Base station antenna and base station

Abstract

The application discloses a base station antenna and a base station, which are used for reducing the demand for resources such as power consumption and cost of an active side when improving antenna gain and beamforming capability. The base station antenna comprises a plurality of columns of antenna units, a combining module configured to combine at least two columns of antenna units in the plurality of columns of antenna units, and a target air interface electrically tunable coating layer arranged above the plurality of columns of antenna units, wherein the target air interface electrically tunable coating layer is configured to adjust at least one of an amplitude and a phase of a radiation field of the base station antenna.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of communication, and particularly relates to a base station antenna and a base station. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a base station antenna system, antenna beam coverage is an important reference index for measuring the system performance, and its characteristics are closely related to antenna gain and beamforming. Antenna gain is closely related to the size of the antenna array. In order to improve the antenna gain, the antenna aperture gain can be improved by expanding the size of the antenna array, such as increasing the number of antenna elements in the vertical latitude and increasing the number of antenna columns in the horizontal latitude.

[0003] However, in the existing base station antenna system, beamforming is often realized by synthesizing the specific beam direction or shape of the antenna array through the digital weight of the baseband, such as realizing the specific beam of Long Term Evolution (LTE) or New Radio (NR) system by using the digital weight, or realizing the broadcast beam or service beam by using the digital weight. The beamforming process is completed in the active digital end. Therefore, expanding the size of the antenna array may increase the operation amount and power consumption of the active digital end.

[0004] Therefore, in the existing base station antenna system, when improving the antenna gain and beamforming capability, the power consumption, cost and other resources of the active side may be increased.

[0005] Application Content

[0006] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a base station antenna and a base station, which can reduce the power consumption, cost and other resources of the active side when improving the antenna gain and beamforming capability.

[0007] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a base station antenna, comprising: a plurality of columns of antenna units; a combining module configured to combine at least two columns of antenna units in the plurality of columns of antenna units; and a target air interface electrically tunable coating layer arranged above the plurality of columns of antenna units, the target air interface electrically tunable coating layer being configured to adjust at least one of the amplitude and the phase of the radiation field of the base station antenna.

[0008] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a base station, comprising the base station antenna of the first aspect.

[0009] In the embodiment of the present application, at least two column antenna units in the multiple column antenna units are combined by the combining module, a target air interface electrically adjustable layer is arranged above the multiple column antenna units, and at least one of the amplitude and phase of the radiation field of the base station antenna is adjusted. Therefore, if the antenna array scale is expanded, at least one of the amplitude and phase of the radiation field of the base station antenna can be adjusted by the target air interface electrically adjustable layer, without increasing the power consumption of the active digital end, so that the power consumption and cost of the active side are reduced while the antenna gain and beamforming capability are improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a base station antenna provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0011] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a dipole scheme for realizing built-in 180° phase difference of a base station antenna provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0012] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another dipole scheme for realizing built-in 180° phase difference of a base station antenna provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0013] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of still another dipole scheme for realizing built-in 180° phase difference of a base station antenna provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0014] Figure 5 is a structural schematic diagram of another base station antenna provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0015] Figure 6 is a structural schematic diagram of still another base station antenna provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0016] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a specific phase distribution of an air interface electrically adjustable layer of a base station antenna provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0017] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of beamforming by sidelobe suppression provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of beamforming by zero point filling provided by the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] With reference to the drawings and the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of the present application.

[0020] The terms "first", "second", and the like in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first", "second", etc. are generally a category and do not limit the number of objects, for example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims indicates at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / ", generally indicates that the front and rear associated objects are in a "or" relationship.

[0021] The base station antenna and the base station provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below in combination with the drawings and specific embodiments and application scenarios.

[0022] In related technologies, when the antenna array scale is expanded in order to improve the antenna gain and beamforming capability, the power consumption and cost of the active side are increased. The embodiments of the present application provide a base station antenna, which comprises:

[0023] A plurality of columns of antenna units, wherein the plurality of columns of antenna units can comprise horizontal column antenna units and / or vertical column antenna units;

[0024] A combining module, configured to combine at least two columns of antenna units in the plurality of columns of antenna units; for example, in the case where the plurality of columns of antenna units comprises a plurality of horizontal column antenna units, the number of horizontal column antenna units can be expanded to exceed the number of radio frequency channels, and then at least two horizontal column antenna units are combined and connected with one radio frequency channel, so that the horizontal antenna units can be expanded without increasing the active radio frequency channels, and the antenna gain is improved.

