Folding tile type extensible phased array front-end framework, antenna array and radar

Abstract

The invention discloses a folding tile type extensible phased array front-end framework, an antenna array and a radar, and the framework comprises a multifunctional frame and at least three layers of high-density rigid-flex boards, and the high-density rigid-flex boards are connected through multiple layers of flexible circuit boards. The at least three layers of high-density rigid-flex boards comprise a power board, at least one digital board and at least one radio frequency board; the power panel comprises a patch energy storage capacitor and a switching power supply chip which are respectively attached to two opposite surfaces; a main control chip is arranged on the surface of one side, close to the switching power supply chip of the power supply board, of each digital board, and an analog-to-digital conversion chip is arranged on the surface of the other side; according to the invention, the high-density rigid-flex board is adopted, the surface mounting device is mounted in a positive and negative manner, the flexible circuit board is adopted to connect the high-density rigid-flex board, the integration degree is high, and the maintenance cost is low.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of phased array radars, and in particular to a folded tile-type scalable phased array front-end architecture, an antenna array, and a radar. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the channel spacing of radar and electronic warfare phased array systems has been drastically reduced to cover higher operating frequency bands. This has led to an increase in the demand for array integration, and the design size of traditional phased array architecture can no longer meet application requirements.

[0003] There are two main types of architectures for the front end of a phased array: blade-type and tile-type. The blade-type front end architecture adopts a vertically integrated design, with internal microwave modules spliced ​​and cables interconnected. The entire front end architecture of the array is large in size and has many joints. The front size of the component is generally larger than the aperture of the array antenna. In order to connect the small-aperture antenna size and the microwave front-end functional module, it is often necessary to design an additional antenna extension layer to cooperate, which increases the wiring loss. The current front end architecture of the phased array has the defects of insufficient thinness of the array surface, the inability to expand and splice the front end array, the low degree of integration, and the high maintenance cost. Summary of the invention

[0004] The main purpose of this application is to provide a folded tile-type expandable phased array front-end architecture, antenna array and radar, aiming to solve the technical problems of the current phased array front-end architecture, such as insufficient thinness of the array surface, low degree of integration and high maintenance cost.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present application provides a folded tile-type expandable phased array front-end architecture, comprising: a multifunctional frame and at least three layers of high-density rigid-flexible boards plugged into the multifunctional frame, wherein the at least three layers of high-density rigid-flexible boards are stacked and each of the high-density rigid-flexible boards is connected by a multi-layer flexible circuit board, and the at least three layers of high-density rigid-flexible boards include a power board, at least one digital board and at least one radio frequency board; the power board includes a chip energy storage capacitor and a switching power supply chip respectively attached to two opposite surfaces; a main control chip is provided on the surface of each digital board close to the switching power supply chip of the power board, and an analog-to-digital conversion chip is provided on the surface away from the switching power supply chip of the power board; at least one frequency conversion module and at least one transceiver module are provided on the surface of each radio frequency board close to the analog-to-digital conversion chip of the digital board.

[0006] Optionally, the high-density rigid-flexible board includes a flexible circuit board and a rigid board bonded to both sides of the flexible circuit board; wherein the flexible circuit board uses a polyimide material as the core, copper foil is covered on both sides of the polyimide material, and a circuit diagram is etched on the copper foil, and the material of the rigid board is FR4 or a high-frequency board doped with ceramic material.

[0007] Optionally, the transceiver module is a double-stacked module, and the transceiver module includes a multi-channel amplitude and phase modulation chip and a power amplifier transceiver chip.

[0008] Optionally, the multi-channel amplitude and phase modulation chip and the power amplifier transceiver chip are packaged through silicon-based MEMS, and BGA stacking technology is used to form the double stacking module.

[0009] Optionally, the switching power supply chip, the main control chip, and the analog-to-digital conversion chip are all packaged in surface mount form.

