Electronic device with high-frequency reflective antenna array

Abstract

The invention relates to an electronic device with a high frequency reflective antenna array. An electronic device may include a photon-based phased antenna array that transmits wireless signals at a frequency greater than 100 GHz. In a transmit mode, the array may transmit a signal using a first optical signal and a second optical signal. In a receive mode, the array may receive signals using the optical signals. In a passive mode, the array can reflect an incident wireless signal into a reflected signal. The photodiodes in the array can be controlled to exhibit an output impedance that is mismatched relative to the input impedance of the radiating elements in the array. Different mismatches may be used across the array or as a function of time to impart different phase and / or frequency shifts to the reflected signals. The phase shifts may be used to encode information into the reflected signals and / or to form signal beams of the reflected signals.

Description

[0001] Related Applications Citations

[0002] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with Chinese national application number 202210718748.X, application date June 23, 2022, and invention name “Electronic device with high-frequency reflective antenna array”.

[0003] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 827,290 filed on May 27, 2022 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 235,611 filed on August 20, 2021, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices having wireless circuitry. Background Art

[0005] An electronic device may have wireless capabilities. An electronic device with wireless capabilities has wireless circuitry including one or more antennas. The wireless circuitry is used to perform communications using radio frequency signals transmitted by the antennas.

[0006] As software applications on electronic devices become more data intensive over time, the demand for electronic devices that support wireless communications at higher data rates has increased. However, the maximum data rate supported by electronic devices is limited by the frequency of radio frequency signals. Furthermore, it can be difficult to implement wireless circuits for handling high data rates in a resource efficient and space efficient manner, especially when antennas are not always used to actively transmit or receive signals. Summary of the invention

[0007] An electronic device may include a wireless circuit controlled by one or more processors. The wireless circuit may include a transceiver circuit, one or more antennas, and one or more optical signal paths coupling the transceiver circuit to each of the antennas. To support extremely high data rates, the antennas may transmit wireless signals at frequencies greater than or equal to about 100 GHz. If desired, each antenna may transmit and receive these wireless signals using a time division duplex scheme.

[0008] The antenna may include an antenna radiating element coupled to a programmable photodiode such as a single line carrier photodiode (UTC PD). The optical signal path may illuminate the UTC PD using a first optical local oscillator (LO) signal and a second optical LO signal that is offset in wavelength relative to the first optical LO signal. If desired, an optical phase shift may be applied to the first optical LO signal. This may allow signal beams to be formed in implementations where the antenna is formed in a phased antenna array.

[0009] The phased antenna array may be capable of operating in one or more of a transmit mode, a receive mode, and a passive reflector mode. In the transmit mode, the phased antenna array transmits a wireless signal using a first optical LO signal and a second optical LO signal. In the receive mode, the phased antenna array receives a wireless signal using a first optical LO signal and a second optical LO signal. In the passive reflector mode, the phased antenna array does not transmit or receive a wireless signal, and the first optical LO signal and the second optical LO signal do not illuminate the UTC PDs in the array. The phased antenna array may receive incident wireless signals and may reflect the incident wireless signals as reflected signals. The UTC PDs may be controlled to exhibit a selected output impedance of one or more amounts of input impedance mismatch relative to the antenna radiating elements. Different mismatches may be used across the array and / or as a function of time to impart different phase shifts and / or frequency shifts to the reflected signals. These phase shifts may be used to encode information into the reflected signals using a space-time coding scheme and / or to form signal beams oriented in a selected direction of the reflected signals.

[0010] One aspect of the present disclosure provides an electronic device. The electronic device may include: an antenna radiating element having an input impedance. The electronic device may include: a photodiode coupled to the antenna radiating element and having an output impedance. The photodiode may be configured to receive a control signal that places the photodiode in a selected mode of a first mode or a second mode, in which the input impedance is mismatched relative to the output impedance at a frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz, and in which the input impedance matches the output impedance at the frequency. The electronic device may include: an optical signal path configured to illuminate the photodiode using a first optical local oscillator (LO) signal and a second optical LO signal that is offset in wavelength relative to the first optical LO signal when the photodiode is in the second mode. The antenna radiating element may be configured to reflect a wireless signal at the frequency when the photodiode is in the first mode.

[0011] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of operating an electronic device having an antenna array including antenna radiating elements and photodiodes coupled to the antenna radiating elements. The method may include: utilizing the photodiodes to generate a current on the antenna radiating elements when the photodiodes are illuminated using a first optical local oscillator (LO) signal and a second optical LO signal offset in wavelength relative to the first optical LO signal, the antenna radiating element emitting a first wireless signal at a frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz. The method may include: utilizing the antenna radiating elements to reflect a second wireless signal at the frequency when the photodiodes are controlled to exhibit one or more output impedances that are mismatched relative to the input impedance of the antenna radiating elements at the frequency.

