF distribution can be branched using various branching schemes known in the art. A common architecture is a tree based on one or two subsequent power dividers, each dividing the input signal into two equal parts. The branching is repeated by adding successive power dividers until the number of transmit signal paths (300) formed by the branches of the RF distribution network and fed into the antenna feed circuit (150) equals the number of antenna elements (10).

[0039] The SPI interface can be used to control the operation of the phase shifter (23) and VGA (22) of the antenna feed circuit (150). Although not shown in a typical transmitter architecture, those skilled in the art will understand that control signals need to be continuously routed to the corresponding active circuit elements, which further increases the complexity of the required signal routing. SPI routing can be implemented within the MMIC.

[0040] Figure 2A schematic illustration of an exemplary non-limiting receiver architecture is shown for receiving RF signals using an antenna array (110) of N antenna elements (10) known in the art. The RF signals are received by the multiple antenna elements (10). The term antenna feed circuit refers to an active circuit specifically configured to feed signals to or from each individual antenna element (10). The receiver's antenna feed circuit (150) may include a low-noise amplifier (25) and a phase shifter (23). The antenna feed circuit (150) may also include a variable gain amplifier (VGA) (22) for compensating for possible variations in gain between received signal paths and for beamforming. The phase shifter (23) may be implemented as a vector modulator. An RF distribution network (120) delivers the signals received at the output of the antenna feed circuit (150) to the input of the receiver (140). The RF distribution preferably includes multiple power dividers (not shown) that aggregate signals received by the antenna element (10) and provided at corresponding multiple outputs of the antenna feed network (150) into a single RF signal provided at the input of a receiver (140), which may include an amplifier (61) at its input. Any branching scheme can be used in the RF distribution network, as is known in the art. Thus, each received signal path (400) of the RF distribution network provides a component RF signal from the output of one of the outputs of the antenna feed circuit (150) to the input of the receiver (140). The receiver (140) may include in-phase and quadrature demodulators (44) for demodulating the received RF signal. A local oscillator signal is generated by a local oscillator (50), and its frequency may be multiplied by one or more frequency multipliers (51) to generate a carrier signal for demodulation. The demodulated signal can be amplified by one or more amplifiers (43), filtered by one or more filters (42), and finally converted into a digital signal by an analog-to-digital converter (41) for processing in a modem (40).

[0041] The active circuitry elements of the millimeter-wave transmitter (130) and / or receiver (140) can be implemented on a single monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC). The modem (40) can be implemented on the MMIC or it can be implemented on a separate IC.

[0042] Similar to that in the transmitter, the SPI interface can also be used in the receiver to control the operation of active circuit elements of the antenna feed circuit (150), such as the phase shifter (23) and VGA (22). Although not shown in a typical transmitter architecture, those skilled in the art will understand that the need to continuously transmit control signals to the corresponding active circuit elements further increases the complexity of the required signal routing. SPI routing can be implemented within the MMIC.

[0043] Figure 3a A schematic top view of the insert (220) according to an embodiment of the invention is shown. The insert is implemented on a low-loss RF material such as glass, low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC), or printed circuit board (PCB). The described element is schematically shown as if the insert (220) were transparent, but as those skilled in the art will understand, the invention is not limited by the visual characteristics of the insert. Top and bottom refer to the standard defined based on the orientation of the antenna array device relative to the coordinate axes shown in the figure, wherein the antenna element (10) is facing upwards on the top surface of the structure toward the positive z-axis, while the MMIC is placed below the insert (220), away from the antenna element (10), toward the negative z-axis. However, the orientation of the antenna array device in use is not limited to any orientation. Lateral dimension refers to the dimension in a plane parallel to the xy plane, while vertical dimension refers to the z-axis direction.

[0044] The insert (220) comprises an array of antenna elements (10). For simplicity, this example shows only 64 antenna elements (10), but in practice, the insert may comprise an array of up to more than 1000 antenna elements (10). When implementing a millimeter-wave radio with an antenna array, all antenna elements (10) are typically similar to each other and preferably placed at equal distances from each other, forming a symmetrical square array. Alternative geometric patterns such as circles, hexagons, or rectangles may also be used. In some implementations, the distance between adjacent antenna elements is λ / 2, where λ is a wavelength known in the art.

[0045] The connector includes the transmission lines of an RF distribution network (120). The RF distribution network (120) delivers RF signals from the output of the transmitter to multiple inputs of an antenna feed circuit implemented in an MMIC. The MMIC thus includes a phase shifter (23), a PA (24) amplifier, and a VGA (22) amplifier for each respective antenna element (10) after the respective transmit signal path (300), or a phase shifter (23), a low-noise amplifier (LNA) (25), and a VGA (22) for each respective antenna element (10) before the respective receive signal path (400). Transmitted RF signals transmitted by the transmit signal path (300) of the RF transmission network are fed to the input of the antenna element (10) of the antenna array (110) via the active circuit elements of the antenna feed circuit in the MMIC, and / or received RF signals received by the antenna element (10) of the antenna array (110) are transmitted from the corresponding antenna element (10) to the input of the receiver via the active circuit elements of the antenna feed circuit in the MMIC.

