Amplitude and phase control unit, antenna, system, device, method and phased array architecture
By adjusting the amplitude ratio and phase difference between ports through the amplitude and phase control unit, the high sidelobe problem of phased array antennas during large-angle scanning is solved, realizing high gain and low sidelobe wide-angle scanning, which is suitable for wireless communication and radar detection fields.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202411247533.X
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-09-06
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-18
- Estimated Expiration
- 2044-09-06
AI Technical Summary
Existing phased array antennas suffer from high sidelobes when scanning at large angles, which affects the radiation efficiency and signal coverage of communication systems.
An amplitude and phase control unit is used to control the radiation null position and main beam direction of the antenna by adjusting the amplitude ratio and phase difference between the ports, thereby constructing an active phased array architecture to achieve high gain and low sidelobes during wide-angle scanning.
When scanning at large angles, it improves the main beam gain of the antenna array, reduces the sidelobe level of the array pattern, and does not require the use of active devices, resulting in high total radiation efficiency and a compact design.
Smart Images

Figure CN119275577B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the fields of wireless communication, radar detection, and electronic countermeasures, and in particular to an amplitude and phase control unit, an antenna array, a radio frequency front-end system, a communication device, a unit-level amplitude and phase control method, and an active phased array architecture. Background Technology
[0002] In modern wireless communication technology, phased array antennas need to have a wide beam scanning range to ensure stable communication quality in different directions. However, phased arrays inevitably exhibit high sidelobes when scanning at large angles, which interferes with normal signal reception and affects the overall system efficiency. Therefore, phased arrays with wide-angle scanning capability and low sidelobes are beneficial for communication systems to achieve large signal coverage, stable data transmission, and improve system radiation efficiency.
[0003] Currently, many scholars have conducted research on wide-angle scanning phased arrays using various methods, including the use of wide-beam elements, heterogeneous beam elements, and pattern reconfiguration techniques. The first existing approach widens the beamwidth of antenna elements by using parasitic stubs, achieving wide-angle scanning using wide-beam antenna elements; however, this method leads to a decrease in the radiation gain of the phased array and high sidelobes when scanning at large angles. The second existing approach uses various heterogeneous beam elements to simulate the characteristics of curved arrays to construct the phased array; however, this method also requires sacrificing the gain of the phased array, resulting in problems such as excessively low array normal gain and high sidelobes. The third existing approach uses active switching devices such as PIN diodes or varactor diodes to reconfigure the radiation pattern of the phased array; however, this method introduces additional losses, reducing the array's radiation efficiency. Summary of the Invention
[0004] In order to at least partially solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art, the present invention aims to provide an amplitude and phase control unit, an antenna array, a radio frequency front-end system, a communication device, a unit-level amplitude and phase control method, and an active phased array architecture.
[0005] The first technical solution adopted in this invention is:
[0006] An amplitude and phase control unit, comprising:
[0007] The first patch is excited by the first port;
[0008] The second patch is excited by the second port; both the first patch and the second patch are disposed on the first plane and both operate in quasi-TM01 mode;
[0009] Metal ground, set on the second plane;
[0010] A plurality of first shorting posts and a plurality of second shorting posts are provided, wherein when the first shorting posts are located on the left side of the first patch, the second shorting posts are located on the right side of the second patch; when the first shorting posts are located on the right side of the first patch, the second shorting posts are located on the left side of the second patch; the right side of the first patch is opposite to the left side of the second patch.
[0011] Specifically, as the amplitude ratio P1 / P2 of the first-port excitation and the second-port excitation gradually increases from 1, the radiation null position of the amplitude-phase control unit will gradually shift towards a positive angle; when the phase difference between the first-port and second-port excitations... As the angle changes from 0° to 180°, the main beam of the amplitude-phase control unit will gradually deflect from the end-fire direction to the side-fire direction. (See also...) Figure 1 Positive angle refers to the positive direction of the x-axis.
[0012] Furthermore, by simultaneously adjusting the amplitude ratio P1 / P2 and the phase difference... This allows for the simultaneous control of the radiation null position and main beam direction of the amplitude and phase control unit.