[0012] One aspect of the present disclosure provides an electronic device. The electronic device may include: an antenna radiating element having an input impedance. The electronic device may include: a photodiode coupled to the antenna radiating element and configured to use a control signal to exhibit an output impedance that is mismatched with the input impedance of the antenna radiating element at a frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz.

[0013] One aspect of the present disclosure provides an electronic device. The electronic device may include a phased antenna array. The electronic device may include: one or more processors, the one or more processors configured to place the phased antenna array in a first mode, a second mode, or a third mode, in which the phased antenna array is configured to transmit a first wireless signal, in which the phased antenna array is configured to receive a second wireless signal, and in which the phased antenna array is configured to reflect a third wireless signal incident on the phased antenna array. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative electronic device having wireless circuitry with at least one antenna that transmits and receives wireless signals at frequencies greater than about 100 GHz according to some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 2 is a top view of an illustrative antenna for transmitting wireless signals at frequencies greater than about 100 GHz based on an optical local oscillator (LO) signal, according to some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 3 For illustration according to some embodiments Figure 2 Top view of how an exemplary antenna of the type shown may convert a received wireless signal at a frequency greater than about 100 GHz to an intermediate frequency signal based on an optical LO signal.

[0017] Figure 4For illustration according to some embodiments Figure 2 and Figure 3 Top view of how multiple antennas of the type shown can be stacked to cover multiple polarizations.

[0018] Figure 5 To show how Figure 4 Top view of stacked antennas of the type shown integrated into a phased antenna array for transmitting wireless signals at frequencies greater than about 100 GHz within corresponding signal beams.

[0019] Figure 6 is a circuit diagram of an illustrative wireless circuit having an antenna that transmits wireless signals at frequencies greater than about 100 GHz and receives wireless signals at frequencies greater than about 100 GHz for conversion to an intermediate frequency and then to the optical domain, according to some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 7 A circuit diagram of an illustrative phased antenna array for transmitting wireless signals at frequencies greater than about 100 GHz within corresponding signal beams according to some embodiments.

[0021] Figure 8 For illustration according to some embodiments Figure 2 and Figure 3 Top view of how an exemplary antenna of the type shown may be controlled to passively reflect wireless signals at frequencies greater than about 100 GHz while imparting a desired phase change and / or frequency change to the reflected wireless signals.

[0022] Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative single line carrier photodiode (UTC PD) in an antenna that may be configured to transmit, receive, and / or passively reflect wireless signals at frequencies greater than about 100 GHz, according to some embodiments.

[0023] Fig.10 is an equivalent circuit diagram of an exemplary UTC PD in an antenna according to some embodiments, which can be configured to transmit, receive and / or passively reflect wireless signals at frequencies greater than about 100 GHz.

[0024] Fig.11 is a diagram showing how an illustrative antenna on an electronic device can passively reflect wireless signals transmitted in different directions by external communication equipment according to some embodiments.

[0025] Fig.12 2 is a state diagram illustrating exemplary operating modes for a phased antenna array that may be configured to transmit, receive and / or passively reflect wireless signals at frequencies greater than approximately 100 GHz, according to some embodiments.

[0026] Fig.13 is a perspective diagram illustrating how one or more antennas in one or more illustrative phased antenna arrays may be distributed across different locations on an electronic device, according to some embodiments.

[0027] Fig.14 is a top view of an illustrative phased antenna array having different subsets of antennas for transmitting, receiving and / or passively reflecting wireless signals according to some embodiments.

[0028] Fig.15 is a side view showing how an exemplary THz lens may be overlapped with a phased antenna array for focusing electromagnetic energy, according to some implementations.

[0029] Fig.16 is a flow chart of illustrative operations that may be performed by an illustrative electronic device when transmitting, receiving, and / or passively reflecting wireless signals using a phased antenna array in accordance with some embodiments.

[0030] Fig.17 is a circuit diagram of an illustrative phased antenna array that can be configured to passively reflect radio frequency signals at frequencies less than 100 GHz, according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Figure 1 The electronic device 10 (sometimes referred to herein as the electro-optical device 10) may be: a computing device, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular phone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device; a smaller device, such as a wristwatch device, a pendant device, a headset or earpiece device, a device embedded in glasses, goggles; or other equipment worn on the user's head; or other wearable or miniature devices, televisions, computer displays that do not contain embedded computers, gaming devices, navigation devices, embedded systems (such as systems in which electronic equipment with a display is installed in a kiosk or car), voice-controlled speakers connected to wireless Internet, home entertainment equipment, remote control devices, game controllers, peripheral user input devices, wireless base stations or access points, equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices; or other electronic equipment. -

[0032] like Figure 1As shown in the functional block diagram in , device 10 may include components located on or within an electronic device housing such as housing 12. Housing 12 (which may sometimes be referred to as a shell) may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramic, fiber composite material, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, metal alloy, etc.), other suitable materials, or combinations of these materials. In some cases, part or all of housing 12 may be formed of a dielectric or other low conductivity material (e.g., glass, ceramic, plastic, sapphire, etc.). In other cases, housing 12 or at least some of the structures that make up housing 12 may be formed of metal elements.