[0046] The insert can be a single-layer structure, wherein only a single layer of metal exists on which all the transmission lines of the RF distribution network (120) are placed. Preferably, the insert is a multi-layer structure, wherein the transmission lines of the RF distribution network (120) can be routed more flexibly. Preferably, the transmission lines comprise metal strips such as coplanar waveguides, microstrip lines and / or striplines, or substrate-integrated waveguides optimized for transmitting high-frequency RF signals. The antenna element (10) is preferably placed on the top surface of the insert (220), while the transmission lines of the RF distribution network may be on the bottom surface and / or in the middle layer of the insert structure. Electrical contacts to the RF distribution network (120) are preferably located on the bottom surface of the insert.

[0047] By placing the transmission lines of the RF distribution network (120) on the plug (220), the plug can be optimized to significantly reduce RF signal loss compared to distribution on the MMIC.

[0048] The transmission lines of the RF distribution network are not directly coupled to the antenna (10) within the insert. Although the RF distribution network in Figure 3a The diagram is schematically shown as a continuous branch network in an insert, but the RF distribution network may include mutually disconnected portions with gaps between the continuous portions, which allows active components implemented in the MMIC or on the insert to couple between the continuous portions of the transmission lines of the RF distribution network (120).

[0049] In addition to the transmission lines of the RF distribution network, the insert may also include transmission lines in the antenna feed circuit for feeding local oscillator signals, intermediate frequency signals, and / or carrier signals toward the mixer. Preferably, signal connections that are not part of the RF distribution network (in other words, not any part of the transmit or receive signal chain) are located outside the lateral area of ​​the insert juxtaposed with the MMIC. The insert may further include power dividers for branching the transmission lines.

[0050] Figure 3b A schematic top view of the antenna array is shown, in which a single monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) (320) is attached below the insert. The lateral dimensions of the portion of the insert (220) including the RF distribution network and the antenna elements should be substantially similar to the lateral dimensions of the MMIC (320) or the lateral dimensions of the portion of the MMIC including the antenna feed circuitry for the antenna array. The RF distribution network distributes received RF signals and / or transmitted RF signals to the portion of the insert located near each corresponding antenna element (10). When the MMIC and the insert are properly positioned and connected to each other, the active circuitry on the MMIC (including, but not limited to, the antenna feed circuitry) is preferably juxtaposed with the corresponding antenna element (10), which processes the received RF signals or transmitted RF signals for the corresponding antenna element on the corresponding received signal path or transmitted signal path. This configuration is represented by a dashed grid (321) that divides the lateral area of ​​the MMIC into multiple sections, each section including a corresponding antenna feed circuit, and each section is juxtaposed with a corresponding antenna element of the antenna element (10). Juxtaposing the antenna element on the insert with the corresponding antenna feed circuit on the MMIC allows the RF signal carrying connection to remain short and enables the coupling of RF signals along the transmit and receive signal paths between the MMIC and the insert without transmitting RF signals along the MMIC. Preferably, the interconnections between active circuit elements on the transmit signal path and active circuit elements on the receive signal path are implemented on the insert. In particular, it is preferable to implement all interconnections between active circuit elements along the RF distribution network on the insert. Some very short, adjacent interconnections between the active circuit elements of the antenna feed circuit can be implemented on the MMIC, provided these interconnections are short enough not to unnecessarily increase losses. As mentioned above, other signals such as local oscillator signals, intermediate frequency signals, and DC signals can also be transmitted on the insert, but preferably outside the lateral area of ​​the insert juxtaposed with the MMIC.

[0051] Figure 4A schematic side view illustrating the principle of the mechanical structure of an antenna array device according to an embodiment is shown. An MMIC (320) is shown at the bottom, while a connector (220) is arranged on top of the MMIC, wherein antenna elements (10) are located on the top surface of the connector (220). A first layer (325) comprising electrical connections is present on the top surface of the MMIC (320) facing the connector (220), the electrical connections being used to electrically couple various active circuit elements of the MMIC (320) toward the connector (220). A second layer (225) comprising conductive patterns is present on the bottom surface of the connector (220), these conductive patterns providing electrical coupling of transmission lines of the RF distribution network toward the MMIC (320), and optionally also providing electrical coupling of transmission lines for local oscillator signals, IF signals, and / or carrier signals.

