Metamaterial unit, metamaterial plate, multi-sector antenna and communication equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a metamaterial unit, a metamaterial plate, a multi-sector antenna and communication equipment, and the metamaterial unit is characterized in that the metamaterial unit comprises a dielectric layer; the first metal layer is arranged on the first surface of the dielectric layer, the first metal layer comprises a metal ring and a metal sheet, the metal sheet is arranged on the inner side of the metal ring, and a gap is formed between the metal sheet and the metal ring. The metamaterial unit disclosed by the invention has the characteristics of low-frequency reflection and high-frequency transmission, and when the metamaterial unit is applied to a multi-sector antenna, the high-frequency horizontal beam width can be effectively increased under the condition that the low-frequency horizontal beam width is not influenced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of wireless technology, and in particular to a metamaterial unit, a metamaterial board, a multi-sector antenna and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] The multi-sector antenna is composed of a multi-sector structure composed of multiple directional antennas arranged in a ring. Each sector contains two types of antenna elements, high frequency and low frequency. The high frequency is at the bottom and the low frequency is at the top. A pure metal side baffle is placed between adjacent sectors. The side baffle plays a role in reducing the horizontal beam width of the antenna and isolating adjacent sector antennas. Due to space limitations, the high- and low-frequency antenna elements must be placed in the same column and share the side baffle. Therefore, the side baffle is relatively high relative to the high-frequency element, resulting in a very narrow horizontal beam width of the high-frequency element, causing a large high-frequency beam roll-off. Therefore, the gain at the intersection of different sectors is relatively low, and the gain fluctuation is large relative to the main beam. If the height of the side baffle is reduced, although the horizontal beam width of the high-frequency element can be increased, the horizontal beam width of the low-frequency element will be further increased, and the gain will decrease. It can be seen that the current technology cannot keep the horizontal beam width of the high- and low-frequency elements in the optimal state at the same time. Summary of the invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a metamaterial unit, a metamaterial plate, a multi-sector antenna and a communication device, which have the characteristics of low-frequency reflection and high-frequency transmission, and can effectively increase the high-frequency horizontal beam width without affecting the low-frequency horizontal beam width.

[0004] In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention provides a metamaterial unit, including:

[0005] dielectric layer;

[0006] The first metal layer is arranged on the first surface of the dielectric layer, and the first metal layer comprises a metal ring and a metal sheet, wherein the metal sheet is arranged on the inner side of the metal ring and forms a gap with the metal ring.

[0007] As an improvement of the above solution, the first metal layer is a symmetrical structure, and the size of the metal ring is the same as that of the dielectric layer.

[0008] As an improvement of the above solution, the metamaterial unit further includes:

[0009] The second metal layer is disposed on the second surface of the dielectric layer, and the structure of the second metal layer is the same as that of the first metal layer.

[0010] As an improvement of the above solution, the metamaterial unit further includes:

[0011] A diode is arranged between the metal ring and the metal sheet.

[0012] As an improvement of the above solution, the diode is a PIN diode.

[0013] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a metamaterial plate, which includes a plurality of metamaterial units as described in any one of the above items.

[0014] Furthermore, the plurality of metamaterial units are arranged in multiple rows and columns.

[0015] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a multi-sector antenna, the multi-sector antenna comprising a plurality of metamaterial plates as described in any one of the above items and a plurality of antenna units;

[0016] Wherein, the antenna unit includes a high-frequency antenna element and a low-frequency antenna element, and the high-frequency antenna element is arranged below the low-frequency antenna element;

[0017] Each of the antenna units forms a single-sector structure, a plurality of the antenna units are arranged in a ring to form a multi-sector structure, and the metamaterial plate is disposed between two adjacent sectors.

[0018] Furthermore, when the metamaterial unit of the metamaterial plate includes diodes, the number of the diodes that are turned on is inversely proportional to the horizontal beam width of the high-frequency antenna element.