[0033] Device 10 may include control circuitry 14. Control circuitry 14 may include storage, such as storage circuitry 16. Storage circuitry 16 may include hard drive storage, non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically programmable read-only memory configured to form a solid-state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static random access memory or dynamic random access memory), etc. Storage circuitry 16 may include storage integrated within device 10 and / or removable storage media.

[0034] Control circuitry 14 may include processing circuitry, such as processing circuitry 18. Processing circuitry 18 may be used to control the operation of device 10. Processing circuitry 18 may include one or more processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, host processors, baseband processor integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits, central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), etc. Control circuitry 14 may be configured to perform operations in device 10 using hardware (e.g., dedicated hardware or circuitry), firmware, and / or software. Software code for performing operations in device 10 may be stored on storage circuitry 16 (e.g., storage circuitry 16 may include a non-transitory (tangible) computer-readable storage medium storing software code). The software code may sometimes be referred to as program instructions, software, data, instructions, or code. The software code stored on storage circuitry 16 may be executed by processing circuitry 18.

[0035] Control circuitry 14 may be used to run software on device 10, such as satellite navigation applications, Internet browsing applications, Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone call applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, etc. To support interaction with external equipment, control circuitry 14 may be used to implement communication protocols. Communication protocols that may be implemented using control circuitry 14 include Internet protocols, wireless local area network (WLAN) protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocols—sometimes referred to as ), such as Protocols for other short-range wireless communication links such as the IEEE 802.11ad protocol or other wireless personal area network (WPAN) protocols, IEEE 802.11ad protocols (e.g., ultra-wideband protocols), cellular phone protocols (e.g., 3G protocols, 4G (LTE) protocols, 3GPP fifth generation (5G) new air interface (NR) protocols, sixth generation (6G) protocols, sub-THz protocols, THz protocols, etc.), antenna diversity protocols, satellite navigation system protocols (e.g., global positioning system (GPS) protocols, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) protocols, etc.), antenna-based spatial ranging protocols, optical communication protocols, or any other desired communication protocols. Each communication protocol may be associated with a corresponding radio access technology (RAT), which specifies a physical connection method for implementing the protocol.

[0036] Device 10 may include input-output circuitry 20. Input-output circuitry 20 may include input-output devices 22. Input-output devices 22 may be used to allow data to be supplied to device 10 and to allow data to be provided from device 10 to external devices. Input-output devices 22 may include user interface devices, data port devices, and other input-output components. For example, input-output devices 22 may include touch sensors, displays (e.g., touch-sensitive displays and / or force-sensitive displays), light-emitting components such as displays without touch sensor capabilities, buttons (mechanical, capacitive, optical, etc.), scroll wheels, touch pads, keypads, keyboards, microphones, cameras, buttons, speakers, status indicators, audio jacks and other audio port components, digital data port devices, motion sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes, and / or compasses that detect motion), capacitive sensors, proximity sensors, magnetic sensors, force sensors (e.g., force sensors coupled to a display to detect pressure applied to the display), temperature sensors, etc. In some configurations, keyboards, headphones, displays, pointing devices such as touchpads, mice, and joysticks, and other input-output devices may be coupled to device 10 using wired or wireless connections (e.g., some of input-output devices 22 may be peripheral devices coupled to a main processing unit or other portion of device 10 via a wired or wireless link).

[0037] Input-output circuitry 20 may include wireless circuitry 24 to support wireless communications. Wireless circuitry 24 (sometimes referred to herein as wireless communications circuitry 24 ) may include one or more antennas 30 .

[0038] Wireless circuitry 24 may also include transceiver circuitry 26. Transceiver circuitry 26 may include transmitter circuitry, receiver circuitry, modulator circuitry, demodulator circuitry (e.g., one or more modems), radio frequency circuitry, one or more radios, intermediate frequency circuitry, optical transmitter circuitry, optical receiver circuitry, optical light sources, other optical components, baseband circuitry (e.g., one or more baseband processors), amplifier circuitry, clock circuitry such as one or more local oscillators and / or phase-locked loops, memory, one or more registers, filter circuitry, switching circuitry, analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuitry, digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, radio frequency transmission lines, optical fibers, and / or any other circuitry for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using antenna 30. The components of transceiver circuitry 26 may be implemented on one integrated circuit, chip, system on chip (SOC), die, printed circuit board, substrate, or package, or the components of transceiver circuitry 26 may be distributed across two or more integrated circuits, chips, SOCs, printed circuit boards, substrates, and / or packages.

