Gap waveguide antenna

Abstract

The invention discloses a gap waveguide antenna which comprises a gap waveguide antenna body, an LOP chip and a PCB, the gap waveguide antenna body and the LOP chip are located on the two sides of the PCB respectively, and a switching structure metal block is located between the gap waveguide antenna body and the PCB. A switching inlet located on one surface of the switching structure metal block corresponds to a radiation port of the LOP chip, and a switching outlet located on the other surface of the switching structure metal block is connected with a feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body. According to the gap waveguide antenna, compact chip radiation ports can be dispersedly switched, and enough multi-feed-port space is provided for application of the gap waveguide antenna; and the heat dissipation mode is good, and the failure and damage risks caused by contact between the chip and the shell are avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of waveguide antennas, and in particular to a gap waveguide antenna. Background Art

[0002] With the competition of L3 intelligent driving technology at home and abroad, 77G 4D millimeter wave radar has become a key technical route. In order to improve the radar's transceiver performance, the 4D millimeter wave radar uses a three-dimensional waveguide antenna to replace the planar microstrip antenna in the 3D millimeter wave radar. At the same time, several major mainstream chip manufacturers have successively proposed LOP (Launch on Package) technology (also known as ROP technology, Radiator on Package) - the package radiation port is directly connected to the three-dimensional waveguide antenna feed point, which can further improve the gain of the waveguide radar compared to the traditional package port - PCB (Printed Circuit Board) - waveguide feed.

[0003] In the existing LOP technical solutions, such as Figure 1 , the radar rear shell wall 700 may transmit adverse factors of the external environment to the LOP chip 100. The SMT chip is placed on one side of the PCB, and the three-dimensional waveguide antenna is fixed on the other side. A PTH (Plating Through Hole) is set at the position where the package radiation port on the PCB is directly opposite to the waveguide antenna feed point, forming a very short hollow waveguide transmission line to maximize the chip performance. The LOP chip pursues miniaturization and multi-ports, making the package radiation port layout extremely compact; the waveguide antenna adopts the hollow waveguide principle, and its four-sided closed hollow structure must be processed in layers and then SMT precision welding.

[0004] The shortcomings of existing technologies are: 1. Hollow waveguide antennas have complex internal circuits and SMT processes have the risk of defects. In addition, SMT inspection of hollow structures is difficult and costly. In addition, the high temperature of the SMT process can cause potential damage to the plastic metallized antenna. The non-enclosed gap waveguide antenna using array pins along the transmission line does not have high assembly requirements, and the antenna can be assembled using a variety of methods such as scattered point SMT, screws, rivets, and hot melt. However, due to the compact arrangement of the LOP chip radiation port and the pin array around the gap waveguide transmission line, the high-performance, high-yield gap waveguide antenna cannot be used in the existing LOP solution.

[0005] 2. In existing LOP applications, the common heat dissipation method is to set a thermal interface material (thermal pad, thermal grease, etc.) on the top surface of the chip, and then contact it with the radar back shell (material: metal or plastic partially embedded in metal) to dissipate heat. This will cause thermal failure due to long-term vibration, impact, high and low temperature, etc., which will cause gaps in the thermal interface material, or mechanical damage to the chip due to impact, collision, etc. in vehicle-mounted conditions. Summary of the invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a gap waveguide antenna, which can not only disperse and transfer the compact chip radiation port to provide sufficient multi-feed port space for the gap waveguide antenna, but also improve the heat dissipation method to avoid the failure and damage risks caused by the contact between the chip and the shell.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a gap waveguide antenna, comprising: a gap waveguide antenna body, a LOP chip and a PCB circuit board, the gap waveguide antenna body and the LOP chip are respectively located on both sides of the PCB circuit board, a transfer structure metal block is located between the gap waveguide antenna body and the PCB circuit board, the transfer inlet located on one surface of the transfer structure metal block corresponds to the radiation port of the LOP chip, and the transfer outlet located on the other surface of the transfer structure metal block is connected to the feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body.

[0008] The further improved scheme in the above technical scheme is as follows: 1. In the above scheme, a transmission line half groove is provided on the surface of the transfer structure metal block, and the transmission line half groove is bonded to the PCB circuit board to form a hollow waveguide transmission line.

[0009] 2. In the above solution, the transmission line half slot radiates from the chip end entrance facing the LOP chip to the antenna end exit.

[0010] 3. In the above solution, a waveguide transfer transmission line is arranged inside the transfer structure metal block.

[0011] 4. In the above solution, the transition structure metal block is also provided with a microchannel, and the microchannel is located inside or on the surface of the transition structure metal block.

[0012] 5. In the above solution, the LOP chip is connected to the PCB circuit board through SMT solder balls.

[0013] 6. In the above solution, a PTH hole is provided on the PCB circuit board at the position corresponding to the radiation port of the LOP chip.