[0025] A target air interface electrically tunable coating layer is arranged above the plurality of columns of antenna units, and the target air interface electrically tunable coating layer is configured to adjust at least one of the amplitude and the phase of the radiation field of the base station antenna. For example, the target air interface electrically tunable coating layer can be arranged above a plurality of horizontal column antenna units, or it can also be arranged above a plurality of vertical column antenna units.

[0026] The base station antenna provided in the embodiments of the present application can adjust at least one of the amplitude and the phase of the radiation field of the base station antenna through the target air interface electrically tunable coating when the size of the antenna array is expanded, without increasing the power consumption of the active digital end, and thus the power consumption and cost of the active side are reduced while the antenna gain and beamforming capability are improved.

[0027] In a possible implementation of the embodiments of the present application, the target air interface electrically tunable coating can include at least one microwave diode, and the capacitance value of the microwave diode is adjustable, so that the antenna air interface of the base station antenna is a specific radiation phase or is distributed according to a specific codebook. That is, by adjusting the capacitance value of the microwave diode to a capacitance value corresponding to a specific radiation phase or a specific codebook distribution, the antenna air interface of the base station antenna can be a specific radiation phase or be distributed according to a specific codebook. For example, the phase of the antenna air interface can be adjusted by adjusting the input voltage of the microwave diode, thereby adjusting the capacitance of the microwave diode.

[0028] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are described below with respect to horizontal column antenna units and vertical column antenna units as examples.

[0029] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a base station antenna provided in the embodiments of the present application is shown in FIG. 1. The base station antenna includes N horizontal column antenna units 101, M radio frequency channels 102, a combining expansion network 103, and a first air interface electrically tunable coating 104, where N and M are integers greater than 2, and M is less than N. In this embodiment, the multiple column antenna units include N horizontal column antenna units 101, the combining module includes the combining expansion network 103, the target air interface electrically tunable coating includes the first air interface electrically tunable coating 104, and the base station antenna further includes M radio frequency channels 102.

[0030] In the embodiments of the present application, at least two of the N horizontal column antenna units 101 are combined through the combining expansion network 103, and then connected with the M radio frequency channels 102, as shown in FIG. 2. Figure 1 According to the number of the radio frequency channels 102, the at least two horizontal column antenna units 101 are combined through the combining expansion network 103 in a manner, so as to reduce the number of antenna ports, so that the N horizontal column antenna units 101 greater than M can be matched and connected with the M radio frequency channels 102, and the horizontal column antenna units are expanded without increasing the active radio frequency channels, and the antenna gain is improved.

[0031] In the embodiments of the present application, in order to further enhance the horizontal plane scanning capability and compensate for the required phase of horizontal scanning, an electrical adjustment coating layer can be loaded at the air interface of the antenna to further regulate the antenna radiation and / or phase and enhance the horizontal coverage. Therefore, in this embodiment, the base station antenna can further include a first air interface electrical adjustment coating layer 104 arranged above the N horizontal column antenna units 101 for adjusting at least one of the amplitude and phase of the radiation field of the base station antenna.

[0032] In the embodiments of the present application, in order to further enhance the horizontal plane scanning capability and compensate for the required phase of horizontal scanning, an electrical adjustment coating layer can be loaded at the air interface of the antenna to further regulate the antenna radiation and / or phase and enhance the horizontal coverage. Therefore, in this embodiment, the base station antenna can further include a first air interface electrical adjustment coating layer 104 arranged above the N horizontal column antenna units 101 for adjusting at least one of the amplitude and phase of the radiation field of the base station antenna.

[0033] For example, the first air interface electrical adjustment coating layer can include a microwave diode, the capacitance value of the microwave diode is adjustable, different capacitance values correspond to different antenna radiation phases and / or amplitudes, and by adjusting the input voltage of the microwave diode, the capacitance value of the microwave diode can be adjusted to a capacitance value corresponding to a specific antenna radiation phase, so that the antenna radiation phase can be adjusted to a specific phase and / or amplitude.