[0039] Figure 1 The examples are merely illustrative. Although for the sake of clarity, Figure 1 In the example of , the control circuit 14 is shown as being separate from the radio circuit 24, but the radio circuit 24 may include processing circuitry (e.g., one or more processors) and / or memory circuitry, the processing circuitry forming part of the processing circuit 18, the memory circuitry forming part of the memory circuit 16 of the control circuit 14 (e.g., portions of the control circuit 14 may be implemented on the radio circuit 24). As an example, the control circuit 14 may include baseband circuitry (e.g., one or more baseband processors), digital control circuitry, analog control circuitry, and / or other control circuitry forming part of the radio circuit 24. The baseband circuitry may, for example, access a communication protocol stack on the control circuit 14 (e.g., the memory circuit 20) to: perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and / or PDU layer; and / or perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and / or non-access layer.

[0040] The transceiver circuit 26 may be coupled to each antenna 30 in the wireless circuit 24 via a corresponding signal path 28. Each signal path 28 may include one or more radio frequency transmission lines, waveguides, optical fibers, and / or any other desired lines / paths for transmitting wireless signals between the transceiver circuit 26 and the antenna 30. The antenna 30 may be formed using any desired antenna structure for transmitting wireless signals. For example, the antenna 30 may include antennas having resonant elements formed from dipole antenna structures, planar dipole antenna structures (e.g., butterfly antenna structures), slot antenna structures, loop antenna structures, patch antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures, planar inverted-F antenna structures, helical antenna structures, monopole antennas, dipoles, hybrids of these designs, and the like. The filter circuits, switching circuits, impedance matching circuits, and / or other antenna tuning components may be adjusted to adjust the frequency response and wireless performance of the antenna 30 over time.

[0041] If desired, two or more of the antennas 30 may be integrated into a phased antenna array (sometimes referred to herein as a phased array antenna) in which each of these antennas transmits a wireless signal having a corresponding phase and magnitude adjusted over time, so that the wireless signals constructively and destructively interfere to produce (form) a signal beam in a given pointing direction. As used herein, the term "transmitting a wireless signal" means the transmission and / or reception of a wireless signal (e.g., for performing unidirectional and / or bidirectional wireless communication with an external wireless communication device). The antenna 30 may transmit a wireless signal by radiating the signal into free space (or radiating into free space through an intervening device structure such as a dielectric cover layer). In addition or alternatively, the antenna 30 may receive a wireless signal from free space (e.g., through an intervening device structure such as a dielectric cover layer). The transmission and reception of wireless signals by the antenna 30 each involve the excitation or resonance of an antenna current on an antenna resonant (radiating) element in the antenna by a wireless signal within the operating frequency band of the antenna.

[0042] Transceiver circuitry 26 may use antenna 30 to transmit and / or receive wireless signals that communicate wireless communication data between device 10 and external wireless communication equipment (e.g., one or more other devices, such as device 10, a wireless access point or base station, etc.). Wireless communication data may be communicated bidirectionally or unidirectionally. Wireless communication data may, for example, include data encoded into corresponding data packets, such as wireless data associated with a phone call, streaming media content, Internet browsing, wireless data associated with a software application running on device 10, email messages, etc.

[0043] Additionally or alternatively, wireless circuitry 24 may perform wireless sensing operations using antenna 30. Sensing operations may allow device 10 to detect (e.g., sense or identify) the presence, position, orientation, and / or velocity (motion) of objects external to device 10. Control circuitry 14 may use the detected presence, position, orientation, and / or velocity of external objects to perform any desired device operation. As an example, control circuitry 14 may use the detected presence, position, orientation, and / or velocity of an external object to identify corresponding user input for one or more software applications running on device 10, such as gesture input performed by a user's hand or other body part or by an external stylus, game controller, head-mounted device, or other peripheral device or accessory, to determine when one or more antennas 30 need to be disabled or set with a reduced maximum transmit power level (e.g., to meet regulatory limits on radio frequency exposure), to determine how to direct (form) radio frequency signal beams generated by antennas 30 for wireless circuitry 24 (e.g., where antenna 30 includes a phased array of antennas 30), to map or model the environment surrounding device 10 (e.g., to generate a software model of the room in which device 10 is located for use by augmented reality applications, gaming applications, mapping applications, home design applications, engineering applications, etc.), to detect the presence of obstacles near (e.g., around) device 10 or in the direction of motion of a user of device 10, and the like.