[0014] 7. In the above solution, the transfer structure metal block is bonded to the copper surface of the PCB circuit board through SMT welding or fasteners, and the transfer structure metal block is a copper transfer structure block, a silver transfer structure block or an aluminum transfer structure block.

[0015] 8. In the above solution, a positioning structure part and a fixing structure part are provided on the surface of the transfer structure metal block located at the transfer outlet.

[0016] 9. In the above scheme, the gap waveguide antenna body includes a gap waveguide transmission line, and the gap waveguide transmission line further includes a transmission line half slot and a pin array; a plurality of EBG pins are arranged around the feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body. Due to the application of the above technical solution, the present invention has the following advantages compared with the prior art: 1. The gap waveguide antenna of the present invention can disperse and transfer the compactly arranged LOP radiation ports, so that the feed port spacing of the rear antenna is relatively large, so as to achieve sufficient space for the radiation antenna based on the gap waveguide principle. In actual production, the gap waveguide antenna can avoid the adverse risks of the SMT process compared to the hollow waveguide antenna, and at the same time prevent the thermal damage of the SMT high-temperature furnace to the plastic metallized antenna sheet, which can not only improve the production yield and reduce costs, but also ensure the antenna life and radar accuracy.

[0017] 2. The gap waveguide antenna of the present invention quickly conducts the heat loss of the LOP chip to the outside through high thermal conductivity, avoiding the generation of high temperature due to local heat concentration and reducing chip performance; compared with the traditional chip plus thermal conductive interface material, the heat dissipation method of conducting heat to the radar casing avoids thermal failure and mechanical damage caused by driving vibration, mechanical shock, etc.

[0018] 3. The gap waveguide antenna of the present invention can also be provided with microchannels inside to support an external forced liquid cooling device to accelerate heat dissipation, or aerogel, paraffin, etc. can be injected to form a heat pipe effect under negative pressure to meet the long-term high-power LOP usage scenario. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Attached Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an existing gap waveguide antenna; Attached Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a gap waveguide antenna according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; Attached Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a gap waveguide antenna according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention; Attached Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a gap waveguide antenna according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention; Attached Figure 5 is an exploded view of the gap waveguide antenna of the present invention; Attached Figure 6 is an exploded view of the gap waveguide antenna body of the present invention; Attached Figure 7 A three-dimensional diagram of a metal block of a transfer structure of the present invention; Attached Figure 8 It is a front perspective view of the transfer structure metal block of the present invention.

[0020] In the above figures: 100, LOP chip; 1001, radiation port; 200, SMT solder ball; 300, PCB circuit board; 3001, PTH hole; 3002, welding interface; 400, existing hollow waveguide antenna; 4001, existing hollow waveguide transmission line; 500, gap waveguide antenna body; 5001, gap waveguide transmission line; 500A, gap waveguide upper antenna sheet; 500B, gap waveguide lower antenna sheet; 5001A, gap waveguide antenna Transmission line half slot of the line; 5001B, pin array; 5002, radiation port; 5003, EBG pin; 5004, positioning column of gap waveguide antenna; 5005, fixing hole of gap waveguide antenna; 600, thermal conductive interface material; 700, radar rear shell wall; 1, transfer structure metal block; 11, transmission line half slot; 12, transfer outlet; 13, fixing structure part; 14, positioning structure part; 1021, waveguide transfer transmission line; 1032, microchannel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The present invention can be further understood through the specific embodiments given below, but they are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0022] Embodiment 1: A gap waveguide antenna, comprising: a gap waveguide antenna body 500, a LOP chip 100 and a PCB circuit board 300, characterized in that: the gap waveguide antenna body 500 and the LOP chip 100 are respectively located on both sides of the PCB circuit board 300, a transfer structure metal block 1 is located between the gap waveguide antenna body 500 and the PCB circuit board 300, a transfer entrance located on one surface of the transfer structure metal block 1 corresponds to a radiation port 1001 of the LOP chip 100, and a transfer exit 12 located on another surface of the transfer structure metal block 1 is connected to a feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body 500; A transmission line half slot 11 is disposed on the surface of the transition structure metal block 1 , and the transmission line half slot 11 forms a hollow waveguide transmission line after being bonded to the PCB circuit board 300 .

[0023] The transmission line half slot 11 radiates from the chip end entrance facing the LOP chip 100 to the antenna end exit.

[0024] The LOP chip 100 is connected to the PCB circuit board 300 via the SMT solder balls 200 .

[0025] The PCB circuit board 300 is provided with a PTH hole 3001 at a position corresponding to the radiation port 1001 of the LOP chip 100 .

[0026] The transfer structure metal block 1 is welded by SMT, and the welding interface 3002 of the PCB circuit board 300 and the transfer structure metal block 1, or the fastener and the copper surface of the PCB circuit board 300 are attached. The transfer structure metal block 1 is an aluminum transfer structure block.