[0010] Optionally, the multifunctional frame has multiple slots, each of the high-density rigid-flex boards is respectively plugged into each slot of the multifunctional frame, the multifunctional frame has an elastic RF connector, and the device also includes: a feed wiring layer and at least one antenna unit that is communicatively connected to one side of the feed wiring layer, and the other side of the feed wiring layer is connected to the RF board in the multifunctional frame through the elastic RF connector.

[0011] Optionally, the multifunctional frame is also integrated with a water inlet channel, a water outlet channel, an elastic RF wall-penetrating connector, an integrated feeding network and a high-low frequency hybrid joint. At least two water-cooling plates are also inserted in the slot, and each of the water-cooling plates is inserted between two adjacent high-density rigid-flexible boards; each of the water-cooling plates is connected in series through a water pipe to form a heat dissipation group, and the heat dissipation group is respectively connected in series with the water inlet channel and the water outlet channel; the integrated feeding network is respectively connected to the power board and at least one of the high-density rigid-flexible boards, and the integrated feeding network is used to distribute at least one of power supply signals, control signals, high-speed digital signals, and RF signals to each of the high-density rigid-flexible boards; one of the high-density rigid-flexible boards has a high-low frequency hybrid plug, and the high-low frequency hybrid plug is plugged into the high-low frequency hybrid joint; the elastic RF wall-penetrating connector is used to respectively connect the feeding wiring layer and a high-density rigid-flexible board close to the feeding wiring layer.

[0012] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application also provides an antenna unit having a folded tile-type expandable phased array front-end architecture provided by any of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0013] In addition, to achieve the above objectives, the present application also provides an antenna array having the antenna units provided in the above embodiments.

[0014] In addition, to achieve the above objectives, the present application also provides a radar, characterized in that it has the antenna array provided in the above embodiment.

[0015] A foldable tile-type expandable phased array front-end architecture, antenna array and radar proposed in the embodiment of the present application are provided through a multifunctional frame and at least three layers of high-density rigid-flex boards plugged into the multifunctional frame, wherein at least three layers of high-density rigid-flex boards are stacked and arranged, and each high-density rigid-flex boards are connected by a multi-layer flexible circuit board, and at least three layers of high-density rigid-flex boards include a power board, at least one digital board and at least one radio frequency board; the power board includes a chip energy storage capacitor and a switching power supply chip respectively attached to two opposite surfaces; a main control chip is provided on the surface of each digital board on the side close to the switching power supply chip of the power board, and an analog-to-digital conversion chip is provided on the surface of the switching power supply chip away from the power board; at least one frequency conversion module and at least one transceiver module are provided on the surface of each radio frequency board on the side close to the analog-to-digital conversion chip of the digital board. The present application adopts flexible circuits to connect high-density rigid-flex boards to realize a folding design, avoid interconnection joints between boards, and mount components on the front and back surfaces of the high-density rigid-flex boards, which have a high degree of integration, a small size, easy replacement and low maintenance cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 A high-density rigid-flex board provided for an embodiment of the folded tile-type expandable phased array front-end architecture of the present application;

[0017] Figure 2 A block diagram of the working principle of an embodiment of a folded tile-type scalable phased array front-end architecture provided for this application;

[0018] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of a phased array front-end architecture provided for an embodiment of a folded tile-type scalable phased array front-end architecture of the present application;

[0019] Figure 4 An expanded diagram of a front-end integrated module provided for an embodiment of a folded tile-type scalable phased array front-end architecture of the present application;

[0020] Figure 5 A cross-sectional view of a heat dissipation structure provided for an embodiment of a folded tile-type scalable phased array front-end architecture of the present application;

[0021] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of an antenna array provided for an embodiment of a folded tile-type scalable phased array front-end architecture of the present application.