[0044] Wireless circuitry 24 may transmit and / or receive wireless signals within a corresponding frequency band of the electromagnetic spectrum (sometimes referred to herein as a communication band or simply a “band”). The frequency bands handled by communication circuitry 26 may include: wireless local area network (WLAN) frequency bands (e.g., (IEEE 802.11) or other WLAN communication bands) such as the 2.4 GHz WLAN band (e.g., 2400 MHz to 2480 MHz), the 5 GHz WLAN band (e.g., 5180 MHz to 5825 MHz), 6E band (e.g., 5925MHz-7125MHz) and / or other band (e.g., 1875MHz-5160MHz); wireless personal area network (WPAN) band such as 2.4GHz band or other WPAN communication band; cellular telephone band (e.g., a band from about 600 MHz to about 5 GHz, a 3G band, a 4G LTE band, a 5G new air interface frequency range 1 (FR1) band below 10 GHz, a 5G new air interface frequency range 2 (FR2) band between 20 GHz and 60 GHz, etc.); other centimeter wave or millimeter wave bands between 10 GHz-100 GHz; near field communication bands (e.g., 13.56 MHz); satellite navigation bands (e.g., a GPS band from 1565 MHz to 1610 MHz, a global satellite navigation system (GLONASS) band, a BeiDou satellite navigation system (BDS) band, etc.); an ultra-wideband (UWB) band operating under the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol and / or other ultra-wideband communication protocols; a communication band belonging to the 3GPP wireless communication standard series; a communication band belonging to the IEEE 802.XX standard series; and / or any other desired frequency band of interest.

[0045] Over time, software applications on electronic devices (such as device 10) have become increasingly data intensive. Therefore, wireless circuits on electronic devices need to support data transmission at increasingly higher data rates. Generally speaking, the data rate supported by the wireless circuit is proportional to the frequency of the wireless signal transmitted by the wireless circuit (e.g., a higher frequency can support a higher data rate than a lower frequency). The wireless circuit 24 can transmit centimeter and millimeter wave signals to support relatively high data rates (e.g., because centimeter and millimeter wave signals are at relatively high frequencies between about 10 GHz and 100 GHz). However, the data rates supported by centimeter and millimeter wave signals may still be insufficient to meet all data transmission needs of the device 10. In order to support even higher data rates, such as data rates up to 5 Gbps-10 Gbps or higher, the wireless circuit 24 can transmit wireless signals at frequencies greater than 100 GHz.

[0046] like Figure 1As shown, the wireless circuit 24 can transmit a wireless signal 32 at a frequency greater than about 100 GHz and can receive a wireless signal 34 at a frequency greater than about 100 GHz. The wireless signals 32 and 34 may sometimes be referred to herein as extremely high frequency (THF) signals 32 and 34, sub-THz signals 32 and 34, THz signals 32 and 34, or sub-millimeter wave signals 32 and 34. The THF signals 32 and 34 may be at a sub-THz frequency or a THz frequency such as between 100 GHz and 1 THz, between 100 GHz and 10 THz, between 100 GHz and 2 THz, between 200 GHz and 1 THz, between 300 GHz and 1 THz, between 300 GHz and 2 THz, between 300 GHz and 10 THz, between 100 GHz and 800 GHz, between 200 GHz and 1.5 THz, etc. (e.g., within a sub-THz, THz, THF, or sub-millimeter frequency band such as a 6G band). The high data rates supported by these frequencies may be utilized by device 10 to perform cellular telephone voice and / or data communications (e.g., while supporting spatial multiplexing to provide additional data bandwidth), to perform spatial ranging operations such as radar operations to detect the presence, position, and / or velocity of objects external to device 10, to perform automotive sensing (e.g., with enhanced safety), to perform health / body monitoring of a user of device 10 or another person, to perform gas or chemical detection, to form a high data rate wireless connection between device 10 and another device or peripheral (e.g., to form a high data rate between a display driver on device 10 and a display showing ultra-high resolution video), to form a remote radio head (e.g., a flexible high data rate connection), to form a THF chip-to-chip connection within device 10 that supports high data rates (e.g., where one antenna 30 on a first chip in device 10 transmits a THF signal 32 to another antenna 30 on a second chip in device 10), and / or to perform any other desired high data rate operations.

[0047] In electronic devices such as device 10, space is at a premium. In some cases, the antenna 30 used to transmit the THF signal 32 is different from the antenna 30 used to receive the THF signal 34. However, using different antennas 30 to handle the transmission of the THF signal 32 and the reception of the THF signal 34 can consume excess space and other resources within the device 10, because two antennas 30 and signal paths 28 will be required to handle both transmission and reception. In order to minimize space and resource consumption within the device 10, the same antenna 30 and signal path 28 can be used to transmit the THF signal 32 and receive the THF signal 34. If necessary, multiple antennas 30 in the wireless circuit 24 can transmit the THF signal 32 and can receive the THF signal 34. The antenna can be integrated into a phased antenna array that transmits the THF signal 32 and receives the THF signal 34 in a corresponding signal beam oriented in a selected beam pointing direction.