[0034] In the related art, the array scale expansion of the horizontal plane of the base station antenna can improve the horizontal multi-beam gain of the antenna and enhance the horizontal coverage. However, the increase in the number of horizontal columns means an increase in the number of antenna ports, which may, in turn, cause an increase in the number of active channels and costs. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, the increased antenna columns and the original antenna columns are connected in a combined manner by using a combining expansion network, so as to realize the expansion of the horizontal antenna array without increasing the number of active channels.

[0035] For example, assuming that M=4, that is, the base station antenna includes 4 radio frequency channels in the horizontal plane, N can be equal to 6, that is, the base station antenna includes 6 horizontal column antenna units, and the newly added 2 horizontal column antenna units can be connected in a combined manner with two of the remaining 4 by using a combining expansion network and then connected with one radio frequency channel. For example, the 2nd horizontal column antenna unit and the 6th horizontal column antenna unit are connected in a combined manner and then connected with the 1st radio frequency channel, the 3rd horizontal column antenna unit is connected with the 2nd radio frequency channel, the 4th horizontal column antenna unit is connected with the 3rd radio frequency channel, and the 5th horizontal column antenna unit is connected in a combined manner with the 1st horizontal column antenna unit and then connected with the 4th radio frequency channel, so as to realize the expansion of the horizontal antenna array without increasing the number of active channels.

[0036] In an implementation, there is a 180° phase difference between the radiation fields of two horizontal column antenna units 101 in the combined at least two horizontal column antenna units 101.

[0037] For example, the antenna element of one of the two combined horizontal column antenna units 101 can be specially designed so that the special antenna element can integrate a 180° phase difference at the element end, which can eliminate the problems of power consumption, cost, signal loss and space occupation caused by the phase shifter in the traditional split beam scheme.

[0038] Optionally, the feeding position can be mirrored, as shown in Figure 2 or the feeding balun structure information is reversed, as shown in Figure 3 or the radiation arm of the antenna element is reversed, as shown in Figure 4 to achieve a 180° phase difference between the horizontal column antenna units.

[0039] In an implementation, the combined expansion network 103 includes (N-M) first power dividers, one of the first power dividers is connected to one of the radio frequency channels after combining a plurality of horizontal column antenna units in the N horizontal column antenna units, and the horizontal column antenna units combined between each of the first power dividers are not completely the same. For example, the first power divider can be a 1-to-2 power divider, i.e., the first power divider can combine two horizontal column antenna units and be connected to one radio frequency channel. Alternatively, the first power divider can be a 1-to-3 power divider, i.e., the first power divider can combine three horizontal column antenna units and be connected to one radio frequency channel. Alternatively, the first power divider can be a 1-to-4 power divider, i.e., the first power divider can combine four horizontal column antenna units and be connected to one radio frequency channel. The specific embodiments in the present application are not limited.

[0040] Figure 5 Another structure of a base station antenna provided by the present application is shown in the structure diagram, which includes an air interface electrically adjusted coating layer 54, eight front-end active channels D1-D8, Figure 5 Only D1-D4 radio frequency channels connected with +45° polarization are shown, and D5-D8 radio frequency channels are connected with -45° polarization antennas; twelve back-end passive channels 51, two passive channels for ±45° dual polarization in each column of antennas, twelve passive channels for six columns of antennas; four 1-to-2 power dividers, two power dividers for each polarization.

[0041] Referring to Figure 5The active channels D2, D3, D6, and D7 are directly connected to the passive channels 51; D1 and D5 are connected to the two different polarizations of the passive channels 51 of the second column and the sixth column of the resonators through the 1to2 power divider 52; D4 and D8 are connected to the two different polarizations of the passive channels 51 of the first column and the fifth column of the resonators through the 1to2 power divider 53; and the two columns of resonators connected to each power divider are specially designed to achieve an internal phase difference of 180°, such as the first column and the sixth column of the special antenna resonators in Figure 5 Thus, the two columns of resonators connected by the channels D1, D4, D5, and D8 radiate four beams, and the resonators connected by the channels D2, D3, D6, and D7 radiate a conventional single beam; no internal phase shifter is needed in the entire transverse feed network, and different service requirements can be met by digital beamforming in the four active channels.

