Antenna unit and phased array antenna

Abstract

The invention provides an antenna unit. The antenna unit comprises a substrate of a dielectric material; the first resonant ring is arranged on the substrate and provided with a first fracture, and the two ends of the first fracture of the first resonant ring are connected through a first switch; the second resonant ring is arranged on the substrate and provided with a second fracture, and the second resonant ring is connected through a second switch at the two ends of the second fracture; and the connecting structure is used for connecting the first resonant ring with the second resonant ring. The invention also provides a phased array antenna.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular to an antenna unit and a phased array antenna. Background Art

[0002] Phased array antennas have broad application prospects in terahertz communications, but the phase bandwidth of existing phased array antennas is small and cannot meet the needs. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present disclosure provides an antenna unit and a phased array antenna.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an antenna unit, comprising:

[0005] A substrate of dielectric material;

[0006] a first resonant ring provided on the substrate and having a first break, wherein two ends of the first resonant ring are connected through a first switch;

[0007] a second resonant ring provided on the substrate and having a second break, wherein two ends of the second resonant ring are connected via a second switch;

[0008] A connection structure connecting the first resonant ring and the second resonant ring.

[0009] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a phased array antenna, comprising:

[0010] A plurality of antenna units arranged in an array, wherein the antenna unit is any one of the antenna units in the embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0011] A plurality of switch control lines, each of which corresponds to at least one of the antenna units; the switch control line is connected to a control end of at least one of the first switch and the second switch in the corresponding antenna unit;

[0012] A plurality of signal control lines, each of which is connected to a ground terminal and corresponds to at least one antenna unit; the signal control line is connected to the connection structure in the corresponding antenna unit.

[0013] In the disclosed embodiments, there are switches (first switch and second switch) in the resonant rings (first resonant ring and second resonant ring) of the antenna unit. By controlling the state of the switches, the patterns of the resonant rings that actually work can be made different, thereby forming a desired phase difference and realizing control of the beam angle (scanning range) (such as a scanning range of -5° to 35°). Each antenna unit has two resonant rings, which is equivalent to two branches having resonances at corresponding frequencies. The combination of the two resonances can increase the phase bandwidth (such as a phase bandwidth of 180°±30° can reach 25GHz), which is particularly suitable for practical applications in the terahertz frequency band (such as terahertz communication). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0015] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of another antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of another switch in an antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a phased array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the local enlarged structure of the middle B area;

[0020] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a partially enlarged structure of another phased array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 7 A phase distribution diagram of a phased array antenna according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 8 This is a beam scanning diagram of a phased array antenna according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the meanings of the reference numerals include:

[0024] A. Antenna unit; 1. Resonant ring; 11. First resonant ring; 12. Second resonant ring; 2. Break; 21. First break; 22. Second break; 3. Switch; 31. First switch; 32. Second switch; 391. First pole; 392. Second pole; 393. Control pole; 4. Connection structure; 91. Ground layer; 92. Dielectric layer; 921. Substrate; 93. Radiation layer; 51. Switch control line; 52. Signal control line. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present disclosure, the antenna unit and the phased array antenna provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] The present disclosure will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the embodiments shown may be embodied in different forms, and the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth below. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the present disclosure thorough and complete, and will enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the scope of the present disclosure.

[0027] The accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and constitute a part of the specification, and are used together with the detailed embodiments to explain the present disclosure, and do not constitute a limitation of the present disclosure. By describing the detailed embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other features and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0028] The present disclosure may be described with reference to plan views and / or cross-sectional views by means of ideal schematic views of the present disclosure. Therefore, the exemplary illustrations may be modified according to manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances.

[0029] In the absence of conflict, the various embodiments of the present disclosure and the various features therein may be combined with each other.

[0030] The terms used in the present disclosure are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The term "and / or" as used in the present disclosure includes any and all combinations of one or more related enumerated items. The singular forms "one" and "the" as used in the present disclosure are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "including", "made of..." as used in the present disclosure specify the presence of the features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. It will also be understood that terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and this disclosure, and will not be interpreted as having an idealized or overly formal meaning unless explicitly defined in this disclosure.