[0048] Incorporating components into the wireless circuitry 24 that supports wireless communications at these high frequencies can be challenging. If desired, the transceiver circuitry 26 and signal path 28 may include optical components that transmit optical signals to support transmission of the THF signal 32 and reception of the THF signal 34 in a space and resource efficient manner. The optical signals may be used to transmit the THF signal 32 at the THF frequency and to receive the THF signal 34 at the THF frequency.

[0049] Figure 2 is a diagram of an exemplary antenna 30 that may be used to transmit a THF signal 32 and receive a THF signal 34 using an optical signal. Antenna 30 may include one or more antenna radiating (resonating) elements, such as radiating (resonating) element arms 36. Figure 2 In the example of FIG. 3 , antenna 30 is a planar dipole antenna (sometimes referred to as a “butterfly” antenna) having two opposing radiating element arms 36 (e.g., butterfly arms or dipole arms). This is merely illustrative, and in general, antenna 30 may be any type of antenna having any desired antenna radiating element architecture.

[0050] like Figure 2As shown, antenna 30 includes a photodiode (PD) 42 coupled between radiating element arms 36. An electronic device (such as device 10) including antenna 30 having photodiode 42 may also sometimes be referred to as an electro-optical device (e.g., electro-optical device 10). Photodiode 42 may be a programmable photodiode. For example, examples are described herein where photodiode 42 is a programmable single-line carrier photodiode (UTC PD). Therefore, photodiode 42 may sometimes be referred to herein as UTCPD 42 or programmable UTC PD 42. This is merely exemplary, and in general, photodiode 42 may include any desired type of adjustable / programmable photodiode or component that converts electromagnetic energy at an optical frequency into a current at a THF frequency on radiating element arms 36 and / or vice versa. Each radiating element arm 36 may, for example, have a first edge located at UTC PD 42 and a second edge that is wider than the first edge opposite the first edge (e.g., in a specific implementation where antenna 30 is a butterfly antenna). Other radiating elements may be used if desired.

[0051] The UTC PD 42 may have a function of receiving one or more control signals V 偏置 The bias terminal 38. The control signal V 偏置 The control circuit 14 may include a bias voltage set at one or more voltage levels and / or other control signals for controlling the operation of the UTC PD 42, such as an impedance adjustment control signal for adjusting the output impedance of the UTC PD 42. Figure 1 ) can provide (eg, apply, supply, assert, etc.) a control signal V at different settings (eg, values, magnitudes, etc.) 偏置 , to dynamically control (eg, program or adjust) the operation of UTC PD 42 over time. For example, the control signal V 偏置 It can be used to control whether the antenna 30 transmits the THF signal 32 or receives the THF signal 34. 偏置 When the bias voltage is asserted at a first level or magnitude, the antenna 30 may be configured to transmit the THF signal 32. 偏置 When the bias voltage is asserted at a second level or magnitude, the antenna 30 may be configured to receive the THF signal 34. Figure 2 In the example, the control signal V 偏置 The bias voltage is included to be asserted at a first level to configure the antenna 30 to transmit the THF signal 32. If desired, the control signal V 偏置 Adjustments may also be made to control the waveform of the THF signal (eg, as a square function, a linear function, etc. that preserves modulation of the incident optical signal) to perform gain control on the signal transmitted by antenna 30 and / or to adjust the output impedance of UTC PD 42 .

[0052] like Figure 2 As shown, the UTC PD 42 may be optically coupled to the optical path 40. The optical path 40 may include one or more optical fibers or waveguides. The UTC PD 42 may receive the signal from the transceiver circuit 26 ( Figure 1 ) receives an optical signal. The optical signal may include a first optical local oscillator (LO) signal LO1 and a second optical local oscillator signal LO2. The optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2 may be transmitted by the transceiver circuit 26 ( Figure 1 ) in the optical local oscillator signal. The optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2 may be at an optical wavelength (e.g., between 400 nm and 700 nm), an ultraviolet wavelength (e.g., a near ultraviolet wavelength or an extreme ultraviolet wavelength), and / or an infrared wavelength (e.g., a near infrared wavelength, a mid-infrared wavelength, or a far infrared wavelength). The optical local oscillator signal LO2 may be offset in wavelength from the optical local oscillator signal LO1 by a wavelength offset X. The wavelength offset X may be equal to the wavelength of the THF signal transmitted by the antenna 30 (e.g., between 100 GHz and 1 THz (1000 GHz), between 100 GHz and 2 THz, between 300 GHz and 800 GHz, between 300 GHz and 1 THz, between 300 GHz and 400 GHz, etc.).