[0042] In Figure 5 , the air interface electrically tunable coating 54 is loaded above the six columns of antennas, and the air interface electrically tunable coating 54 can include microwave diodes with adjustable capacitance values. By adjusting the input voltage of the microwave diodes, the capacitance values of the microwave diodes of the air interface electrically tunable coating 54 can be adjusted, and different capacitance values correspond to different antenna radiation amplitudes and / or phases. By adjusting the capacitance values of the microwave diodes of the air interface electrically tunable coating 54 to preset values, the amplitude and / or phase of the radiation field of the base station antenna can be adjusted to specific values.

[0043] Optionally, when the number of antenna columns is eight, a 1to2 power divider can be used in each active channel, and then eight active channels can drive sixteen passive channels.

[0044] Optionally, the power divider is not limited to a 1to2 power divider, but can also be a 1to3 power divider or a 1to4 power divider, that is, one active channel drives three or four passive channels, so as to meet higher requirements for reduction, power consumption, cost, and other resources.

[0045] In an implementation manner, the first air interface electrically tunable coating includes an air interface parasitic metal unit structure, and the air interface parasitic metal unit structure includes a microwave diode.

[0046] In the above implementation manner, the first air interface electrically tunable coating can control the state of the microwave diode in the air interface parasitic metal unit structure through an external voltage to realize the adjustment and control of the electromagnetic wave transmission phase range.

[0047] For example, by adjusting the input voltage of the microwave diode, the capacitance value of the microwave diode of the air interface electrically tunable coating 54 can be adjusted, and different capacitance values correspond to different antenna radiation amplitudes and / or phases, so as to realize the adjustment and control of the electromagnetic wave transmission phase range.

[0048] Optionally, the number of air interface parasitic metal unit structures is determined according to an antenna array surface.

[0049] Optionally, the required phase difference can be determined according to an antenna frequency, a required radiation field phase change, and a size of the air interface parasitic metal unit structure, and a microwave diode that can achieve the requirement in the working frequency is searched according to the range, so as to select the required microwave diode.

[0050] In addition, as a key technology for resisting fading and interference of a base station antenna system, beamforming is often implemented by using digital beamforming and analog beamforming. In order to weaken the requirement for digital baseband processing capacity in the beamforming process, in the embodiment of the present application, the air interface beam reconfigurable technology can be used in the analog domain, the adjustable parasitic structure loaded on the air interface is used to control the radiation phase of each unit, the specific radiation phase or codebook distribution of the antenna air interface is realized, the beamforming is directly implemented at the analog end, the sidelobe suppression, zero filling, and the like are realized, and the MIMO operation amount and energy consumption at the digital end are reduced.

[0051] In an implementation manner, a distance between the first air interface electrically tunable coating layer and a surface of the N horizontal column antenna units is less than a preset value. Optionally, other connection forms and beam shapes can be obtained by changing the interval of the vibrator connected with the power divider; for example, in Figure 5 , D1 and D5 are connected with two different polarization passive channels of the first column and the third column vibrators through 1to2 power dividers respectively; D4 and D8 are connected with two different polarization passive channels of the fourth column and the sixth column vibrators through 1to2 power dividers respectively, the two columns of vibrators connected with each power divider are designed specially to realize the built-in phase difference of 180°; at this time, the two columns of vibrators connected with the channels of D1, D4, D5, and D8 radiate 2 beams, and the vibrators connected with the channels of D2, D3, D6, and D7 radiate a conventional single beam.

[0052] Optionally, a distance between the first air interface electrically tunable coating layer and a surface of the N horizontal column antenna units is less than a first preset value, for example, less than 0.25 wavelengths. For example, the air interface parasitic metal unit structure of the first air interface electrically tunable coating layer can be located above the multi-channel dual-polarized antenna array, and the height from the surface of the antenna array is not more than 0.25 wavelengths.

[0053] In an implementation manner, Figure 6A structure diagram of another base station antenna provided by the embodiment of the application is shown, and the base station antenna can also include: X vertical column antenna units 601, a second power divider 602, a third power divider 603, a phase shifter 604, and a fourth power divider 605, where X is an integer greater than 1. In this embodiment, the multiple column antenna units include: X vertical column antenna units 601, the combining module includes: the second power divider 602 and the third power divider 603, and the base station antenna further includes: the phase shifter 604 and the fourth power divider 605.

