A metasurface subarray and antenna

Abstract

The present invention discloses a metasurface subarray and antenna, and relates to the field of wireless communication technology. The metasurface subarray includes: a forced feeding module, which is used to receive radio frequency signals and distribute and transmit radio frequency signals with equal power; the input end of the amplitude and phase control module is connected to the output end of the forced feeding module through a radio frequency connector, and is composed of a reflective phase-shifting amplitude modulation circuit loaded with a varactor diode, which is used to receive the transmitted radio frequency signal and perform arbitrary phase control within the range of 0 to 360 degrees and arbitrary amplitude control from full power to zero power on the radio frequency signal; multiple metasurface subarrays are periodically arranged to form a metasurface antenna. The present invention uses low-cost varactor diodes to replace TR components based on semiconductor technology, and realizes convenient connection and disassembly of the forced feeding power division network and the antenna radiator through a pluggable radio frequency connector, which reduces the number of printed circuit board layers and reduces production costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a metasurface subarray and an antenna. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of satellite Internet technology, satellite communication terminals for personal applications are gaining more and more attention. In order to meet the real-time high-quality connection with the satellite, the satellite communication terminal antenna needs to achieve fast electronic scanning or switching of high-gain beams.

[0003] At present, most satellite communication terminal antennas are in the form of flat-panel phased array antennas. This type of antenna is usually composed of a microstrip antenna array, and its core beamforming function is realized by the RF transceiver component, namely the TR component. The TR component modulates the amplitude and phase of each antenna array element to realize the function of beam electronic scanning. Flat-panel phased array antennas are usually realized by multi-layer printed circuit board technology. The antenna power distribution network, microstrip patch antenna and the control circuit of the TR component are connected and radiated through a vertical structure to realize the interconnection and radiation of electromagnetic signals.

[0004] For the millimeter wave antennas of satellite communication terminals, a large number of antenna elements are required to ensure high-gain beams, so a large number of TR components are also required. Although TR component technology based on semiconductor processes has been rapidly developed, the large number of TR components required for a single terminal still results in high costs. At the same time, due to the high integration of flat-panel phased array antennas, a multi-layer printed circuit board design of up to 10 layers or more is usually required, further raising the cost. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides a metasurface subarray and antenna, which solves the problem that existing millimeter wave antennas require a large number of TR components, resulting in high costs; at the same time, the high integration of flat-panel phased array antennas usually requires a multi-layer printed circuit board design with more than 10 layers, further raising the cost problem.

[0006] The present invention provides an antenna, comprising:

[0007] A forced feeding module, whose input end is connected to the feeding antenna, and the forced feeding module is used to receive radio frequency signals and distribute and send the radio frequency signals with equal power;

[0008] An amplitude-phase control module, whose input end is connected to the output end of the forced feeding module through a radio frequency connector. The amplitude-phase control module is composed of a reflective phase-shifting amplitude modulation circuit loaded with a varactor diode, and is used to receive the transmitted radio frequency signal and perform any phase control within the range of 0 to 360 degrees and any amplitude control from full power to zero power on the radio frequency signal;

[0009] A patch type radiating antenna module, whose feeding position is connected to the output end of the amplitude and phase control module, and the patch type radiating antenna module is used to radiate the radio frequency signal after phase control and amplitude control in free space.

[0010] Preferably, the amplitude and phase control module and the patch type radiating antenna module are designed back to back and share a radio frequency ground plane.

[0011] Preferably, the output end of the amplitude and phase control module is connected to the feeding position of the patch type radiating antenna module through a vertical interconnection structure or a near-field coupling structure.

[0012] Preferably, each of the forced feeding module, the amplitude and phase control module and the patch type radiating antenna module includes M*M units.

[0013] Preferably, the size of each antenna in the patch-type radiating antenna module is equal to or smaller than half the wavelength of the antenna's operating center frequency.

[0014] Preferably, the forced feeding module is implemented by a microstrip T-type power divider or a microstrip Wilkinson power divider.

[0015] Preferably, the amplitude and phase control module is a radio frequency phase shift amplitude modulation chip.