[0019] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication device, wherein the communication device comprises the multi-sector antenna as described in any one of the above items.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the metamaterial unit, metamaterial plate, multi-sector antenna and communication equipment provided by the embodiments of the present invention have the beneficial effects of: by designing a metamaterial unit with low-frequency reflection and high-frequency transmission, including: a dielectric layer; a first metal layer, the first metal layer is arranged on the first surface of the dielectric layer, and the first metal layer includes a metal ring and a metal sheet, the metal sheet is arranged on the inner side of the metal ring and forms a gap with the metal ring. The metamaterial unit provided by the embodiments of the present invention has the characteristics of low-frequency reflection and high-frequency transmission, has high reflection and low transmission properties in the low-frequency working frequency band, and has high transmission and low reflection properties in the high-frequency working frequency band. When applied to a multi-sector antenna, it can effectively increase the high-frequency horizontal beam width without affecting the low-frequency horizontal beam width, thereby improving the gain of the sector coverage boundary and improving the stability of signal transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of a metamaterial unit provided by the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 is a transmission and reflection curve diagram of a preferred embodiment of a metamaterial unit provided by the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of another preferred embodiment of a metamaterial unit provided by the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 is a structural schematic diagram of another preferred embodiment of a metamaterial unit provided by the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 is a transmission and reflection curve diagram of another preferred embodiment of a metamaterial unit provided by the present invention;

[0026] Figure 6 is a structural diagram of a preferred embodiment of a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention;

[0027] Figure 7 It is a structural diagram of a single sector in a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention;

[0028] Figure 8 is a side view of a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention;

[0029] Fig. 9 It is a multi-sector antenna in the prior art that uses a single-sector high and low frequency directional pattern of a pure metal baffle;

[0030] Fig.10 It is a single-sector high and low frequency directional pattern of a preferred embodiment of a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention;

[0031] Fig.11 is a far-field pattern of a single sector of another preferred embodiment of a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention;

[0032] Fig.12 This is a directional diagram of another preferred embodiment of a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention when the bottom layer diode is turned on (upper) and the middle and lower layer diodes are turned on (lower). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] 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.

[0034] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0035] In the description of this application, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first", "second", "third", etc. may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the feature. In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0036] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in the present invention have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art. The terms used in the specification of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood by specific circumstances.

[0037] Example 1

[0038] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 1 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of a metamaterial unit provided by the present invention. The metamaterial unit comprises:

[0039] Dielectric layer 1;

[0040] The first metal layer 2 is disposed on the first surface of the dielectric layer 1 , and the first metal layer 2 includes a metal ring 21 and a metal sheet 22 . The metal sheet 22 is disposed on the inner side of the metal ring 21 and forms a gap with the metal ring 21 .

[0041] Specifically, the embodiment of the present invention designs a metamaterial unit with low-frequency reflection and high-frequency transmission, including a dielectric layer 1 and a first metal layer 2. The first metal layer 2 is arranged on the first surface of the dielectric layer 1, and the first metal layer 2 includes a metal ring 21 and a metal sheet 22. The metal sheet 22 is arranged on the inner side of the metal ring 21 and forms a gap with the metal ring 21. Preferably, the first metal layer 2 is a symmetrical structure, and the size of the metal ring 21 is the same as that of the dielectric layer 1. Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2It is a transmission and reflection curve diagram of a preferred embodiment of a metamaterial unit provided by the present invention. Figure 2 The darker color is the transmission curve, and the lighter color is the reflection curve. It can be seen that the metamaterial unit structure has high reflection and low transmission properties in the low-frequency working band, and low reflection and high transmission properties in the high-frequency working band. Therefore, the metamaterial unit is arrayed to replace the traditional pure metal baffle of the multi-sector antenna, which can effectively increase the high-frequency horizontal beam width without affecting the low-frequency horizontal beam width.