[0054] The second power divider 602 is configured to combine X1 vertical column antenna units 601 in the X vertical column antenna units 601 into a first subarray unit, where X1 is an integer greater than 0. The third power divider 603 is configured to combine X2 vertical column antenna units 601 in the X vertical column antenna units 601 into a second subarray unit, where the X2 vertical column antenna units 601 are vertical column antenna units 601 in the X vertical column antenna units 601 except the X1 vertical column antenna units 601, and X2 is an integer greater than 0. The phase shifter 604 is connected with the third power divider 603 and is configured to control a phase difference of signals between the first subarray unit and the second subarray unit. The fourth power divider 605 is connected with the second power divider 602 and the phase shifter 604 and is configured to combine the first subarray unit and the second subarray unit.

[0055] In the embodiment of the application, referring to Figure 6 X1 vertical column antenna units 601 in the X vertical column antenna units 601 are combined into a first subarray unit by the second power divider 602, X2 vertical column antenna units 601 in the X vertical column antenna units 601 are combined into a second subarray unit by the third power divider 603, the phase shifter 604 is connected with the third power divider 603 to control a phase difference of signals between the first subarray unit and the second subarray unit, the pointing direction of the vertical plane beam is switched, the coverage range of the vertical beam is controlled, and the first subarray unit and the second subarray unit are combined by the fourth power divider 605 connected with the second power divider 602 and the phase shifter 604.

[0056] In an implementation manner, the switching speed of the phase shifter 604 is in the order of nanoseconds.

[0057] When the number of antenna elements increases, the vertical plane beam is narrowed, and the vertical coverage range is also sharply reduced. The phase shifter 604 with a switching speed in the order of nanoseconds is used for rapid scanning of the vertical plane beam to compensate for the problem of insufficient coverage caused by beam narrowing, and the speed switching of the vertical beam in the order of nanoseconds is realized.

[0058] In one implementation, the phase shifter 604 includes a digital phase shifter. Of course, it is not limited to this. In practical applications, other phase shifters besides digital phase shifters can also be used, as long as their switching speed can meet the requirements.

[0059] Optionally, the phase shifter 604 can also be made of variable materials such as liquid crystal or graphene.

[0060] In one implementation, the digital phase shifter 604 includes an electronic phase-shifting structure controlled by a photodiode (PIN).

[0061] The phase gradient of the output port can be changed by controlling the state of the PIN diode.

[0062] In this embodiment, the number of vertical column antenna elements in the base station antenna is increased, and a fast phase shifter is used for vertical subarray combining to achieve circuit expansion; an air interface electrically tunable overlay is applied above each antenna element to achieve air interface expansion. In related technologies, a typical vertical column antenna uses three antenna elements combined into one subarray element using a power divider, and then uses a mechanical phase shifter to combine two subarrays. The radio frequency signal is transmitted from left to right from the radio frequency input port through the power divider, the mechanical phase shifter, and another power divider to the antenna port. The mechanical phase shifter modulates the phase difference between the signals of the two subarrays to achieve vertical beam pointing switching and control the coverage area of ​​the vertical beam. To improve antenna gain, in this embodiment, the number of vertical column antenna elements is increased, such as... Figure 6 As shown, in a vertical array antenna, six antenna elements can be combined into one subarray element using a power divider, and then two subarrays can be combined using a digital phase shifter. Due to the increase in the number of antenna elements, the vertical beam narrows significantly, and the vertical coverage area is drastically reduced. Therefore, fast beam scanning technology is needed in the vertical plane to compensate for the insufficient coverage caused by the narrowed beam. Thus, a digital phase shifter is used for circuit combining and expansion, and by controlling the phase of the digital phase shifter, nanosecond-level speed switching of the vertical beam can be achieved.

[0063] The phase distribution of a digital phase shifter is a gradient distribution, which can cause some beams to fail to switch during the switching process. Therefore, by combining air interface beam reconfiguration technology with electrically tunable overlay loading at the antenna air interface, the antenna radiation phase can be further controlled to achieve a continuous phase-shifting distribution, thereby enhancing vertical scanning and coverage capabilities. Thus, in one implementation, such as... Figure 6 As shown, the base station antenna may further include a second air interface electrically tunable overlay 606, disposed above the X vertical column antenna elements.