[0052] Multiple electrical contacts (410) exist between the MMIC (320) and the interposer (220), wherein these electrical contacts provide electrical coupling. These electrical contacts (410) can be implemented using solder balls (solder bumps) known in ball grid array (BGA) flip chip technology. The electrical contacts (410) can be so-called pinhead bumps, wherein metal bumps such as silver or gold bumps are mechanically applied to the wafer or chip, which is also well known in the flip chip technology field. The electrical contacts (410) can also be so-called copper pillar bumps, including copper pillars (402) capped with solder balls (401), which is also well known in the flip chip technology field. Such copper pillar bump flip chip technology is known to provide excellent electrical and thermal coupling for high-density interconnects. Ball grid array, pinhead bump, and copper pillar bump technologies all create a certain vertical distance between the interposer and the MMIC. The copper pillar bump technology offers a further benefit: it enables precise control of the vertical distance between the MMIC (320) and the insert (220), which can be important for avoiding interference. The volume between the electrical contacts (410) of the MMIC (320) and the insert (220) can be filled with a gas, such as air, or the volume can be a vacuum. The preferred distance between the MMIC and the insert varies depending on factors such as material, design, and frequency. For commonly used PCB materials, the gap for mm-wave implementations is preferably greater than 100 µm.

[0053] Instead of electrical contacts, or in addition to electrical contacts, at least some signals can be capacitively coupled between the MMIC and the insertion device. For capacitive coupling, feed elements or coupling elements are provided on the MMIC, which can capacitively couple RF signals to portions of transmission lines in, for example, RF distribution networks, or to antenna elements on the insertion device. The aforementioned publication, 60-GHz 64- and 256-Elements Wafer-Scale Phased-Array Transmitters Using Full-Reticle and Subreticle Stitching Techniques, discloses examples of capacitive coupling between the MMIC and antenna elements.

[0054] Even further feeding schemes can be applied to feed the antenna and couple the transmission lines on the mount to the MMIC. For example, inductive coupling (also known as aperture coupling) or feed probe coupling can be used at any suitable point in the transmit and receive chains.

[0055] For example, some portions of the coupling between the insert and the MMIC may be capacitive or inductive, while other portions of the contacts—such as one of the flip-chip connections mentioned above—are electrical. Flip-chip connections help maintain the clearance between the insert and the MMIC.

[0056] Figure 5 The diagram schematically illustrates how RF signals are carried through the RF distribution network (120). This example shows a portion of the transmit signal path (300), but the same principle applies to the RF signals on the receive signal path. The RF signal travels back and forth between a portion of the active circuitry elements (26, 27, 28) on the MMIC (320) and the transmission lines (221a, 221b, 221c) of the RF distribution network (120) on the plug-in (220) via electrical contacts (410). Some exemplary elements of a single transmit signal path are shown in this simplified diagram. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the type and order of the active circuitry elements depend on the transmitter / receiver architecture and its RF distribution network, and are not limited to any particular active circuitry element or any particular order of active circuitry elements.

[0057] In this example, the RF transmit signal travels from the transmitter to a power divider (26) via a first portion (221a) of the transmission line of the RF distribution network for distributing the transmit signal to at least two different transmit signal paths. The power divider can be of the type disclosed, for example, in patent application WO 2020 / 188146 A1. The transmit signal then proceeds forward toward an optional RF line amplifier (27) through an electrical contact (410) and a second portion (221b) of the transmission line, and finally through a third portion (221c) of the transmission line toward the antenna feed circuit (150) of the corresponding transmit signal path. As shown, the antenna feed circuit (150) of each corresponding transmit or receive signal path in the MMIC (320) is preferably juxtaposed with a corresponding antenna element (10) on the insert (220). The antenna feed circuit (150) of the transmit signal path on the MMIC (320) can include active circuit elements, such as… Figure 1 The variable gain amplifier (22), phase shifter (23), and / or power amplifier PA (24) are shown. Finally, the RF transmission signal is provided to the antenna element (10) via the plug (220) for transmission.

[0058] In some implementations, the insert (220) may also include one or more power dividers. Preferably, the power divider closest to the corresponding antenna element on the transmit or receive signal path is implemented on the MMIC. The main reason is space constraints. Beamforming circuitry (i.e., vector modulators or phase shifters (23), VGAs (22), and PAs (24) in the transmitter, or LNAs (25), VGAs (22), and phase shifters (23) or vector modulators in the receiver) is preferably located near each corresponding antenna element on the MMIC. Therefore, space for power dividers is very limited in the insert for these active circuitry elements adjacent to the antenna feed circuitry (150). At D-band frequencies and further lower frequencies, multi-channel MMICs are typically used due to space constraints. Using a multi-channel MMIC refers to two or more channels, possibly four channels. Power division is preferably performed on the MMIC. If there is sufficient space for a single-channel approach, the final division can also be performed on the insert.