[0032] The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but includes modifications of the configurations formed based on the manufacturing process. Therefore, the regions illustrated in the drawings have schematic properties, and the shapes of the regions shown in the drawings illustrate the specific shapes of the regions of the elements, but are not intended to be limiting.

[0033] With the development of 6G (sixth generation mobile communication) technology, terahertz communication has gained broad application prospects due to its advantages such as large transmission capacity, strong anti-interference and rich spectrum resources.

[0034] Terahertz antennas are key components for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves in terahertz communications, and their performance has an important impact on communication effects. Especially for multi-user networking, terahertz antennas are also required to have the ability to flexibly switch beams. However, mechanical scanning antennas, frequency scanning antennas, and traditional phased array antennas are all difficult to achieve fast (microsecond level) flexible beam switching.

[0035] Therefore, in some related technologies, reconfigurable (i.e., the oscillation structure can be changed) phased array antennas based on electromagnetic surfaces can be used as terahertz antennas to meet the requirements of flexible beam switching; however, the phase bandwidth of reconfigurable phased array antennas is often small and cannot fully utilize the large bandwidth of the terahertz band.

[0036] First, refer to Figures 1 to 8 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an antenna unit A.

[0037] The antenna unit A of the embodiment of the present disclosure is used in a phased array antenna (reconfigurable phased array antenna), that is, the phased array antenna includes an array composed of multiple antenna units A.

[0038] Reference Figure 1 , the antenna unit A of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes:

[0039] A substrate 921 of dielectric material;

[0040] A first resonant ring 11 provided on the substrate 921 and having a first break 21, wherein two ends of the first resonant ring 11 are connected through a first switch 31;

[0041] A second resonant ring 12 provided on the substrate 921 and having a second break 22, wherein two ends of the second resonant ring 12 are connected via a second switch 32;

[0042] A connecting structure 4 connecting the first resonant ring 11 and the second resonant ring 12 .

[0043] Reference Figure 1The antenna unit A of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes an insulating substrate 921, on which two resonant rings 1 (a first resonant ring 11 and a second resonant ring 12) are arranged at intervals. The two resonant rings 1 are both conductive and connected to each other through a connecting structure 4, so that resonance of electromagnetic signals can be achieved, and the signals therein are the same (such as being grounded through a signal control line 52).

[0044] The first resonant ring 11 and the second resonant ring 12 may both be closed and hollow plane figures, or in other words, both are "ring-shaped", but are not limited to "circular rings".

[0045] In the disclosed embodiment, each resonant ring 1 has a “break 2 (a first break 21 and a second break 22 )”, that is, the resonant ring 1 is “broken” at one position, thereby forming an “almost” closed figure.

[0046] Reference Figure 3 Each resonant ring 1 will have two spaced “ends” at the break 2, and the two ends are connected by a “switch 3 (first switch 31 and second switch 32)”.

[0047] Therefore, when the switch 3 is turned on, the conductor in the resonant ring 1 is equivalent to a complete ring; when the switch 3 is turned off, the conductor in the resonant ring 1 is an unclosed ring with a gap (or opening, break, disconnection); that is, by changing the state of the switch 3, the specific shape of the resonant ring 1 (conductor) that actually works can be changed, thereby also changing the phase of the electromagnetic wave therein (also called "response phase"), so that the antenna unit A can produce a certain phase difference in different states, thereby achieving the adjustment of the beam angle.

[0048] In the disclosed embodiment, the resonant ring 1 (the first resonant ring 11 and the second resonant ring 12) of the antenna unit A has a switch 3 (a first switch 31 and a second switch 32). By controlling the state of the switch 3, the pattern of the resonant ring 1 that actually works can be made different, thereby forming a desired phase difference and realizing the control of the beam angle (scanning range) (such as a scanning range of -5° to 35°). Each antenna unit A has two resonant rings 1, which is equivalent to two branches having resonances at corresponding frequencies. The combination of the two resonances can increase the phase bandwidth (such as a phase bandwidth of 180°±30° can reach 25GHz), which is particularly suitable for practical applications in the terahertz frequency band (such as terahertz communication).