[0022] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of this application will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0024] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The folded tile type expandable phased array front-end architecture provided in the first embodiment of the present application may include: a multifunctional frame 10 and at least three layers of high-density rigid-flex boards 20 plugged into the multifunctional frame 10, wherein the at least three layers of high-density rigid-flex boards 20 are stacked and each of the high-density rigid-flex boards 20 is connected by a multi-layer flexible circuit board 30, and the at least three layers of high-density rigid-flex boards 20 include a power board 201, at least one digital board 202 and at least one radio frequency board 203; the power board 201 includes a chip energy storage capacitor 2011 and a switching power supply chip 2012 respectively attached to two opposite surfaces; a main control chip 2022 is provided on the surface of each digital board 202 close to the switching power supply chip 2012 of the power board 201, and an analog-to-digital conversion chip 2023 is provided on the surface of the switching power supply chip 2012 away from the power board 201; and at least one frequency conversion module 2031 and at least one transceiver module 2032 are provided on the surface of each RF board 203 close to the analog-to-digital conversion chip 2023 of the digital board 202.

[0025] Among them, the multifunctional frame 10 can provide a flexible RF connection between the antenna and the front-end integrated module, the at least three layers of high-density rigid-flexible boards 20 are stacked, and each of the high-density rigid-flexible boards 20 is connected by a multi-layer flexible circuit board 30, and the at least three layers of high-density rigid-flexible boards 20 include a power board 201, at least one digital board 202 and at least one RF board 203; the power board 201 includes a chip energy storage capacitor 2011 and a switching power supply chip 2012 respectively attached to two opposite surfaces; the surface of each digital board 202 close to the switching power supply chip 2012 of the power board 201 is provided with a main control chip 2022, and the surface of the switching power supply chip 2012 away from the power board 201 is provided with an analog-to-digital conversion chip 2023; the surface of each RF board 203 close to the analog-to-digital conversion chip 2023 of the digital board 202 is provided with at least one frequency conversion module 2031 and at least one transceiver module 2032.

[0026] refer to Figure 3, for example, the front-end integrated module part can be composed of a flexible circuit board 30 and a high-density rigid-flexible board 20, and the three high-density rigid-flexible boards 20 are functionally divided into a radio frequency board 203, a digital board 202, and a power board 201. The radio frequency board 203 has a radio frequency contact interface and a high-low frequency hybrid plug on the front, and a transceiver module 2032 and a frequency conversion module 2031 are installed on the back; the digital board 202 has a digital-to-analog conversion chip and a main control chip 2022 arranged and installed on the front and back, respectively. The digital-to-analog conversion chip can be an AD\DA chip, and the main control chip 2022 can be an FPGA. The power board 201 has a switching power supply chip 2012 and a surface-mount energy storage capacitor 2011 arranged on the front and back.

[0027] refer to Figure 2 The main function of the folded tile scalable phased array front-end architecture is to convert the received digital baseband signal into a radio frequency signal, and modulate the amplitude and phase information of the radio frequency signal of each transceiver channel to synthesize an electromagnetic beam in a specified direction in space. The front-end signal transceiver workflow is as follows: the transceiver module 2032 performs limiting amplification, phase shift amplitude weighting and other operations on the received spatial electromagnetic signal, and then enters the frequency conversion module 2031 for late synthesis and is converted into a lower intermediate frequency baseband signal, which is then converted into a digital signal by the analog-to-digital conversion chip 2023 (AD chip) and enters the back-end processing cabinet for processing, completing the signal reception. When transmitting a signal, a baseband intermediate frequency signal is generated by the digital / analog conversion chip (DA chip) according to the input digital interference baseband. The intermediate frequency signal enters the frequency conversion module 2031 for mixing, filtering, etc. to convert the baseband intermediate frequency to the radio frequency band, and then the radio frequency signal is subjected to phase shift amplitude phase weighting, power amplification and other operations through the transceiver module 2032, and finally radiated into space through the antenna to form an electromagnetic beam. When receiving and transmitting, the main control chip 2022 sends out a main control signal to control the coordinated operation of various parts.

[0028] In an embodiment of the present application, the high-density rigid-flexible board 20 includes a flexible circuit board 30 and a rigid board bonded to both sides of the flexible circuit board 30, wherein the flexible circuit board 30 uses a polyimide material as the core, copper foil is covered on both sides of the polyimide material, and a circuit diagram is etched on the copper foil, and the material of the rigid board is FR4 or a high-frequency board doped with ceramic material.