[0042] Example 2

[0043] In another preferred embodiment, the metamaterial unit further comprises:

[0044] The second metal layer 3 is disposed on the second surface of the dielectric layer 1 , and the structure of the second metal layer 3 is the same as that of the first metal layer 2 .

[0045] For details, please refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another preferred embodiment of a metamaterial unit provided by the present invention. The metamaterial unit in the embodiment of the present invention further includes a second metal layer 3, which is disposed on the second surface of the dielectric layer 1, and the structure of the second metal layer 3 is the same as that of the first metal layer 2, that is, the upper and lower surfaces of the dielectric layer 1 are both provided with metal layers of the same structure.

[0046] Example 3

[0047] In yet another preferred embodiment, the metamaterial unit further comprises:

[0048] The diode 4 is disposed between the metal ring 21 and the metal sheet 22 .

[0049] For details, please refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 2 is a schematic diagram of another preferred embodiment of a metamaterial unit provided by the present invention. The metamaterial unit in the embodiment of the present invention further includes a diode 4, which is disposed between the metal ring 21 and the metal sheet 22 and is electrically connected to the metal ring 21 and the metal sheet 22. Preferably, the diode 4 is a PIN diode. Figure 5 , Figure 5 It is a transmission and reflection curve diagram of another preferred embodiment of a metamaterial unit provided by the present invention. Figure 5 The darker color indicates the diode is in the on state, and the lighter color indicates the diode is in the off state. It can be seen that in the metamaterial unit structure, by adjusting the opening and closing of the diode, the reflection and transmission of the high-frequency antenna oscillator's beam can be switched, thereby controlling the 3dB horizontal beam width of the high-frequency antenna oscillator.

[0050] Example 4

[0051] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a metamaterial plate, the metamaterial plate comprising a plurality of metamaterial units as described in any of the above embodiments. Preferably, the plurality of metamaterial units are arranged in multiple rows and columns.

[0052] Specifically, the embodiment of the present invention adopts the metamaterial unit described in any one of the above embodiments 1 to 3 to form a metamaterial plate, and the metamaterial plate includes a plurality of metamaterial units, and the plurality of metamaterial units are arranged in multiple rows and columns.

[0053] Example 5

[0054] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a multi-sector antenna, the multi-sector antenna comprising a plurality of metamaterial plates as described in the above embodiment 4 and a plurality of antenna units;

[0055] Wherein, the antenna unit includes a high-frequency antenna element and a low-frequency antenna element, and the high-frequency antenna element is arranged below the low-frequency antenna element;

[0056] Each of the antenna units forms a single-sector structure, a plurality of the antenna units are arranged in a ring to form a multi-sector structure, and the metamaterial plate is disposed between two adjacent sectors.

[0057] For details, please refer to Figure 6 to Figure 7 , Figure 6 is a structural diagram of a preferred embodiment of a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention, Figure 7 is a structural diagram of a single sector in a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention, Figure 8 It is a side view of a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention. In an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-sector antenna includes multiple metamaterial plates and multiple antenna units. Each antenna unit includes a high-frequency antenna vibrator and a low-frequency antenna vibrator, and the high-frequency antenna vibrator is arranged below the low-frequency antenna vibrator. Each antenna unit forms a single-sector structure, and multiple antenna units are arranged in a ring to form a multi-sector structure, and the metamaterial plate is arranged between two adjacent sectors. The multi-sector antenna is a symmetrical structure. Exemplarily, the multi-sector structure is composed of 6 antenna units with the same structure, with 360° horizontal full coverage.

[0058] It should be noted that the multi-sector antenna host has a built-in 5G module, which can dynamically demodulate the downlink signal received by each sector antenna. The system adaptively selects the best sector to work by comparing the quality of the base station signal received by each sector antenna. Since it is necessary to directional select the coverage service sector, baffles need to be designed between sectors to avoid mutual interference.