[0049] In some embodiments, when the antenna unit A is in the first state and the second state respectively, the phase difference of the electromagnetic wave in the antenna unit A is 180°; in the first state, the first switch 31 and the second switch 32 are turned on at the same time, and in the second state, the first switch 31 and the second switch 32 are turned off at the same time.

[0050] As one embodiment of the present disclosure, refer to Figure 1 , the state of antenna unit A when the two switches 3 are turned on at the same time is recorded as the first state, and the state of antenna unit A when the two switches 3 are turned off at the same time is recorded as the second state; then, the forms of the two resonant rings 1 (specific shape, position of the break, etc.) should satisfy: when other conditions are the same, the phase (response phase) of the electromagnetic wave in antenna unit A in the first state and the second state is different, and the phase difference (phase difference) between the two states is 180°, that is, by controlling switch 3, antenna unit A can achieve a phase difference of 180°, thereby maximizing the adjustment range of the beam angle.

[0051] For example, refer to Figure 7 It can be seen that the phase bandwidth of the phased array antenna of 180°±30° using the antenna unit A of the embodiment of the present disclosure can reach 25 GHz.

[0052] In some embodiments, the first resonant ring 11 and the second resonant ring 12 are symmetrically distributed relative to the first symmetry axis.

[0053] Furthermore, since it is expected that the resonances of the two resonant rings 1 can be combined with each other to expand the phase bandwidth, Figure 1 , Figure 2 As one mode of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the two resonant rings 1 may be "axisymmetrically" distributed, that is, the shapes, sizes, etc. of the two resonant rings 1 are the same, and are symmetrical with respect to a symmetry axis (the first symmetry axis) (so they must be located on both sides of the symmetry axis respectively); when the two resonant rings 1 are axisymmetrically distributed, the shapes and sizes of the two are the same, so the states of the electromagnetic waves in the two are the same, which is convenient for expanding the phase bandwidth.

[0054] For example, the connection structure 4 may be connected to a signal control line 52 for controlling the resonant ring 1 , and the two resonant rings 1 are symmetrically distributed relative to the signal control line 52 (ie, the first symmetry axis extends along the signal control line 52 ).

[0055] In some embodiments, the connection point between the first resonant ring 11 and the connection structure 4 is located on the side of the first resonant ring 11 facing the second resonant ring 12; the connection point between the second resonant ring 12 and the connection structure 4 is located on the side of the second resonant ring 12 facing the first resonant ring 11; the first break 21 is located on the side of the first resonant ring 11 away from the second resonant ring 12; the second break 22 is located on the side of the second resonant ring 12 away from the first resonant ring 11.

[0056] As one embodiment of the present disclosure, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2The connection points of the two resonant rings 1 and the connection structure 4 can be located on the opposite side of the two resonant rings 1 (i.e., the side facing the first symmetry axis), while the breaks 2 of the two resonant rings 1 can be located on the opposite side of the two resonant rings 1 (i.e., the side away from the first symmetry axis), thereby facilitating the wiring design of control lines (such as switch control lines 51 and signal control lines 52).

[0057] For example, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 When the first symmetry axis coincides with the signal control line 52 , the signal control line 52 can be directly connected to the resonant rings 1 on both sides through the connecting structure 4 .

[0058] In some embodiments, the first resonant ring 11 is symmetrically distributed relative to the second symmetry axis; the second resonant ring 12 is symmetrically distributed relative to the second symmetry axis; the second symmetry axis is perpendicular to the first symmetry axis; the connection point between the first resonant ring 11 and the connecting structure 4 is located at the midpoint of the side of the first resonant ring 11 facing the second resonant ring 12; the connection point between the second resonant ring 12 and the connecting structure 4 is located at the midpoint of the side of the second resonant ring 12 facing the first resonant ring 11; in some embodiments, the first break 21 is located at the midpoint of the side of the first resonant ring 11 away from the second resonant ring 12; the second break 22 is located at the midpoint of the side of the second resonant ring 12 away from the first resonant ring 11.