[0013] Furthermore, the excitation forms of the first port and the second port include direct-connect excitation or coupled excitation.
[0014] Furthermore, one end of the first shorting post is connected to the first patch, and the other end is connected to the metal ground; one end of the second shorting post is connected to the second patch, and the other end is connected to the metal ground. It should be noted that while the patch and metal ground are shorted via the shorting post, the top of the shorting post is not limited to the first and second planes; that is, in some embodiments, the shorting post can pass through the first and / or second planes.
[0015] Furthermore, the metal ground has a coupling gap; the position of the coupling gap matches the position of the two patches;
[0016] The amplitude and phase control unit further includes a first feed line and a second feed line disposed on a third plane, wherein the position of the first feed line matches the position of the first patch, and the position of the second feed line matches the position of the second patch;
[0017] The second plane is located between the first plane and the third plane.
[0018] Furthermore, the main beam of the first patch points to the left of the normal in space, and the main beam of the second patch points to the right of the normal in space; the normal is located on the midline between the first patch and the second patch;
[0019] The shape of the first patch may be the same as or different from the shape of the second patch;
[0020] The number of the first short-circuit posts may be the same as or different from the number of the second short-circuit posts.
[0021] The second technical solution adopted in this invention is:
[0022] A design method for an amplitude-phase control unit, used to design an amplitude-phase control unit as described above, includes the following steps:
[0023] Based on the working mode of the radiator, determine the size of the first patch and the second patch, as well as the spacing between the first patch and the second patch;
[0024] By adjusting the amplitude ratio P1 / P2 and the phase difference between the two ports This causes a corresponding change in the radiation null position and main beam direction of the amplitude phase control unit;
[0025] Where P1 is the amplitude of the first port excitation, and P2 is the amplitude of the second port excitation. The phase difference between the first port excitation and the second port excitation.
[0026] Further, determining the dimensions of the first patch and the second patch, and the spacing between the first patch and the second patch, includes:
[0027] The initial dimensions of the long sides of the first patch and the second patch are determined to be 0.25λ0-0.75λ0, the initial dimensions of the short sides of the first patch and the second patch are determined to be 0.05λ0-0.45λ0, and the initial spacing between the first patch and the second patch is determined to be less than 0.5λ0; where λ0 represents the free space wavelength corresponding to the center operating frequency f0.
[0028] The third technical solution provided by this invention is:
[0029] An antenna array, comprising:
[0030] Multiple amplitude and phase control units as described above serve as the basic units of the antenna array;
[0031] The multiple amplitude and phase control units are arranged in a preset manner to form an antenna array.
[0032] Furthermore, the antenna array can be arranged in a planar array or a curved array; multiple amplitude and phase control units can be arranged in a single row or multiple rows.
[0033] The fourth technical solution provided by this invention is:
[0034] A unit-level amplitude and phase control method for phased arrays, used to control an antenna array as described above, can simultaneously and dynamically adjust the array factor and element factor of the antenna array, including the following steps:
[0035] By controlling the phase difference Δα between adjacent amplitude and phase control units, the array factor pattern of the antenna array is made to scan in free space;
[0036] By controlling the amplitude ratio P1 / P2 and the phase difference at the two ports of each amplitude and phase control unit The element-factor radiation pattern of the basic unit of the antenna array is controlled such that the main beam direction of the element-factor radiation pattern is close to the predetermined scanning direction of the array, and the radiation null position of the element-factor radiation pattern is close to the maximum sidelobe position of the array factor of the antenna array. Ultimately, the product of the element-factor and the array factor reaches a smaller value at the maximum sidelobe position of the array factor and a larger value at the maximum scanning angle of the array factor. Therefore, during large-angle scanning, compared with an antenna array using fixed-beam antenna elements, the main beam gain of the antenna array is improved, and the sidelobe level of the array radiation pattern is reduced.