[0016] Preferably, the patch-type radiating antenna module includes but is not limited to a single-layer narrowband patch antenna or a multi-layer parasitic broadband patch antenna in terms of implementation form; and includes but is not limited to a single-polarized patch antenna, a dual-polarized patch antenna, a linearly polarized patch antenna or a circularly polarized patch antenna in terms of polarization form.

[0017] An antenna is formed by periodically arranging a plurality of the above-mentioned metasurface subarrays.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] An antenna of the present invention includes multiple metasurface subarrays, each of which includes a forced feeding module, an amplitude and phase control module, and a patch-type radiating antenna module. The amplitude and phase control module realizes amplitude and phase modulation of each subarray element through an integrated reflective phase-shifting amplitude modulation circuit loaded with a varactor diode, and uses a low-cost varactor diode to replace the TR component based on semiconductor technology. The forced feeding power division network and the antenna radiator are conveniently connected and disassembled through a pluggable RF connector, which reduces the number of layers of the printed circuit board and reduces the production cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0021] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of functional modules of an antenna of the present invention;

[0022] Among them, (a): forced feeding module, (b): amplitude and phase control module, (c): patch type radiating antenna module;

[0023] Figure 2 A single module architecture diagram of an antenna of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 A multi-module assembly diagram of an antenna of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 This is the far-field pattern of a 4×4 single module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 It is a 4×4 single module far-field scanning two-dimensional directional pattern of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Among them, (a) is the far-field two-dimensional radiation pattern when the beam is deflected by 30 degrees, and (b) is the far-field two-dimensional radiation pattern when the beam is deflected by 50 degrees. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. 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 creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The present invention provides an antenna, which adopts a modular design and includes a plurality of metasurface subarrays, each of which includes a forced feeding module 101, an amplitude and phase control module 102, and a patch type radiating antenna module 103. Figure 3 ,Multiple metasurface sub-arrays are periodically arranged to form a metasurface antenna.

[0030] Each forced feeding module 101, amplitude and phase control module 102 and patch type radiating antenna module 103 includes M*M units, and the forced feeding module 101, amplitude and phase control module 102 and patch type radiating antenna module 103 form a metasurface antenna subarray containing M*M array elements. The size of each antenna in the patch type radiating antenna module 103 is equal to or less than half a wavelength.

[0031] The input end of the forced feeding module 101 is connected to the feeding antenna. The forced feeding module 101 is used to receive the radio frequency signal fed into the antenna, distribute the radio frequency signal fed into the antenna with equal power, and send it.

[0032] In this embodiment, the forced feeding module 101 can be implemented by a microstrip T-type power divider, a microstrip Wilkinson power divider, or the like.

[0033] The input end of the amplitude and phase control module 102 is connected to the output end of the forced feeding module 101 through an RF connector, which reduces the number of layers of the printed circuit board, reduces production costs, and improves the yield rate, which not only ensures the compactness of the antenna architecture, but also facilitates the later modification and expansion of the system. The amplitude and phase control module 102 is used to receive the transmitted RF signal and perform any phase control on the RF signal within the range of 0 to 360 degrees and any amplitude control from full power to zero power. In order to meet the amplitude and phase distribution required on the aperture surface of the metasurface antenna, the functions of beam scanning, low sidelobe beam synthesis, etc. are realized.

[0034] In this embodiment, the amplitude and phase control module 102 can be composed of a reflective phase-shift amplitude modulation circuit loaded with a varactor diode, or a radio frequency phase-shift amplitude modulation chip can be used to implement the function of the amplitude and phase control module. The TR component based on semiconductor technology is replaced by a low-cost varactor diode.

[0035] The feeding position of the patch-type radiating antenna module 103 is connected to the output end of the amplitude and phase control module 102. The patch-type radiating antenna module 103 is used to radiate the RF signal after phase control and amplitude control in free space, and finally realize the beam forming function of the metasurface antenna through a periodically arranged array form.

[0036] In this embodiment, the amplitude and phase control module 102 and the patch type radiating antenna module 103 are designed back to back and share the RF ground plane. The output end of the amplitude and phase control module 102 is connected to the feeding position of the patch type radiating antenna module 103 through a vertical interconnection structure or a near-field coupling structure, which has the characteristics of low loss and compact structure.