[0059] As one embodiment of the present disclosure, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 Each resonant ring 1 itself can also be an "axisymmetric figure", that is, the resonant ring 1 itself can be divided into two symmetrical parts relative to a symmetry axis (second symmetry axis), and the two resonant rings 1 are symmetrical relative to the same second symmetry axis, and the second symmetry axis is perpendicular to the above first symmetry axis (such as the signal control line 52). For example, the second symmetry axis can extend along the connecting structure 4.

[0060] In this case, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 The connection points of the two resonant rings 1 and the connection structure 4 can be located at the midpoints of the opposite sides of the two resonant rings; correspondingly, the fractures 2 of the two resonant rings 1 can be located at the midpoints of the opposite sides of the two resonant rings, thereby making the overall structure of the resonant ring 1 more "symmetrical" and its resonance effect more "symmetrical".

[0061] In some embodiments, the first resonant ring 11 is a first rectangle, the second resonant ring 12 is a second rectangle, and one side of the first rectangle is parallel to one side of the second rectangle and is spaced apart from each other.

[0062] As a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, refer to Figure 1The specific shape of the resonant ring 1 can be a "rectangle", and one side of the rectangle of the two resonant rings 1 is aligned and spaced apart; further, the connection point of the connecting structure 4 can be located at the midpoint of the side, and the break 2 can be located at the midpoint of the opposite side of the side.

[0063] In some embodiments, the first resonant ring 11 is a first semicircle, the second resonant ring 12 is a second semicircle, and the chord of the first semicircle is parallel to the chord of the second semicircle and is spaced opposite to each other.

[0064] As another specific embodiment of the present disclosure, refer to Figure 2 The specific shape of the resonant ring 1 may also be a "semicircle", and the straight sides (chords) of the semicircles of the two resonant rings 1 are aligned and spaced apart; further, the connection point of the connecting structure 4 may be located at the midpoint of the chord of the semicircle, and the break 2 may be located at the midpoint of the arc of the semicircle.

[0065] It should be understood that the specific form of the resonant ring 1 of the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to the above example.

[0066] For example, each resonant ring 1 may also be arranged at other angles (such as the above semicircle can be rotated 180 degrees), or be in other specific shapes.

[0067] For another example, the location of the connection point between the resonant ring 1 and the connection structure 4 , or the location of the break 2 , may not be located on the opposite side or away side of the two resonant rings 1 .

[0068] For another example, the two resonant rings 1 may be symmetrical in other ways (such as point symmetry) or asymmetrical.

[0069] For another example, each resonant ring 1 itself may not be an axisymmetric shape.

[0070] For another example, the phase difference achieved when the two switches 3 are both turned on and off may also be other angles.

[0071] In some embodiments, the material of the substrate 921 is a semiconductor material; the first switch 31 and the second switch 32 are semiconductor switch devices integrated in the substrate 921 .

[0072] As one embodiment of the present disclosure, the substrate 921 may be made of a semiconductor material that is a dielectric. Meanwhile, the switch 3 may be a semiconductor switch device (such as a transistor) directly formed in the semiconductor substrate 921 .

[0073] Further, see Figure 3, various structures of the switch 3 can be directly formed in the substrate 921 by performing different doping and growth on different positions of the substrate 921, that is, the switch 3 is "integrated" in the substrate 921. Therefore, there is no need to set up an external switch device, the structure is simple, easy to implement, and the process is mature, and it can be mass-produced at a low cost.

[0074] For example, see Figure 3 , the switch 3 may specifically include a first electrode 391 (such as a source), a second electrode 392 (such as a drain), a control electrode 393 (such as a gate, that is, a control end of the switch 3), a channel region, a gate insulating layer (not shown in the figure), etc.; wherein, the first electrode 391 and the second electrode 392 are respectively connected to the two ends of the break 2 of the resonant ring 1, so by applying different control voltages (such as a signal of 0 or 1) to the control electrode 393, the first electrode 391 and the second electrode 392 can be connected or disconnected, that is, the switch 3 can be controlled to be turned on or off.