[0037] The fifth technical solution provided by this invention is:
[0038] An active phased array architecture, comprising:
[0039] There are N amplitude and phase control modules, each of which includes two ports for excitation; at least one of the N amplitude and phase control modules is implemented using the amplitude and phase control unit described above; N is an integer greater than 1.
[0040] A 2N-port amplitude and phase control network is used to control the amplitude P1 / P2 ratio and phase difference between two ports of N amplitude and phase control modules.
[0041] Furthermore, the amplitude and phase control network operates as follows:
[0042] The amplitude ratio P1 / P2 and phase difference of the two ports of the amplitude and phase control module are controlled. The method controls the element factor pattern of the basic unit of the active phased array architecture, making the main beam direction of the element factor pattern close to the preset scanning direction, and making the radiation null position of the element factor pattern close to the maximum sidelobe position of the array factor of the active phased array architecture; finally, the product of the element factor and the array factor reaches a smaller value at the maximum sidelobe position of the array factor and a larger value at the maximum scanning angle of the array factor.
[0043] The phase difference between the first ports of two adjacent amplitude and phase control modules is equal to Δα; Δα is the phase difference between adjacent amplitude and phase control modules.
[0044] The sixth technical solution provided by this invention is:
[0045] A radio frequency front-end system includes an amplitude and phase control unit as described above, or an antenna array as described above, or an active phased array architecture as described above.
[0046] The seventh technical solution provided by this invention is:
[0047] A wireless communication device includes an amplitude and phase control unit as described above, or an antenna array as described above, or an active phased array architecture as described above, or a radio frequency front-end system as described above.
[0048] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:
[0049] (1) The amplitude and phase control unit of the present invention can realize the deflection of the main beam direction of the antenna by controlling the phase difference between the ports. By constructing a phased array through the amplitude and phase control unit, the phased array can have a high gain when scanning the large-angle beam.
[0050] (2) The amplitude and phase control unit of the present invention can adjust the position of the antenna radiation null point by controlling the amplitude ratio between the control ports. The phased array is constructed by the amplitude and phase control unit, thereby reducing the sidelobe level of the array pattern when scanning at a large angle, compared with the antenna array using fixed beam antenna elements.
[0051] (3) The amplitude and phase control unit of the present invention does not require the use of active devices, has a high total radiation efficiency, and is compact in size and simple in manufacturing process, which is conducive to the integration and miniaturization of phased array. Attached Figure Description
[0052] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following description is provided with accompanying drawings of the relevant technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art. It should be understood that the accompanying drawings described below are only for the purpose of clearly illustrating some embodiments of the technical solutions of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0053] Figure 1 This is a top view of the amplitude and phase control unit provided in the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0054] Figure 2 This is a bottom view of the amplitude and phase control unit provided in the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0055] Figure 3 This is a top view of the antenna array provided in the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0056] Figure 4 The radiation pattern of the first patch and the second patch when excited separately according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0057] Figure 5 The first embodiment of the present invention provides a radiation pattern of the amplitude and phase control unit when excited with different port amplitude ratios P1 / P2.
[0058] Figure 6 The amplitude and phase control unit provided in the first embodiment of the present invention uses different port phase differences Radiation pattern during excitation.
[0059] Figure 7 The active reflection coefficient curves of the middle four elements of the antenna array provided in the first embodiment of the present invention are shown.
[0060] Figure 8 The scanning pattern of the antenna array at 28 GHz is provided in the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0061] Figure 9 Gain curves of the antenna array provided in the first embodiment of the present invention at 26-30 GHz.
[0062] Figure 10 This is a top view of the amplitude and phase control unit provided in the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0063] Figure 11 This is a top view of the antenna array provided in the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0064] Figure 12 This is a top view of the amplitude and phase control unit provided in the third embodiment of the present invention.
[0065] Figure 13 This is a top view of the amplitude and phase control unit provided in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
[0066] Figure 14 This is a diagram of an active phased array architecture provided in the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
[0067] Reference numerals: 1-First dielectric substrate, 2-First patch, 3-Second patch, 4-First shorting post, 5-Second shorting post, 6-Coupling gap, 7-First feed line, 8-Second feed line, 9-Second dielectric substrate, 10-First excitation probe, 11-Second excitation probe. Detailed Implementation
[0068] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. The step numbers in the following embodiments are set only for ease of explanation, and there is no limitation on the order between the steps. The execution order of each step in the embodiments can be adaptively adjusted according to the understanding of those skilled in the art.