[0029] Specifically, the high-density rigid-flexible board 20 uses a flexible polyimide material as the core, covers the front and back with copper foil, and etches the circuit pattern, and then adheres the rigid board on the upper and lower sides, wherein the rigid board is mainly FR4 or a high-frequency board doped with ceramic material. Repeating the above process, a high-density rigid-flexible board 20 connected by a multi-layer flexible circuit board 30 can be obtained. The high-density rigid-flexible board 20 with mixed high and low frequencies can realize transmission channels of various signal characteristics, and realize various functions such as radio frequency signals, low-frequency control signals, high-speed digital signal transmission, and power supply on three rigid boards. The present application adopts surface mount devices on the high-density rigid-flexible board 20, and the front and back mounting is completed at one time, with low manufacturing cost and high assembly efficiency. The folding design of the multi-layer flexible circuit board 30 is adopted to avoid the use of interconnecting joints between the high-density rigid-flexible boards 20, saving the layout space size.

[0030] In an embodiment of the present application, the transceiver module 2032 is a double-stacked module, and the transceiver module 2032 includes a multi-channel amplitude and phase modulation chip and a power amplifier transceiver chip.

[0031] Specifically, the multi-channel amplitude and phase modulation chip and the power amplifier transceiver chip are packaged through silicon-based MEMS, and the BGA stacking technology is used to form the double stacking module.

[0032] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 2032 mainly contains a silicon-based CMOS multi-channel amplitude and phase modulation chip and a power amplifier transceiver chip. The transceiver module 2032 uses silicon-based MEMS packaging to form a double stacked module, wherein the first layer encapsulates the channel amplitude and phase modulation chip at the bottom, and the second layer is stacked on the first layer using BGA technology, encapsulating the power amplifier transceiver chip inside, and the top is used as a heat dissipation surface.

[0033] In the embodiment of the present application, the switching power supply chip 2012, the main control chip 2022, and the analog-to-digital conversion chip 2023 are all packaged in surface mount form.

[0034] Exemplarily, the switching power supply chip 2012, the main control chip 2022, and the analog-to-digital conversion chip 2023 can be packaged in the form of SMD packaging such as QFN (quad flat no-lead) packaging, BGA (ball grid array) packaging, CSP (chip scale packaging), SOP (small outline package), etc. During assembly, solder paste is printed on both sides, components are mounted on both sides, and a multi-temperature zone reflow furnace protected by nitrogen is used to complete the welding at one time, which is suitable for mass production.

[0035] In an embodiment of the present application, the multifunctional frame 10 has a plurality of slots 101, each of the high-density rigid-flex boards 20 is respectively plugged into each of the slots 101 of the multifunctional frame 10, and the multifunctional frame 10 has an elastic RF connector 102. The device further includes: a feed wiring layer 40 and at least one antenna unit 50 that is communicatively connected to one side of the feed wiring layer 40, and the other side of the feed wiring layer 40 is connected to the RF board 203 in the multifunctional frame 10 through the elastic RF connector 102.

[0036] Specifically, the antenna part is installed at the front end of the multifunctional frame 10, that is, Figure 3 The top of the antenna can be connected by an elastic joint or a small-size joint such as SMP. The antenna component is composed of an antenna unit 50 and a feed wiring layer 40, and can be compatible with various antenna forms according to system requirements. The antenna unit 50 is installed on the front of the feed wiring layer 40, and an RF contact interface or a micro RF interface is reserved on the back. The antenna unit 50 can be in the form of a printed antenna, a metal opening antenna, etc. The feed wiring layer 40 carries the connection between the antenna unit 50 and the multi-functional frame 10. Its main function is to lead the input antenna excitation port to the position of the corresponding antenna unit 50 through internal wiring of equal length. The present application can be compatible with various antenna forms according to system requirements.