[0037] In this embodiment, the metasurface antenna subarray containing M*M array elements can be seamlessly spliced ​​with other subarrays to form the final metasurface antenna aperture according to requirements. The modular design that can be seamlessly spliced ​​facilitates the modification and expansion of the system and facilitates the customization of a more suitable antenna aperture according to different application scenarios.

[0038] In this embodiment, the patch-type radiating antenna module 103 includes, but is not limited to, a single-layer narrowband patch antenna or a multi-layer parasitic broadband patch antenna in terms of implementation form. In terms of polarization form, it includes, but is not limited to, a single-polarized patch antenna, a dual-polarized patch antenna, a linearly polarized patch antenna, or a circularly polarized patch antenna.

[0039] Reference Figure 4 , the 4×4 single-module far-field pattern of an embodiment of the present invention, in which the radiation direction of the metasurface antenna subarray is perpendicular to the subarray plane.

[0040] Reference Figure 5 , the 4×4 single-module far-field scanning two-dimensional directional pattern of the embodiment of the present invention, at this time, the radiation direction of the metasurface antenna subarray is tilted, Figure 5 (a) is the far-field two-dimensional radiation pattern with a beam deflection of 30 degrees, and (b) is the far-field two-dimensional radiation pattern with a beam deflection of 50 degrees. The beam scanning capability of the metasurface antenna subarray is verified.

[0041] When designing, we first analyze the beam parameter requirements of the metasurface antenna to determine the size of the array, operating frequency, polarization and other indicators. We then design the antenna array elements, power division network and phase shift modulation circuit according to the required frequency and polarization mode. We then integrate the modules.

[0042] The antenna of the present invention realizes amplitude and phase modulation of each antenna array element through a reflective phase-shifting amplitude modulation circuit loaded with a varactor diode integrated in a metasurface antenna. The forced-feed power division network and the antenna radiator are conveniently connected and disassembled through a pluggable radio frequency connector. The modular design that can be seamlessly spliced ​​facilitates the modification and expansion of the system. The realization cost of the satellite communication terminal antenna can be greatly reduced.

[0043] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, those skilled in the art may make other changes and modifications to these embodiments once they have learned the basic creative concept. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0044] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A metasurface subarray, characterized in that: include: A forced feeding module (101) is used to receive radio frequency signals fed into the antenna and distribute and transmit the radio frequency signals with equal power; An amplitude-phase control module (102), whose input end is connected to the output end of the forced feeding module (101) via a radio frequency connector, wherein the amplitude-phase control module (102) is composed of a reflective phase-shift amplitude modulation circuit or a radio frequency phase-shift amplitude modulation chip loaded with a varactor diode, and is used to receive a transmitted radio frequency signal and perform arbitrary phase control on the radio frequency signal within a range of 0 to 360 degrees and arbitrary amplitude control from full power to zero power; A patch-type radiating antenna module (103), the feeding position of which is connected to the output end of the amplitude and phase control module (102), the patch-type radiating antenna module (103) being used to radiate the radio frequency signal after phase control and amplitude control in free space; The amplitude and phase control module (102) and the patch type radiating antenna module (103) are designed to be back-to-back and share a radio frequency ground plane; The output end of the amplitude and phase control module (102) is connected to the feeding position of the patch type radiating antenna module (103) via a vertical interconnection structure or a near-field coupling structure; The forced feeding module (101), the amplitude and phase control module (102) and the patch type radiating antenna module (103) each include M*M units.

2. A metasurface subarray as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The size of each antenna in the patch-type radiating antenna module (103) is equal to or smaller than half the wavelength of the antenna's operating center frequency.

3. A metasurface subarray as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The forced feeding module (101) is implemented by a microstrip T-type power divider or a microstrip Wilkinson power divider.

4. A metasurface subarray as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The patch type radiating antenna module (103) includes, but is not limited to, a single-layer narrowband patch antenna or a multi-layer parasitic broadband patch antenna in terms of implementation form; and includes, but is not limited to, a single-polarized patch antenna, a dual-polarized patch antenna, a linearly polarized patch antenna or a circularly polarized patch antenna in terms of polarization form.

5. An antenna, characterized in that: The antenna is formed by periodically arranging a plurality of metasurface sub-arrays as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

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