[0069] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the orientation descriptions, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting this invention.
[0070] In the description of this invention, "several" means one or more, "more than" means two or more, "greater than," "less than," and "exceeding" are understood to exclude the stated number, while "above," "below," and "within" are understood to include the stated number. The use of "first" and "second" in the description is merely for distinguishing technical features and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features, or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.
[0071] In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly defined, terms such as "set up," "install," and "connect" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention in conjunction with the specific content of the technical solution.
[0072] First Embodiment
[0073] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment provides an amplitude-phase control unit, including a first patch excited by a first port and a second patch excited by a second port. Both patches are rectangular in shape and are located on opposite sides of the normal to the amplitude-phase control unit, respectively, and both operate in quasi-TM mode. 01 model;
[0074] The excitation forms for the first and second ports can include direct-connect excitation or coupled excitation. As an optional implementation, see [link to implementation details]. Figure 1 and 2The two ports are coupled and excited, connected to the first feed line 7 and the second feed line 8, and excited the first patch 2 and the second patch 3 respectively through the coupling gap 6. Specifically, the first patch 2 and the second patch 3 are printed on the upper surface of the first dielectric substrate 1, the metal ground plane with the coupling gap 4 is printed on the lower surface of the first dielectric substrate 1, and the first feed line 7 and the second feed line 8 are located on the lower surface of the second dielectric substrate 9.
[0075] A shorting post is provided between the patch and the metal ground plane. The specific number of shorting posts is not limited. When the first shorting post is located on the left side of the first patch, the second shorting post is located on the right side of the second patch; when the first shorting post is located on the right side of the first patch, the second shorting post is located on the left side of the second patch. See also Figure 1 In this embodiment, the first shorting post 4 is located at the right edge of the first patch, and the second shorting post 5 is located at the left edge of the second patch.
[0076] When the first port and the second port are excited independently, the main beams of the first patch 2 and the second patch 3 point in opposite directions relative to the normal of the amplitude-phase control unit. One points to the left of the normal in space, and the other points to the right of the normal in space. See also Figure 4 , Figure 4 It is the radiation pattern when the first patch 2 and the second patch 3 are excited separately. The radiation directions of the patches are opposite, one pointing to the 35° direction and the other pointing to the -35° direction.
[0077] See Figure 5 and Figure 6 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 The two ports of the amplitude and phase control unit are configured with different amplitude ratios P1 / P2 and different phase differences. The radiation pattern during excitation shows that when the two ports are excited with different amplitude ratios P1 / P2, the position of the radiation null point of the amplitude-phase control unit will shift; when the two ports are excited with a phase difference... During excitation, the radiation pattern of the amplitude-phase control unit will be deflected. When the port phase difference... When the port amplitude ratio P1 / P2 increases from 1 to 10, the position of the radiation null point in the radiation pattern will shift from 0° to 35°; when the amplitude ratio P1 / P2 = 1, the port phase difference... As the angle increases from 0° to 180°, the radiation pattern gradually shifts from the end-firing direction to the side-firing direction.
[0078] Regarding the aforementioned amplitude and phase control unit, this embodiment also provides a design method, including the following steps:
[0079] S101. Based on the working mode of the radiator, determine the initial dimensions of the long sides of the first patch and the second patch to be 0.25λ0-0.75λ0, determine the initial dimensions of the short sides of the first patch and the second patch to be 0.05λ0-0.45λ0, and determine that the initial spacing between the first patch and the second patch is less than 0.5λ0; where λ0 represents the free space wavelength corresponding to the center working frequency f0;
[0080] S102, By controlling P1 / P2 and the phase difference This controls the corresponding changes in the radiation null position and main beam direction of the amplitude and phase control unit.