[0053] During signal transmission, wireless data (e.g., wireless data packets, symbols, frames, etc.) may be modulated onto the optical local oscillator signal LO2 to produce a modulated optical local oscillator signal LO2'. If desired, the optical local oscillator signal LO1 may be provided with an optical phase shift S. The optical path 40 may illuminate the UTC PD 42 with the optical local oscillator signal LO1 (plus the optical phase shift S when applied) and the modulated optical local oscillator signal LO2'. If desired, a lens or other optical component may be interposed between the optical path 40 and the UTC PD 42 to help focus the optical local oscillator signal onto the UTC PD 42.

[0054] The UTC PD 42 can convert the optical local oscillator signal LO1 and the modulated local oscillator signal LO2' (e.g., the beats between the two optical local oscillator signals) into an antenna current that flows along the periphery of the radiating element arm 36. The frequency of the antenna current is equal to the frequency difference between the local oscillator signal LO1 and the modulated local oscillator signal LO2'. The antenna current can radiate (transmit) the THF signal 32 into free space. The control signal V 偏置The UTC PD 42 can be controlled to convert the optical local oscillator signal into antenna currents on the radiating element arms 36 while preserving the modulation and thus the wireless data on the modulated local oscillator signal LO2' (e.g., by applying a square function to the signal). The THF signal 32 will thus carry the modulated wireless data for reception and demodulation by external wireless communication equipment.

[0055] Figure 3 To illustrate (for example, when the control signal V 偏置 The settings from Figure 2 FIG. 3 shows how the antenna 30 can receive the THF signal 34 after the transmitting state is changed to the receiving state. Figure 3 As shown, THF signal 34 may be incident on antenna radiating element arm 36. Incident THF signal 34 may generate antenna currents that flow around the periphery of radiating element arm 36. UTC PD 42 may use optical local oscillator signal LO1 (plus optical phase shift S when applied), optical local oscillator signal LO2 (e.g., without modulation), and control signal V 偏置 (eg, a bias voltage asserted at a second level) converts the received THF signal 34 into an intermediate frequency signal SIGIF that is output on the intermediate frequency signal path 44 .

[0056] The frequency of the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF may be equal to the frequency of the THF signal 34 minus the difference between the frequency of the optical local oscillator signal LO1 and the frequency of the optical local oscillator signal LO2. For example, the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF may be at a lower frequency than the THF signals 32 and 34, such as a centimeter or millimeter wave frequency between 10 GHz and 100 GHz, between 30 GHz and 80 GHz, about 60 GHz, etc. If necessary, when switching from transmission to reception or vice versa, the transceiver circuit 26 ( Figure 1 ) can change the frequency of the optical local oscillator signal LO1 and / or the optical local oscillator signal LO2. The UTC PD 42 can store the data modulation of the THF signal 34 in the intermediate signal SIGIF. The transceiver circuit 26 ( Figure 1 ) may demodulate the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF (e.g., after further down-conversion) to recover the wireless data from the THF signal 34. For another example, the wireless circuit 24 may convert the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF to the optical domain before recovering the wireless data. For another example, the intermediate frequency signal path 44 may be omitted, and the UTCPD 42 may convert the THF signal 34 to the optical domain for subsequent demodulation and data recovery (e.g., in a sideband of the optical signal).

[0057] Figure 2 and Figure 3The antenna 30 may support transmission of the THF signal 32 and reception of the THF signal 34 using a given polarization (e.g., a linear polarization such as a vertical polarization). If desired, the wireless circuit 24 ( Figure 1 ) may include multiple antennas 30 for covering different polarizations. Figure 4 is a diagram showing one example of how wireless circuitry 24 may include multiple antennas 30 for covering different polarizations.

[0058] like Figure 4 As shown, the wireless circuit may include a first antenna 30, such as antenna 30V for covering a first polarization (e.g., a first linear polarization such as a vertical polarization), and may include a second antenna 30, such as antenna 30H for covering a second polarization different from or orthogonal to the first polarization (e.g., a second linear polarization such as a horizontal polarization). Antenna 30V may have a UTC PD 42, such as UTC PD 42V coupled between a corresponding pair of radiating element arms 36. Antenna 30H may have a UTC PD 42, such as UTC PD 42H coupled between a corresponding pair of radiating element arms 36, which are oriented non-parallel (e.g., orthogonal) to the radiating element arms 36 in antenna 30V. This may allow antennas 30V and 30H to transmit THF signals 32 with corresponding (orthogonal) polarizations, and may allow antennas 30V and 30H to receive THF signals 32 with corresponding (orthogonal) polarizations.