[0037] It is worth noting that due to the high-density device arrangement and folding design adopted in this application, the plane size of the entire front-end architecture is smaller than the size of the antenna aperture. Figure 6 In the case of a need for a larger array application, the present application can be used to build a large array frame. Specifically, the present application can use a universal front-end frame to splice and assemble to form a larger array front-end component. When the larger array front-end component spliced ​​by multiple front-end frames is repaired and debugged, it only takes plugging and unplugging to replace the sub-array unit, and the structure is simple and neat.

[0038] refer to Figure 4In the embodiment of the present application, the multifunctional frame 10 is also integrated with a water inlet channel 104, a water outlet channel 105, an elastic RF connector 102, an integrated feed network and a high-low frequency hybrid connector 106, and at least two water-cooled plates 103 are inserted in the slot 101, each of which is inserted between two adjacent high-density rigid-flex boards 20, and each of the water-cooled plates 103 is connected in series through a water pipe to form a heat dissipation group, and the heat dissipation group is respectively connected in series with the water inlet channel 104 and the water outlet channel 105; the integrated feed network is respectively connected The power board 201 is connected to at least one of the high-density rigid-flexible boards 20, and the integrated feeding network is used to distribute at least one of power signals, control signals, high-speed digital signals, and radio frequency signals to each of the high-density rigid-flexible boards 20; one of the high-density rigid-flexible boards 20 has a high-low frequency hybrid plug, and the high-low frequency hybrid plug is plugged into the high-low frequency hybrid connector 106; the elastic radio frequency connector 102 is used to respectively connect the feed wiring layer 40 and a high-density rigid-flexible board 20 close to the feed wiring layer 40.

[0039] Exemplarily, the multifunctional frame 10 can realize the function of connecting the array, provide the array structure support function, provide the water cooling channel in and out, and can also provide the flexible RF connection between the antenna unit 50 and the front-end integrated module. The integrated feeding network built into the multifunctional frame 10 can provide the distribution of various electrical signals such as power supply, digital signal, and RF signal. Among them, the power supply link inputs DC high voltage electricity through a high-low frequency hybrid plug, and transmits it to the power board 201 through the flexible board. The power board 201 converts the input DC high voltage electricity through DC voltage regulation inside the power module to obtain various power supply voltages, which are then distributed to the RF board 203 and the digital board 202 by the flexible board. The water-cooled plate 103 can include a primary water-cooled plate and a secondary water-cooled plate. There are a total of 5 heat dissipation surfaces available at the front end of the array. The 5 heat dissipation surfaces include the back of the multifunctional frame 10, the front and back of the primary water-cooled plate, and the front and back of the secondary water-cooled plate. The RF board 203 and the digital board 202, which generate a lot of heat, are mainly provided with heat dissipation channels by the front and back sides of the first-level water-cooling plate. The back side of the digital board 202 and the power board 201 generate less heat, and are provided with heat dissipation channels by the front and back sides of the second-level water-cooling plate. Figure 5Specifically, the present application can adopt a two-stage water-cooled plate structure, the main water channel is provided by the multifunctional frame 10, and enters the primary water-cooled plate and the secondary water-cooled plate in series to return the main water channel. Furthermore, during the heat dissipation process, the front of the RF board 203 is contacted and dissipated by the multifunctional frame 10, the back of the RF board 203 is contacted and dissipated by the front of the primary water-cooled plate, the front of the digital board 202 is contacted and dissipated by the back of the primary water-cooled plate, the back of the digital board 202 is contacted and dissipated by the front of the secondary water-cooled plate, the front of the power board 201 is contacted and dissipated by the back of the secondary water-cooled plate, and a capacitor is installed on the back of the power board 201. The heat is small and can be dissipated by penetrating through the through hole. In other words, the present application adopts a folded tile array, and the heat dissipation cold surface and the printed circuit board heating surface are arranged in an alternating manner. The heating device can dissipate heat on both sides, the top can contact and dissipate heat with the cold surface, and the bottom can contact and dissipate heat with the cold surface through a heat conduction channel, thereby significantly improving the heat dissipation efficiency.