[0075] In some embodiments, the semiconductor material is high-resistance silicon; and the semiconductor switching device is a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT).

[0076] As one mode of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the semiconductor switching device may specifically be in the form of a HEMT, such as a HEMT based on a GaN (gallium nitride) process. Because the HEMT has a fast response speed, fast electrical switching can be achieved (such as a switching time of less than 2 microseconds), thereby achieving fast control of the scanning range.

[0077] For example, the beam scanning diagram of the phased array antenna using the antenna unit A of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be referred to as Figure 8 , which shows that the phased array antenna of the disclosed embodiment can achieve a scanning range of -5° to 35°.

[0078] It should be understood that in the antenna unit A of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the specific forms of the substrate 921 and the switch 3 are not limited to the above examples.

[0079] For example, the substrate 921 may also be other insulating materials such as glass.

[0080] For another example, the switch 3 may also be an independent device that is separately provided on the substrate 921 and connected to the corresponding position of the resonant ring 1.

[0081] Second, refer to Figures 1 to 8 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a phased array antenna.

[0082] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a phased array antenna, which is a reconfigurable phased array antenna based on an electromagnetic surface. The phased array antenna may specifically be a terahertz antenna, such as a terahertz communication antenna used for 6G communication.

[0083] Reference Figure 4 , the phased array antenna of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes:

[0084] A plurality of antenna units A arranged in an array, wherein the antenna unit A is any one of the antenna units A of the embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0085] A plurality of switch control lines 51, each switch control line 51 corresponds to at least one antenna unit A; the switch control line 51 is connected to a control end of at least one of the first switch 31 and the second switch 32 in the corresponding antenna unit A;

[0086] There are multiple signal control lines 52, each signal control line 52 is connected to the ground terminal and corresponds to at least one antenna unit A; the signal control line 52 is connected to the connection structure 4 in the antenna unit A corresponding to it.

[0087] Reference Figure 4 The phased array antenna of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes an array composed of multiple antenna units A. By controlling the states of different antenna units A, the overall state of the phased array antenna (such as beam angle) can be controlled.

[0088] The phased array antenna adopts the antenna unit A of the embodiment of the present disclosure, that is, each antenna unit A has two resonant rings 1, and each resonant ring 1 can change the shape of the actual conductor by the state of the switch 3 therein.

[0089] Among them, the phased array antenna also includes a switch control line 51 (such as a microstrip line), which is connected to the control end (such as the gate) of the switch 3 in the antenna unit A to control the state of the switch 3, that is, to control the antenna unit A to produce the required phase state.

[0090] For example, assuming that switch 3 is turned on under a "1" signal and turned off under a "0" signal, the states of the two switches 3 in the same antenna unit A include four combinations of 00, 11, 01, and 10. Therefore, during the use of the phased array antenna, it can be determined as needed what signal should be provided to the antenna unit A through the switch control line 51.

[0091] At the same time, the phased array antenna also includes a signal control line 52 (such as a microstrip line), which is connected to the connection structure 4 in the antenna unit A, that is, electrically connected to the two resonant rings 1. At the same time, the signal control line 52 itself is also connected to the ground terminal, so that the resonant ring 1 can be grounded to realize the reception and transmission of antenna signals.

[0092] In some embodiments, the phased array antenna of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a ground layer 91, a dielectric layer 92, and a radiation layer 93 stacked in sequence; the dielectric layer 92 is composed of a substrate 921 of each antenna unit A; the first resonant ring 11 and the second resonant ring 12 are located in the radiation layer 93; and the ground end is located in the ground layer 91.

[0093] Reference Figure 4 As one embodiment of the present disclosure, the phased array antenna as a whole can be composed of a stacked ground layer 91, a dielectric layer 92, and a radiation layer 93. Among them, the ground layer 91 is used for grounding, and the grounding end is located in the ground layer 91, so the signal control line 52 needs to be connected to the ground layer 91 (for example, the ground layer 91 can be a metal ground, so that the signal control line 52 is connected to the grounding end at any position thereof); the dielectric layer 92 is a structure that separates the ground layer 91 from the radiation layer 93, and is the basis on which the ground layer 91 and the radiation layer 93 are attached; and the radiation layer 93 is the layer where the radiation array structure is located.