[0064] The second air interface electrically tunable coating layer 606 is loaded above the X vertical column antenna units 601, which solves the problem that part of the beams cannot be switched in the switching process caused by the discontinuous gradient phase distribution of the digital phase shifter. By loading the second air interface electrically tunable coating layer above the antenna units, the antenna radiation phase can be controlled, the phase shift phase continuous distribution is realized, and the vertical scanning and coverage capability is enhanced.

[0065] In the above implementation manner, on the signal propagation path, the DC power supply bias value in the microwave diode in the designed air interface electrically tunable coating layer is adjusted to realize the phase change φ1-φn of the incident wave signal when passing through the coating layer. It can be understood that the electromagnetic wave signal emitted by the vertical column antenna unit has an initial phase value at the beginning, and then the capacitance value of the microwave diode in the second air interface electrically tunable coating layer is changed by changing the bias DC voltage to control the second air interface electrically tunable coating layer, so that the phase value of the electromagnetic wave signal emitted by the vertical column antenna unit is changed from the initial phase value to the required deflected phase value, realizing the phase shift phase continuous distribution.

[0066] In an implementation manner, the second air interface electrically tunable coating layer includes an air interface parasitic metal unit structure, and the air interface parasitic metal unit structure includes a microwave diode.

[0067] On the signal propagation path, the DC power supply bias value in the microwave diode in the second air interface electrically tunable coating layer is adjusted to realize the phase change of the incident wave signal when passing through the second air interface electrically tunable coating layer.

[0068] In an implementation manner, the distance between the second air interface electrically tunable coating layer and the surface of the X vertical column antenna units is less than a second preset value, for example, the second preset value can be the same as the first preset value described above. Optionally, the distance between the second air interface electrically tunable coating layer and the surface of the X vertical column antenna units is less than 0.25 wavelengths.

[0069] In an implementation manner, X is greater than a third preset value, for example, X can be greater than 6, for example, X=8.

[0070] In an implementation manner, the capacitance value of the microwave diode in the first air interface electrically tunable coating layer and / or the second air interface electrically tunable coating layer is adjustable, so that the antenna air interface of the base station antenna has a specific radiation phase or a specific codebook distribution.

[0071] Optionally, the antenna beam can be specially shaped, for example, zero padding is used to improve the area with weak signal under the base station tower, solve the coverage problem of the blind area; the sidelobe suppression is used to optimize the antenna sidelobe, so as to reduce the same frequency, adjacent frequency and inter-area interference caused by the too large sidelobe.

[0072] To reduce the demand for active resources, the requirements for digital baseband processing capabilities are weakened during the special beamforming process of the antenna. In the analog domain, air interface beam reconfiguration technology is employed. This utilizes the adjustable parasitic structure loaded over the air interface to control the radiation phase of each element, achieving a specific radiation phase or codebook distribution at the antenna air interface, such as... Figure 7 As shown, beamforming is performed directly at the analog end.

[0073] After circuit expansion, an electrically tunable overlay structure is applied to the antenna array air interface to control the adjustable device states of the parasitic structures above each antenna element. For example, by changing the capacitance of the varactor diode and the on / off state of the switching transistor, the radiation phase of each antenna element is controlled, forming a specific radiation phase distribution or codebook. This directly achieves sidelobe suppression in the analog domain. Figure 8 As shown, zero-point filling is as follows Figure 9 As shown, beamforming in the analog domain is achieved, reducing the computational load and energy consumption of the digital antenna.

[0074] It should be noted that although the above embodiments are described using N horizontal column antenna elements and X vertical column antenna elements as examples, they are not limited to this. In one embodiment, the base station antenna can use N horizontal column antenna elements and X vertical column antenna elements. Figure 6 The antenna structure shown is used in the horizontal column. Figure 1 The antenna structure shown is illustrated. In this embodiment, the number of both vertical and horizontal antenna elements in the base station antenna is increased. On one hand, digital phase shifters and power dividers are used to combine the vertical antenna elements; on the other hand, specialized vibrators and power dividers are used to combine the horizontal antenna elements, achieving circuit expansion. Furthermore, an electrically tunable overlay is added above each vertical and horizontal antenna element to achieve air interface expansion, thereby improving antenna gain and enhancing coverage. Without increasing the number of active channels, by combining phase shifters, specialized vibrators, and power dividers, a novel passive performance-enhanced base station antenna architecture can be achieved through a combination of circuit expansion and air interface expansion.