[0059] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the basic concept of the present invention can be implemented in various ways as technology advances. Therefore, the present invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above, but may vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A millimeter-wave radio frequency (RF) antenna array device, wherein the millimeter-wave RF antenna array device includes a single-chip monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC), the MMIC including active circuit elements of the antenna array device, wherein, The active circuitry includes an antenna feed circuit configured to feed multiple antenna elements of the antenna array, and circuitry for a transmitter and / or receiver. The antenna array device includes: An insert, made of low-loss RF material, wherein the insert includes transmission lines of an RF distribution network and multiple antenna elements of the antenna array, and The electrical contact between the insert and the MMIC The feature is that the transmission line of the RF distribution network on the insert is coupled to the MMIC to provide an RF connection for distributing RF signals to the antenna feed circuit included in the MMIC or distributing RF signals from the antenna feed circuit included in the MMIC via the active circuit elements of the MMIC, such that the RF signals travel back and forth between the active circuit elements in the MMIC and portions of the transmission line of the RF distribution network in the insert via the electrical contacts, and the region of the insert including the transmission line of the RF distribution network and the plurality of antenna elements is juxtaposed with the region of the MMIC including the antenna feed circuit, such that the active circuit on the MMIC is juxtaposed with the corresponding antenna element, wherein the active circuit on the MMIC processes the received RF signal on the received signal path or the transmitted RF signal on the transmitted signal path for the corresponding antenna element.

2. The antenna array device according to claim 1, wherein, Each portion of the MMIC, including the antenna feed circuit configured to feed the corresponding antenna element, is juxtaposed with the corresponding portion of the insert, including the corresponding antenna element.

3. The antenna array device according to claim 1, wherein, The antenna feed circuit includes active circuit elements for performing beamforming.

4. The antenna array device according to claim 2, wherein, The antenna feed circuit includes active circuit elements for performing beamforming.

5. The antenna array device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The antenna array device includes multiple transmit signal paths, each transmit signal path traveling from the output of the transmitter via a corresponding portion of the transmission line of the RF distribution network on the plug and via a corresponding antenna feed circuit of the transmit signal path in the MMIC to the input of one of the multiple antenna elements, and / or wherein the antenna array device includes multiple receive signal paths, each receive signal path traveling from the output of one of the multiple antenna elements via a corresponding antenna feed circuit of the receive signal path in the MMIC and via a corresponding portion of the transmission line of the RF distribution network on the plug to the input of the receiver.

6. The antenna array device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The active circuit elements include at least one of the transmitter, the receiver, the amplifier, the phase shifter, the analog-to-digital converter, the digital-to-analog converter, and the serial peripheral interface, and wherein the MMIC further includes a DC supply voltage interconnect and / or a digital distribution network interconnect.

7. The antenna array device according to claim 6, wherein, Digital distribution networks include serial peripheral interface distribution networks.

8. The antenna array device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The RF distribution network includes one or more power dividers.

9. The antenna array device according to claim 8, wherein, The one or more power dividers are included in the MMIC and / or the plug-in.

10. The antenna array device according to claim 9, wherein, The MMIC includes at least one first power divider in the transmit signal path or receive signal path, and the insert includes one or more additional power dividers in the corresponding transmit signal path or receive signal path, wherein the one or more additional power dividers are further away from the corresponding antenna element along the corresponding transmit signal path or receive signal path than the at least one first power divider.

11. The antenna array device according to claim 8, wherein, The power division obtained by the plurality of power dividers is symmetrical or asymmetrical, and wherein the possible asymmetry of the power divider network is compensated by one or more amplifiers and phase shifters of the antenna feed circuit.

12. The antenna array device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The interposer and the MMIC are interconnected using flip-chip technology that forms electrical contacts between the MMIC and the interposer, wherein the electrical contacts are configured to maintain at least a minimum predefined vertical distance between the MMIC and the interposer to avoid interference.

13. The antenna array device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The insert is interconnected with the MMIC using electrical contacts and electromagnetic coupling, wherein the electrical contacts and electromagnetic coupling together form multiple coupling points between the MMIC and the insert, and the electrical contacts are configured to maintain at least a minimum predefined vertical distance between the MMIC and the insert to avoid interference.

14. The antenna array device according to claim 12, wherein, The electrical contact portion is a solder ball, a copper pillar bump, or a nail head bump.

15. The antenna array device according to claim 13, wherein, The electrical contact portion is a solder ball, a copper pillar bump, or a nail head bump.

16. The antenna array device according to claim 13, wherein, The electromagnetic coupling includes capacitive coupling and / or inductive coupling.

17. The antenna array device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The insert can be a single-layer or multi-layer structure.

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