[0094] As one embodiment of the present disclosure, the dielectric layer 92 may be the substrate 921 of each antenna unit A; and the resonant ring 1 of the antenna unit A is arranged on the substrate 921 (dielectric layer 92), so it is located in the radiation layer 93; it should be understood that the connection structure 4, the switch control line 51, and the signal control line 52 may also be arranged in the radiation layer 93.

[0095] It should be understood that the above description of "the dielectric layer 92 is composed of the substrate 921 of each antenna unit A" does not mean that the phased array antenna is actually formed by "splicing" multiple separate antenna units A, but that resonant rings 1, connecting structures 4, switch control lines 51, signal control lines 52, etc. are formed at different positions of the complete dielectric layer 92 (such as a high-resistance silicon wafer), so that its different positions are equivalent to being "divided" into different antenna units A.

[0096] It should be understood that the specific form of the phased array antenna of the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples. For example, the ground terminal of the phased array antenna may also be in other forms.

[0097] In some embodiments, the control end of the first switch 31 and the control end of the second switch 32 in the same antenna unit A are connected to two switch control lines 51 respectively.

[0098] As one embodiment of the present disclosure, reference may be made to Figure 5 The two switches 3 (the first switch 31 and the second switch 32) in the same antenna unit A can be controlled by different switch control lines 51. Thus, the two switches 3 in the same antenna unit A can realize all four state combinations of 00, 11, 01, and 10, which can be selected as needed.

[0099] In some embodiments, the control end of the first switch 31 and the control end of the second switch 32 in the same antenna unit A are connected to the same switch control line 51 .

[0100] As another embodiment of the present disclosure, reference may also be made to Figure 6 The two switches 3 (the first switch 31 and the second switch 32 ) in the same antenna unit A can be uniformly controlled by a switch control line 51 .

[0101] As before, when the two switches 3 in the same antenna unit A are in the state combination of 00 or 11 (i.e., the switches 3 are turned off or turned on at the same time), a maximum phase difference of 180° can be achieved; therefore, if the antenna unit A only needs to achieve a phase difference of 180°, its two switches 3 can be controlled by one switch control line 51, thereby reducing the number of leads and simplifying the structure of the phased array antenna.

[0102] In some embodiments, the array formed by multiple antenna units A includes multiple rows and multiple columns; all antenna units A in each row correspond to one or two switch control lines 51; and all antenna units A in each row correspond to one signal control line 52.

[0103] Reference Figure 4 As one embodiment of the present disclosure, the antenna units A may be arranged in a form of multiple rows * multiple columns (such as M rows * N columns).

[0104] When the directions of rows and columns are perpendicular to each other, the antenna units A form a matrix or an orthogonal array.

[0105] It should be understood that the "rows" and "columns" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are just two relative directions that intersect each other, and there is no absolute distinction between them, and they have no necessary relationship with the overall shape, placement, etc. of the phased array antenna.

[0106] Reference Figure 4 When the antenna units A are arranged in rows and columns, the connection structures 4 of all antenna units A in each row may be connected to a signal control line 52 extending in the row direction, that is, all resonant rings 1 in the antenna units A in the same row are controlled (grounded) by a signal control line 52; and the switches 3 of all antenna units A in each row are connected to one (when two switches 3 in each antenna unit A are controlled by different switch control lines 51, refer to Figure 6 ,) or two (two switches 3 in each antenna unit A are controlled by a switch control line 51, refer to Figure 5 )The switch control line 51 is connected.

[0107] That is to say, antenna units A in the same row can be controlled uniformly, while antenna units A in different rows are controlled independently, so that they can be controlled with "a row of antenna units A" as the minimum unit; this method can achieve higher control accuracy and avoid excessive number of control leads.

[0108] For example, for an antenna unit A array with M rows and N columns, the above method requires 3M or 2M control leads (due to the interchangeability of rows and columns, it can also be 3N or 2N leads).