[0059] After the concept of smart ocean was proposed, the demand for marine information construction has become increasingly urgent. At present, the satellite communications used by ships have problems such as limited bandwidth and expensive charges. For non-ocean-going ships operating in near- and medium-sea areas, 5G is undoubtedly a more cost-effective near- and medium-sea communication coverage solution. However, complex factors such as rainy and foggy weather, terminal height, seawater medium, and wave height can cause the 5G signal on the sea surface to be extremely unstable, which has a bad impact on the network quality. At the same time, since users in the sea area mainly conduct communication services in the cabin, the ship's hull is seriously damaged, and the signal shielding can reach more than 10dB.

[0060] Due to the particularity of ships operating at sea, they usually only face the shore-based base station in one direction, and the position and orientation of ships at sea are usually changing dynamically. The 5G communication equipment of shipborne antennas is to meet the needs of accessing cellular mobile communication services in the mid- and near-shore areas, ensuring that the antenna can still guarantee the best performance after the relative position of the ship and the base station changes. Therefore, multi-sector antennas can be used for shipborne antennas in mid- and near-shore areas. For a single sector of a shipborne antenna, maintaining a reasonable horizontal beam width is conducive to continuous and stable signal reception.

[0061] By using the antenna solution of this embodiment on board, connecting the antenna to products such as CPE, and introducing the signal into the cabin, the maritime user experience of the 5G 700M and 2.6G frequency bands will be greatly improved. It can be widely used for various types of ships of ordinary fishing boats, individual users, maritime bureaus, offshore wind power plants and other industry customers, and can be used in various scenarios such as marine aquaculture, sea inspections, daily entertainment, etc., with broad market development space and commercial value.

[0062] Example 6

[0063] The metamaterial board in the multi-sector antenna of the embodiment of the present invention is composed of the metamaterial unit of embodiment 1. Fig. 9 and Fig.10 , Fig. 9 It is a multi-sector antenna in the prior art that uses a single-sector high and low frequency directional pattern of a pure metal baffle. Fig.10 This is a single-sector high and low frequency directional diagram of a preferred embodiment of a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention. Fig. 9 , Fig.10 From the table 1 below, we can draw the following conclusions: the gain and horizontal beam width of the low-frequency radiation patterns of the two baffles are not much different. However, in the high-frequency band, the horizontal beam width of the metamaterial baffle is significantly widened. Although the maximum gain inevitably decreases due to the gain of the beam width, the gain in the overlapping area of ​​the sector coverage is significantly improved. In the spatial range corresponding to the sector, the antenna gain changes stably.

[0064] Table 1 Comparison of single sector radiation patterns of pure metal baffle and metamaterial baffle 1

[0065]

[0066] Example 7

[0067] The metamaterial board in the multi-sector antenna of the embodiment of the present invention is composed of the metamaterial unit of embodiment 2. Fig.11 , Fig.11 FIG. 1 is a far-field pattern of a single sector of another preferred embodiment of a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention. Fig.11 From Table 2 below, we can draw the following conclusions: the average 3dB horizontal beamwidth of the metamaterial baffle is 65°, which is larger than the pure metal baffle and smaller than the metamaterial baffle in Example 6. The maximum gain and the sector overlap region gain are also located between the two.

[0068] Table 2 Comparison of single sector radiation patterns of pure metal baffle and metamaterial baffle

[0069]

[0070] Example 8

[0071] The metamaterial board in the multi-sector antenna of the embodiment of the present invention is composed of the metamaterial unit of embodiment 3, such as Figure 7 As shown in FIG. 1 , a metamaterial baffle is composed of 3x17 metamaterial units. Therefore, the horizontal beam width of the high-frequency antenna element can be controlled by controlling the number of on-off diodes of the metamaterial unit. Fig.12 , Fig.12 This is a directional diagram of another preferred embodiment of a multi-sector antenna provided by the present invention when the bottom diode is turned on (upper) and the middle and lower diodes are turned on (lower). Fig.12 From Table 3 below, we can draw the following conclusions: when all the diodes of the metamaterial baffle are turned off (state 1), only the bottom layer is turned on (state 2), and the middle and bottom layers are turned on (state 3), the 3dB horizontal beamwidths are 73°, 64°, and 51°, respectively, and the maximum gain gradually increases, that is, the number of diodes turned on is inversely proportional to the horizontal beamwidth of the high-frequency antenna oscillator.