[0040] Based on the above embodiments, the present application also proposes an antenna array having a folded tile-type scalable phased array front-end architecture as provided in any of the above embodiments, Figure 6 , Figure 6 It is a large array framework built using a phased array front-end architecture, namely the antenna array.

[0041] Based on the above embodiments, the present application also proposes a radar having the antenna array provided by the above embodiments.

[0042] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present application specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A folded tile scalable phased array front-end architecture, characterized in that: include: A multifunctional frame and at least three layers of high-density rigid-flex boards plugged into the multifunctional frame, wherein the at least three layers of high-density rigid-flex boards are stacked and each of the high-density rigid-flex boards is connected by a multi-layer flexible circuit board, and the at least three layers of high-density rigid-flex boards include a power board, at least one digital board, and at least one radio frequency board; The power board includes a chip energy storage capacitor and a switching power supply chip respectively attached to two opposite surfaces; A main control chip is provided on the surface of each digital board close to the switching power chip of the power board, and an analog-to-digital conversion chip is provided on the surface of each digital board away from the switching power chip of the power board; At least one frequency conversion module and at least one transceiver module are provided on the surface of each radio frequency board close to the analog-to-digital conversion chip of the digital board.

2. The folded tile scalable phased array front-end architecture according to claim 1, characterized in that: The high-density rigid-flexible board includes a flexible circuit board and a rigid board bonded to both sides of the flexible circuit board; The flexible circuit board uses polyimide material as the core, copper foil is covered on both sides of the polyimide material, and a circuit diagram is etched on the copper foil. The material of the rigid board is FR4 or a high-frequency board doped with ceramic material.

3. The folded tile scalable phased array front-end architecture according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transceiver module is a double-stacked module, and the transceiver module includes a multi-channel amplitude and phase modulation chip and a power amplifier transceiver chip.

4. The folded tile scalable phased array front-end architecture according to claim 3, characterized in that: The multi-channel amplitude and phase modulation chip and the power amplifier transceiver chip are packaged through silicon-based MEMS, and the double stacking module is formed by using BGA stacking technology.

5. The folded tile scalable phased array front-end architecture according to claim 1, characterized in that: The switching power supply chip, the main control chip and the analog-to-digital conversion chip are all packaged using surface mount packaging.

6. The folded tile scalable phased array front-end architecture according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multifunctional frame has a plurality of slots, each of the high-density rigid-flex boards is respectively plugged into each slot of the multifunctional frame, the multifunctional frame has a flexible RF connector, and the folding tile-type expandable phased array front-end architecture further includes: A feed wiring layer and at least one antenna unit are both communicatively connected to one side of the feed wiring layer, and the other side of the feed wiring layer is connected to the RF board in the multifunctional frame through the elastic RF connector.

7. The folded tile scalable phased array front-end architecture according to claim 6, characterized in that: The multifunctional frame is also integrated with a water inlet channel, a water outlet channel, an elastic RF wall-penetrating connector, an integrated feed network and a high- and low-frequency hybrid connector. At least two water-cooling plates are inserted in the slot, and each of the water-cooling plates is inserted between two adjacent high-density rigid-flex boards. The water-cooling plates are connected in series through water pipes to form a heat dissipation group, and the heat dissipation group is connected in series with the water inlet channel and the water outlet channel respectively; The integrated feed network is connected to at least one of the high-density rigid-flex boards, and the integrated feed network is used to distribute at least one of a power signal, a control signal, a high-speed digital signal, and a radio frequency signal to each of the high-density rigid-flex boards; One of the high-density rigid-flex boards has a high-low frequency hybrid plug, and the high-low frequency hybrid plug is plugged into the high-low frequency hybrid connector; The elastic radio frequency through-wall connector is used to respectively connect the feed wiring layer and a high-density rigid-flexible board close to the feed wiring layer.

8. An antenna array, characterized in that: A folded tile-type expandable phased array front-end architecture as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A radar, characterized in that: The invention has an antenna array as claimed in claim 8.

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