[0027] The surface of the transfer structure metal block 1 located at the transfer outlet 12 is provided with a positioning structure portion 14 and a fixing structure portion 13 .

[0028] The above-mentioned gap waveguide antenna body 500 includes a gap waveguide transmission line 5001, and the gap waveguide transmission line 5001 further includes a transmission line half slot 5001A and a pin array 5001B of the gap waveguide antenna; a plurality of EBG pins 5003 are arranged around the feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body 500.

[0029] Embodiment 2: A gap waveguide antenna, comprising: a gap waveguide antenna body 500, a LOP chip 100 and a PCB circuit board 300, characterized in that: the gap waveguide antenna body 500 and the LOP chip 100 are respectively located on both sides of the PCB circuit board 300, a transfer structure metal block 1 is located between the gap waveguide antenna body 500 and the PCB circuit board 300, a transfer entrance located on one surface of the transfer structure metal block 1 corresponds to the radiation port 1001 of the LOP chip 100, and a transfer exit 12 located on the other surface of the transfer structure metal block 1 is connected to the feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body 500.

[0030] A waveguide switching transmission line 1021 is disposed inside the switching structure metal block 1 .

[0031] The transmission line half slot 11 radiates from the chip end entrance facing the LOP chip 100 to the antenna end exit.

[0032] The LOP chip 100 is connected to the PCB circuit board 300 via the SMT solder balls 200 .

[0033] The PCB circuit board 300 is provided with a PTH hole 3001 at a position corresponding to the radiation port 1001 of the LOP chip 100 .

[0034] The transfer structure metal block 1 is bonded to the copper surface of the PCB circuit board 300 by SMT welding or fasteners. The transfer structure metal block 1 is a copper transfer structure block.

[0035] The surface of the transfer structure metal block 1 located at the transfer outlet 12 is provided with a positioning structure portion 14 and a fixing structure portion 13 .

[0036] The above-mentioned gap waveguide antenna body 500 includes a gap waveguide transmission line 5001, and the gap waveguide transmission line 5001 further includes a transmission line half slot 5001A and a pin array 5001B of the gap waveguide antenna; a plurality of EBG pins 5003 are arranged around the feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body 500.

[0037] Embodiment 3: A gap waveguide antenna, comprising: a gap waveguide antenna body 500, a LOP chip 100 and a PCB circuit board 300, characterized in that: the gap waveguide antenna body 500 and the LOP chip 100 are respectively located on both sides of the PCB circuit board 300, a transfer structure metal block 1 is located between the gap waveguide antenna body 500 and the PCB circuit board 300, a transfer entrance located on one surface of the transfer structure metal block 1 corresponds to the radiation port 1001 of the LOP chip 100, and a transfer exit 12 located on the other surface of the transfer structure metal block 1 is connected to the feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body 500.

[0038] A waveguide switching transmission line 1021 is disposed inside the switching structure metal block 1 .

[0039] The transfer structure metal block 1 is further provided with a micro channel 1032 , and the micro channel 1032 is located inside or on the surface of the transfer structure metal block 1 .

[0040] The transmission line half slot 11 radiates from the chip end entrance facing the LOP chip 100 to the antenna end exit.

[0041] The LOP chip 100 is connected to the PCB circuit board 300 via the SMT solder balls 200 .

[0042] The PCB circuit board 300 is provided with a PTH hole 3001 at a position corresponding to the radiation port 1001 of the LOP chip 100 .

[0043] The transfer structure metal block 1 is bonded to the copper surface of the PCB circuit board 300 by SMT welding or fasteners. The transfer structure metal block 1 is a copper transfer structure block.

[0044] The surface of the transfer structure metal block 1 located at the transfer outlet 12 is provided with a positioning structure portion 14 and a fixing structure portion 13 .

[0045] The above-mentioned gap waveguide antenna body 500 includes a gap waveguide transmission line 5001, and the gap waveguide transmission line 5001 further includes a transmission line half slot 5001A and a pin array 5001B of the gap waveguide antenna; a plurality of EBG pins 5003 are arranged around the feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body 500.

[0046] In actual production, the gap waveguide antenna body 500 is often disassembled and processed and then reassembled. The disassembly method can be divided into two layers of antenna sheets 500A / 500B, or more layers; the transmission line half slot 5001A and the pin array 5001B of the gap waveguide antenna can be set on the same antenna sheet, or on different antenna sheets; the feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body 500 requires a larger spacing than that of the hollow waveguide antenna, because a pin array needs to be set around its transmission line, and no less than a certain number of pins must be set between adjacent channels to achieve a decoupling effect; a number of pins also need to be set around the feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body 500 to form an EBG pin 5003, and the radiation port 5002 of the gap waveguide antenna body 500 realizes the transmission and reception of electromagnetic signals in space.