[0081] As an optional implementation, the phase mode control unit provided in this embodiment is used as an array element, and multiple phase mode control units are arranged at preset intervals to form an antenna array. See also Figure 3 The antenna array in this embodiment includes eight phase mode control units, which are arranged linearly.
[0082] See Figure 7 , Figure 7 This refers to the active reflection coefficients of the four middle elements of the antenna array in this embodiment (i.e., the third to sixth amplitude phase control units from left to right). The operating frequency band of this embodiment is 26-30 GHz. See also... Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is the radiation pattern scanning result when the antenna array of this embodiment operates at the mid-frequency point of 28 GHz. This embodiment can achieve beam scanning within the range of -75° to +75° with a 4 dB gain drop, and maintain a low sidelobe level below -10 dB. See also... Figure 9 , Figure 9 The image shows the gain curve of the antenna array in this embodiment within the 26-30GHz operating frequency band. The actual measured gain is greater than 13.5dBi, and the gain fluctuation range is within 0.5dB.
[0083] As an optional implementation, this embodiment provides a unit-level amplitude and phase control method for the aforementioned antenna array, which can dynamically adjust the array factor and element factor of the antenna array. As shown in Table 1, the amplitude ratio P1 / P2 and phase difference of the two ports of the amplitude and phase control unit corresponding to different beam scanning angles of the array are...
[0084] Table 1. Amplitude ratio and phase difference information of the two ports of the amplitude and phase control unit of the antenna array at different scanning angles.
[0085]
[0086] The amplitude ratio P1 / P2 and phase difference of the two ports of each amplitude and phase control unit are controlled. This controls the element factor pattern of the basic unit of the antenna array, making the main beam direction of the amplitude phase control unit close to the predetermined scanning direction of the array, and making the radiation null position of the amplitude phase control unit close to the maximum sidelobe position of the array factor of the antenna array. Thus, when scanning at large angles, compared with an antenna array using fixed beam antenna elements, the main beam gain of the antenna array is increased and the sidelobe level of the array pattern is reduced.
[0087] Second Embodiment
[0088] like Figure 10 As shown, the main difference between the amplitude and phase control unit provided in this embodiment and the amplitude and phase control unit in the first embodiment is that the first patch is rectangular in shape, and the second patch is rhomboid in shape; other structures are the same. It should be noted that the patch shapes mentioned in this application are not limited to rectangular or rhomboid shapes, nor are they limited to the same shape. Radiators of other shapes operating under the working modes mentioned in this application should all fall within the protection scope of this application.
[0089] like Figure 11 As shown, based on Figure 10 The amplitude phase control unit shown in this embodiment provides an antenna array including four amplitude phase control units arranged in a 2×2 configuration. It is worth noting that the number of antenna arrays mentioned in this application is not limited to four or eight amplitude phase control units, nor is it limited to a 1×8 or 2×2 configuration. All configurations of the amplitude phase unit arrays mentioned in this application should fall within the protection scope of this application.
[0090] As an alternative implementation, the multiple amplitude and phase control units in the phased array can be arranged in a straight line or in a curved line, such as arranging multiple amplitude and phase control units in a semi-circular shape or an ellipse.
[0091] Third Embodiment
[0092] like Figure 12 As shown, the main difference between the amplitude and phase control unit provided in this embodiment and the amplitude and phase control unit in the first embodiment is that the first port and the second port adopt direct probe excitation. Because of the direct excitation method, no coupling gap or other structures are required. The patch is excited by the first excitation probe 8 and the second excitation probe 9 respectively. It should be noted that the excitation method of the two ports mentioned in this application is not limited to coupling gap feeding and direct probe feeding. Any other method of feeding the amplitude and phase unit mentioned in this application should fall within the protection scope of this application.