[0075] This application also provides a base station, which includes the base station antenna provided in the various embodiments described above.

[0076] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and all of these forms are within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A base station antenna, characterized by, The base station antenna comprises: a plurality of columns of antenna units; a combining module configured to combine at least two columns of antenna units in the plurality of columns of antenna units; a target air interface electrically tunable coating layer arranged above the plurality of columns of antenna units, the target air interface electrically tunable coating layer being configured to adjust at least one of an amplitude and a phase of a radiation field of the base station antenna, wherein the target air interface electrically tunable coating layer comprises at least one microwave diode, and by adjusting an input voltage of the microwave diode, a capacitance value of the microwave diode is adjusted so that an antenna air interface of the base station antenna is a specific radiation phase or is distributed according to a specific codebook; wherein the plurality of columns of antenna units comprises N horizontal columns of antenna units, N being an integer greater than 2; the base station antenna further comprises M radio frequency channels, M being an integer greater than 2 and M being less than N; the combining module comprises a combining expansion network configured to combine at least two first horizontal columns of antenna units in the N horizontal columns of antenna units and connect the combined at least two first horizontal columns of antenna units to the M radio frequency channels; the target air interface electrically tunable coating layer comprises a first air interface electrically tunable coating layer arranged above the N horizontal columns of antenna units; a 180° phase difference exists between radiation field phases of two first horizontal columns of antenna units in the combined at least two first horizontal columns of antenna units, feeding positions of the two first horizontal columns of antenna units are mirror images of each other, or feeding balun structure information of the two first horizontal columns of antenna units is opposite, or directions of radiation arms of antenna elements of the two first horizontal columns of antenna units are opposite; a distance between the first air interface electrically tunable coating layer and a surface of the N horizontal columns of antenna units is less than a first preset value, and the first preset value is 0.25 wavelengths.

2. The base station antenna of Claim 1, wherein, the combining expansion network comprises (N-M) first power dividers, wherein one first power divider combines a plurality of horizontal columns of antenna units in the N horizontal columns of antenna units and connects the combined plurality of horizontal columns of antenna units to one radio frequency channel, and horizontal columns of antenna units combined by different first power dividers are not completely the same.

3. The base station antenna of Claim 1, wherein, the first air interface electrically tunable coating layer comprises an air interface parasitic metal unit structure, and the air interface parasitic metal unit structure comprises a microwave diode.

4. The base station antenna of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: the plurality of columns of antenna units comprises X vertical columns of antenna units, X being an integer greater than 1; the combining module comprises a second power divider and a third power divider, the second power divider is configured to combine X1 vertical columns of antenna units in the X vertical columns of antenna units into a first subarray unit, X1 being an integer greater than 0, and the third power divider is configured to combine X2 vertical columns of antenna units in the X vertical columns of antenna units into a second subarray unit, the X2 vertical columns of antenna units being vertical columns of antenna units other than the X1 vertical columns of antenna units in the X vertical columns of antenna units, X2 being an integer greater than 0; the base station antenna further comprises: a phase shifter connected to the third power divider and configured to control a phase difference of signals between the first subarray unit and the second subarray unit. A fourth power divider is connected with the second power divider and the phase shifter, and is configured to combine the first subarray unit and the second subarray unit.

5. The base station antenna of Claim 4, wherein, The phase shifter comprises a digital phase shifter.

6. The base station antenna of Claim 5, wherein, The digital phase shifter comprises a PIN tube controlled electronic phase shift structure.

7. The base station antenna of Claim 4, wherein, Further comprising: A second air interface electrically adjustable coating layer is arranged above the X vertical column antenna units.

8. The base station antenna of Claim 7, wherein, The second air interface electrically adjustable coating layer comprises an air interface parasitic metal unit structure, and the air interface parasitic metal unit structure comprises a microwave diode.

9. The base station antenna of Claim 8, wherein, A distance between the second air interface electrically adjustable coating layer and a surface of the X vertical column antenna units is less than a second preset value.

10. The base station antenna of Claim 4, wherein, The X is greater than a third preset value.

11. A base station, characterized by A base station antenna comprising any one of claims 1 to 10.

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