[0072] Table 3 Comparison of three state directional diagram data

[0073]

[0074] This embodiment can realize the switching between high frequency and high transmission and low transmission under the condition of unchanged low frequency and high reflection, and can realize three-level regulation of horizontal beam width. When the ship is in the open sea, the signal attenuation is more serious, and the beam width can be narrowed to increase the maximum gain, so that the ship can be connected with the shore-based base station; when the ship is in the near sea, the signal attenuation is less, and the beam width can be increased to increase the antenna gain in the sector edge area to achieve a more stable signal connection.

[0075] Example 9

[0076] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication device, wherein the communication device includes the multi-sector antenna as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0077] The embodiment of the present invention provides a metamaterial unit, a metamaterial plate, a multi-sector antenna and a communication device. By designing a metamaterial unit with low-frequency reflection and high-frequency transmission, the metamaterial unit includes: a dielectric layer; a first metal layer, the first metal layer is arranged on the first surface of the dielectric layer, and the first metal layer includes a metal ring and a metal sheet, the metal sheet is arranged on the inner side of the metal ring and forms a gap with the metal ring. The metamaterial unit provided by the embodiment of the present invention has the characteristics of low-frequency reflection and high-frequency transmission, has high reflection and low transmission properties in the low-frequency working frequency band, and has high transmission and low reflection properties in the high-frequency working frequency band. When applied to a multi-sector antenna, it can effectively increase the high-frequency horizontal beam width without affecting the low-frequency horizontal beam width, thereby improving the gain of the sector coverage boundary and improving the stability of signal transmission.

[0078] The above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that a person skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications without departing from the principle of the present invention. These improvements and modifications are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A metamaterial unit, characterized in that: include: dielectric layer; The first metal layer is arranged on the first surface of the dielectric layer, and the first metal layer includes a metal ring and a metal sheet. The metal sheet is arranged on the inner side of the metal ring and forms a gap with the metal ring.

2. The metamaterial unit according to claim 1, wherein The first metal layer has a symmetrical structure, and the size of the metal ring is the same as that of the dielectric layer.

3. The metamaterial unit according to claim 2, wherein: The metamaterial unit further comprises: The second metal layer is disposed on the second surface of the dielectric layer, and the structure of the second metal layer is the same as that of the first metal layer.

4. The metamaterial unit according to claim 2, wherein: The metamaterial unit further comprises: A diode is provided between the metal ring and the metal sheet.

5. The metamaterial unit according to claim 4, wherein: The diode is a PIN diode.

6. A metamaterial plate, characterized in that: The metamaterial plate includes a plurality of metamaterial units according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The metamaterial plate according to claim 6, wherein: The plurality of metamaterial units are arranged in multiple rows and columns.

8. A multi-sector antenna, characterized in that: The multi-sector antenna comprises a plurality of metamaterial plates according to claim 6 or 7 and a plurality of antenna units; The antenna unit includes a high-frequency antenna element and a low-frequency antenna element, and the high-frequency antenna element is arranged below the low-frequency antenna element; Each of the antenna units forms a single-sector structure, a plurality of the antenna units are arranged in a ring to form a multi-sector structure, and the metamaterial plate is arranged between two adjacent sectors.

9. The multi-sector antenna according to claim 8, wherein: When the metamaterial units of the metamaterial plate include diodes, the number of the diodes that are turned on is inversely proportional to the horizontal beam width of the high-frequency antenna element.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises the multi-sector antenna according to claim 8 or 9.

Images