[0093] Fourth embodiment
[0094] like Figure 13As shown, the main difference between the amplitude and phase control unit provided in this embodiment and the amplitude and phase control unit in the first embodiment is that in this embodiment, the first shorting post is located on the left edge of the first patch, and there are two of them, while the second shorting post is located on the right edge of the second patch, and there are six of them. That is, the number and position of the shorting posts on the two patches are not completely mirror-symmetrical. It should be noted that the number of shorting posts on the patches mentioned in this application is not limited to a certain fixed position or a fixed number. As long as the working state is in the working mode mentioned in this application, it should fall within the protection scope of this application.
[0095] Fifth Embodiment
[0096] like Figure 14 As shown, this embodiment proposes an active phased array architecture. The active phased array in this embodiment includes eight amplitude phase control units and an amplitude phase control network with 16 output ports. The eight amplitude phase control units can be implemented using the amplitude phase control unit from the first embodiment, or other amplitude phase control units can be used. Specifically, the amplitude phase control network enables the amplitude ratio P1 / P2 and phase difference between the two ports of each amplitude phase control unit to be equal. The method satisfies the requirements of the unit-level amplitude and phase control method for antenna arrays as described in Table 1; and ensures that the phase difference between each amplitude and phase control unit is equal to Δα, where Δα is the phase difference between adjacent amplitude and phase control modules. It should be noted that any use of this architecture to control dual-port units should fall within the scope of protection of this application.
[0097] In summary, this application discloses an amplitude-phase control unit, an antenna array, a radio frequency front-end system, a communication device, a unit-level amplitude-phase control method, and an active phased array architecture. This amplitude-phase control unit uses two ports to excite the patch, enabling the patch to operate in quasi-TM mode. 01 In this mode, when the two ports are excited with an amplitude ratio P1 / P2 ranging from 1 to 10, the radiation null position of the amplitude-phase control unit will gradually shift to the right of the normal direction. When the two ports are excited with a phase difference... When excited from 0° to 180°, the main beam direction of the amplitude phase control unit gradually deflects from the end-fire direction to the side-fire direction. The amplitude phase control units can be arranged at preset intervals to form an antenna array with a planar or curved array configuration, and scanned using a unit-level amplitude phase control method. Compared to existing solutions, this application does not require any active switching devices to achieve control of the radiation null position and main beam direction, and features compact size and simple manufacturing process. During large-angle scanning, compared to antenna arrays using fixed-beam antenna elements, it improves the main beam gain of the antenna array and reduces the sidelobe level of the array pattern.
[0098] In the foregoing description of this specification, references to terms such as "one embodiment," "another embodiment," or "some embodiments" indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.
[0099] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.
[0100] The above is a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Those skilled in the art can make various equivalent modifications or substitutions without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such equivalent modifications or substitutions are included within the scope defined by the claims of this application.
Claims
1. An amplitude-phase control unit, characterized in that, include: The first patch is excited by the first port; The second patch is excited by the second port; Both the first and second patches are disposed on the first plane and both operate in quasi-TM. 01 model; Metal ground, set on the second plane; A plurality of first shorting posts and a plurality of second shorting posts are provided. When the first shorting posts are located on the left side of the first patch, the second shorting posts are located on the right side of the second patch; when the first shorting posts are located on the right side of the first patch, the second shorting posts are located on the left side of the second patch; the right side of the first patch is opposite to the left side of the second patch; one end of the first shorting post is connected to the first patch, and the other end is connected to the metal ground; one end of the second shorting post is connected to the second patch, and the other end is connected to the metal ground. The metal ground has a coupling gap; the position of the coupling gap matches the position of the two patches. The amplitude and phase control unit further includes a first feed line and a second feed line disposed on a third plane, wherein the position of the first feed line matches the position of the first patch, and the position of the second feed line matches the position of the second patch; The second plane is located between the first plane and the third plane; Specifically, as the amplitude ratio P1 / P2 of the first-port excitation and the second-port excitation gradually increases from 1, the radiation null position of the amplitude-phase control unit will gradually shift towards a positive angle; when the phase difference between the first-port and second-port excitations... When the beam changes from 0° to 180°, the main beam of the amplitude phase control unit will gradually deflect from the end-fire direction to the side-fire direction.
2. The amplitude and phase control unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The excitation forms of the first port and the second port include direct excitation or coupled excitation.