[0047] The waveguide transfer transmission line 1021 of embodiment 2 is arranged inside the structural block. Such structural blocks can be processed by metal 3D printing technology, or by disassembling and then assembling.

[0048] Embodiment 3 In the scenario where LOP is used for a long time at high power, a microchannel 1032 can be further added inside the metal block to support an external liquid cooling device to form a liquid cooling heat dissipation system, or aerogel, paraffin, etc. can be filled in to form a heat pipe effect under negative pressure to meet the heat dissipation requirements of high heat consumption; the cross-sectional shape of the microchannel 1032 can be circular, elliptical, rectangular, irregular, semicircular, etc.; like the setting of the transfer waveguide transmission line, the microchannel 1032 can be completely set inside the structural block, or it can be set on the surface, and a closed cavity can be formed by bonding with the PCB; the path of the microchannel 1032 can be set along the periphery of the transfer waveguide transmission line area without cross-interference with it, and the local position can be deep into the SMT area of ​​the LOP chip 100, which is conducive to heat dissipation.

[0049] When using the above-mentioned gap waveguide antenna, the compactly arranged LOP radiation ports can be dispersed and transferred, so that the feed port spacing of the rear antenna is relatively large, so as to achieve sufficient space for the radiation antenna based on the gap waveguide principle. In actual production, the gap waveguide antenna can avoid the adverse risks of the SMT process compared to the hollow waveguide antenna, and at the same time prevent the thermal damage of the SMT high-temperature furnace to the plastic metallized antenna sheet, which can not only improve the production yield and reduce costs, but also ensure the antenna life and radar accuracy; In addition, it quickly transfers the heat loss of the LOP chip to the outside through high thermal conductivity, avoiding high temperature caused by local heat concentration and reducing chip performance; compared with the traditional chip plus thermal conductive interface material, the heat dissipation method of conducting heat to the radar casing avoids thermal failure and mechanical damage caused by driving vibration, mechanical shock, etc.

[0050] Furthermore, microchannels are added inside to support external forced liquid cooling devices to accelerate heat dissipation, or aerogel, paraffin, etc. are injected to form a heat pipe effect under negative pressure to meet the long-term and high-power LOP usage scenarios.

[0051] The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical concept and features of the present invention, and their purpose is to enable people familiar with the technology to understand the content of the present invention and implement it accordingly, and they cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any equivalent changes or modifications made according to the spirit of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A gap waveguide antenna, comprising: A gap waveguide antenna body (500), a LOP chip (100) and a PCB circuit board (300), characterized in that the gap waveguide antenna body (500) and the LOP chip (100) are respectively located on both sides of the PCB circuit board (300), a transfer structure metal block (1) is located between the gap waveguide antenna body (500) and the PCB circuit board (300), a transfer entrance located on one surface of the transfer structure metal block (1) corresponds to a radiation port (1001) of the LOP chip (100), and a transfer exit (12) located on the other surface of the transfer structure metal block (1) is connected to a feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body (500).

2. The gap waveguide antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: A transmission line half slot (11) is provided on the surface of the transition structure metal block (1), and the transmission line half slot (11) forms a hollow waveguide transmission line after being bonded to the PCB circuit board (300).

3. The gap waveguide antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The transmission line half slot (11) extends radiatingly from a chip end entrance facing the LOP chip (100) to an antenna end exit.

4. The gap waveguide antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: A waveguide switching transmission line (1021) is arranged inside the switching structure metal block (1).

5. The gap waveguide antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transition structure metal block (1) is also provided with a microchannel (1032), and the microchannel (1032) is located inside or on the surface of the transition structure metal block (1).

6. The gap waveguide antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The LOP chip (100) is connected to the PCB circuit board (300) via an SMT solder ball (200).

7. The gap waveguide antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The PCB circuit board (300) is provided with a PTH hole (3001) at a position corresponding to the radiation port (1001) of the LOP chip (100).

8. The gap waveguide antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transfer structure metal block (1) is bonded to the copper surface of the PCB circuit board (300) by SMT welding or fasteners, and the transfer structure metal block (1) is a copper transfer structure block, a silver transfer structure block or an aluminum transfer structure block.

9. The gap waveguide antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the transfer structure metal block (1) located at the transfer outlet (12) is provided with a positioning structure portion (14) and a fixing structure portion (13).

10. The gap waveguide antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gap waveguide antenna body (500) comprises a gap waveguide transmission line (5001), and the gap waveguide transmission line (5001) further comprises a transmission line half slot (5001A) and a pin array (5001B) of the gap waveguide antenna; a plurality of EBG pins (5003) are arranged around the feed port of the gap waveguide antenna body (500).

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