[0109] It should be understood that the specific configuration of the control leads in the embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples.

[0110] For example, the number of control leads may be increased to achieve independent control of each antenna unit A. Specifically, each antenna unit A may be individually controlled in a scanning manner through a switching transistor array, or a separate control lead may be provided for each antenna unit A.

[0111] By setting a reasonable electrical control method for the antenna unit A, the desired control effect can be achieved, such as achieving beam scanning coverage in the upper half plane.

[0112] The present disclosure has disclosed example embodiments, and although specific terms are employed, they are used and should be interpreted only in a general illustrative sense and not for limiting purposes. In some instances, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, unless otherwise expressly stated, features, characteristics, and / or elements described in conjunction with a particular embodiment may be used alone or in combination with features, characteristics, and / or elements described in conjunction with other embodiments. Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An antenna unit, wherein: include: A substrate of dielectric material; a first resonant ring provided on the substrate and having a first break, wherein two ends of the first resonant ring are connected through a first switch; a second resonant ring provided on the substrate and having a second break, wherein two ends of the second resonant ring are connected via a second switch; A connection structure connecting the first resonant ring and the second resonant ring.

2. The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein: When the antenna unit is in a first state and a second state respectively, a phase difference of electromagnetic waves in the antenna unit is 180°; in the first state, the first switch and the second switch are turned on at the same time, and in the second state, the first switch and the second switch are turned off at the same time.

3. The antenna unit according to claim 1, wherein: The first resonant ring and the second resonant ring are symmetrically distributed relative to a first symmetry axis.

4. The antenna unit according to claim 3, wherein: The connection point between the first resonant ring and the connection structure is located on the side of the first resonant ring facing the second resonant ring; the connection point between the second resonant ring and the connection structure is located on the side of the second resonant ring facing the first resonant ring; The first break is located on a side of the first resonant ring away from the second resonant ring; the second break is located on a side of the second resonant ring away from the first resonant ring.

5. The antenna unit according to claim 3, wherein: The first resonant ring is symmetrically distributed with respect to the second symmetric axis; the second resonant ring is symmetrically distributed with respect to the second symmetric axis; the second symmetric axis is perpendicular to the first symmetric axis; The connection point between the first resonant ring and the connection structure is located at the midpoint of the side of the first resonant ring facing the second resonant ring; the connection point between the second resonant ring and the connection structure is located at the midpoint of the side of the second resonant ring facing the first resonant ring; The first break is located at the midpoint of the first resonant ring on a side away from the second resonant ring; the second break is located at the midpoint of the second resonant ring on a side away from the first resonant ring.

6. The antenna unit according to claim 3, wherein: The first resonant ring is a first rectangle, the second resonant ring is a second rectangle, and one side of the first rectangle is parallel to one side of the second rectangle and is spaced opposite to each other; or, The first resonant ring is a first semicircle, the second resonant ring is a second semicircle, and the chord of the first semicircle is parallel to the chord of the second semicircle and is spaced opposite to each other.

7. The antenna unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The material of the substrate is a semiconductor material; The first switch and the second switch are semiconductor switch devices integrated in the substrate.

8. A phased array antenna, wherein: include: A plurality of antenna units arranged in an array, wherein the antenna units are the antenna units according to any one of claims 1 to 7; A plurality of switch control lines, each of which corresponds to at least one of the antenna units; the switch control line is connected to a control end of at least one of the first switch and the second switch in the corresponding antenna unit; A plurality of signal control lines, each of which is connected to a ground terminal and corresponds to at least one antenna unit; the signal control line is connected to the connection structure in the corresponding antenna unit.

9. The phased array antenna according to claim 8, wherein: It includes a ground layer, a dielectric layer, and a radiation layer stacked in sequence; The dielectric layer is formed by the substrate of each antenna unit; The first resonant ring and the second resonant ring are located in the radiation layer; The ground terminal is located in the ground layer.

10. The phased array antenna according to claim 8, wherein: The array formed by the plurality of antenna units comprises a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns; All the antenna units in each row correspond to one or two switch control lines; All the antenna units in each row correspond to one signal control line.

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