3. The amplitude and phase control unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main beam of the first patch points to the left of the normal in space, and the main beam of the second patch points to the right of the normal in space; the normal is located on the midline between the first patch and the second patch; The shape of the first patch may be the same as or different from the shape of the second patch; The number of the first short-circuit posts may be the same as or different from the number of the second short-circuit posts.
4. A design method for an amplitude-phase control unit, characterized in that, The method for designing an amplitude-phase control unit as described in any one of claims 1-3 includes the following steps: Based on the working mode of the radiator, determine the size of the first patch and the second patch, as well as the spacing between the first patch and the second patch; By adjusting the amplitude ratio and phase difference between the two ports This causes the radiation null position and main beam direction of the amplitude phase control unit to change accordingly.
5. The design method of the amplitude-phase control unit according to claim 4, characterized in that, Determining the dimensions of the first patch and the second patch, and the spacing between the first patch and the second patch, includes: The initial dimensions of the long sides of the first patch and the second patch are determined to be 0.25λ0-0.75λ0, the initial dimensions of the short sides of the first patch and the second patch are determined to be 0.05λ0-0.45λ0, and the initial spacing between the first patch and the second patch is determined to be less than 0.5λ0; where λ0 represents the free space wavelength corresponding to the center operating frequency f0.
6. An antenna array, characterized in that, include: Multiple amplitude and phase control units as described in any one of claims 1-3 are used as basic units of the antenna array; The multiple amplitude and phase control units are arranged in a preset manner to form an antenna array.
7. An antenna array according to claim 6, characterized in that, The antenna array can be arranged in a planar array or a curved array; multiple amplitude and phase control units can be arranged in a single row or multiple rows.
8. A unit-level amplitude and phase control method for phased arrays, used to control an antenna array as described in any one of claims 6-7, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: By controlling the phase difference of the adjacent amplitude and phase control units This allows the array factor pattern of the antenna array to scan in free space. By controlling the amplitude ratio and phase difference of the two ports of each amplitude and phase control unit This is to control the element factor pattern of the basic unit of the antenna array, so that the main beam direction of the element factor pattern is close to the predetermined scanning direction of the array, and the radiation null position of the element factor pattern is close to the maximum sidelobe position of the array factor of the antenna array; finally, the product of the element factor and the array factor reaches a smaller value at the maximum sidelobe position of the array factor and a larger value at the maximum scanning angle of the array factor.
9. An active phased array architecture, characterized in that, include: There are N amplitude and phase control modules, each of which includes two ports for excitation; wherein at least one of the N amplitude and phase control modules is implemented using the amplitude and phase control unit as described in any one of claims 1-3; N is an integer greater than 1; A 2N-port amplitude and phase control network is used to control the amplitude ratio and phase difference between two ports of N amplitude and phase control modules. .
10. An active phased array architecture according to claim 9, characterized in that, The amplitude and phase control network operates as follows: The amplitude ratio and phase difference of the two ports of the amplitude and phase control module are controlled. The method controls the element factor pattern of the basic unit of the active phased array architecture, so that the main beam direction of the element factor pattern is close to the preset scanning direction, and the radiation null position of the element factor pattern is close to the maximum sidelobe position of the array factor of the active phased array architecture; finally, the product of the element factor and the array factor reaches a smaller value at the maximum sidelobe position of the array factor and a larger value at the maximum scanning angle of the array factor. The phase difference between the first ports of two adjacent amplitude and phase control modules is equal to ; This represents the phase difference between adjacent amplitude and phase control modules.
11. A radio frequency front-end system, characterized in that, This includes an amplitude and phase control unit as described in any one of claims 1-3, an antenna array as described in any one of claims 6-7, or an active phased array architecture as described in any one of claims 9-10.
12. A wireless communication device, characterized in that, This includes an amplitude and phase control unit as described in any one of claims 1-3, an antenna array as described in any one of claims 6-7, an active phased array architecture as described in any one of claims 9-10, or a radio frequency front-end system as described in claim 11.