[0059] To minimize space within device 10, antenna 30V may be stacked vertically above or below antenna 30H (e.g., where UTC PD 42V partially or completely overlaps UTC PD 42H). In this example, both antennas 30V and 30H may be formed on the same substrate, such as a rigid or flexible printed circuit board. The substrate may include multiple stacked dielectric layers (e.g., layers of ceramic, epoxy, flexible printed circuit board material, rigid printed circuit board material, etc.). Radiating element arm 36 in antenna 30V may be formed on a separate substrate layer from radiating element arm 36 in antenna 30H, or radiating element arm 36 in antenna 30V may be formed on the same substrate layer as radiating element arm 36 in antenna 30H. UTC PD 42V may be formed on the same substrate layer as UTC PD 42H, or UTC PD 42V may be formed on a separate substrate layer from UTC PD 42H. UTC PD 42V may be formed on the same substrate layer as radiating element arm 36 in antenna 30V, or may be formed on a separate substrate layer from radiating element arm 36 in antenna 30V. UTC PD 42H may be formed on the same substrate layer as radiating element arm 36 in antenna 30H, or may be formed on a separate substrate layer from radiating element arm 36 in antenna 30H.

[0060] If necessary, the antenna 30 or Figure 4 Antennas 30H and 30V are integrated into a phased antenna array. Figure 5 is a diagram showing one example of how antennas 30H and 30V may be integrated within a phased antenna array. Figure 5 As shown, device 10 may include a phased antenna array 46 of stacked antennas 30H and 30V arranged in a rectangular grid of rows and columns. Each of these antennas in phased antenna array 46 may be formed on the same substrate. This is merely exemplary. In general, phased antenna array 46 (sometimes referred to as a phased array antenna) may include any desired number of antennas 30V and 30H (or non-stacked antennas 30) arranged in any desired pattern. Each of these antennas in phased antenna array 46 may be provided with a corresponding optical phase shift S ( Figure 2 and Figure 3 ), the corresponding optical phase shift configures the antenna to collectively transmit THF signals 32 and / or receive THF signals 34, which are added to form a signal beam of the THF signal in a desired beam pointing direction. The beam pointing direction can be selected to point the signal beam toward external communication equipment, toward a desired external object, away from an external object, etc.

[0061] Phased antenna array 46 may occupy a relatively small space within device 10. For example, each antenna 30V / 30H may have a length 48 (e.g., as measured from the end of one radiating element arm to the opposite end of an opposing radiating element arm). Length 48 may be approximately equal to half the wavelength of THF signals 32 and 34. For example, length 48 may be as small as 0.5 mm or less. Each UTC-PD 42 in phased antenna array 46 may occupy a lateral area of ​​100 square microns or less. This may allow phased antenna array 46 to occupy a very small area within device 10, thereby allowing the phased antenna array to be integrated within different portions of device 10 while still allowing other space for device components. Figures 2 to 5 The examples are illustrative only, and in general, each antenna may have any desired antenna radiating element architecture.

[0062] Figure 6 To illustrate a given antenna 30 and signal path 28 ( Figure 1 ) can be used to transmit a THF signal 32 and receive a THF signal 34 based on an optical local oscillator signal. Figure 6 In the example of FIG. 4 , the UTC PD 42 converts the received THF signal 34 into intermediate frequency signals SIGIF, which are then converted to the optical domain for recovering the wireless data from the received THF signal.

[0063] like Figure 6As shown, the wireless circuit 24 may include a transceiver circuit 26 coupled to the antenna 30 via a signal path 28 (e.g., an optical signal path sometimes referred to herein as an optical signal path 28). The UTC PD 42 may be coupled between the radiating element arm 36 of the antenna 30 and the signal path 28. The transceiver circuit 26 may include an optical component 68, an amplifier circuit such as a power amplifier 76, and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 74. The optical component 68 may include an optical receiver (such as an optical receiver 72) and an optical local oscillator (LO) light source (emitter) 70. The LO light source 70 may include two or more light sources, such as a laser light source, a laser diode, an optical phase-locked loop, or other optical emitters that emit light at corresponding wavelengths (e.g., optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2). If desired, the LO light source 70 may include a single light source and may include optical components for splitting the light emitted by the light source into different wavelengths. The signal path 28 may be coupled to the optical component 68 via an optical path 66. The optical path 66 may include one or more optical fibers and / or waveguides.

[0064] Signal path 28 may include an optical splitter such as optical splitter (OS) 54, an optical path such as optical path 64 and optical path 62, an optical combiner such as optical combiner (OC) 52, and optical path 40. Optical path 62 may be an optical fiber or a waveguide. Optical path 64 may be an optical fiber or a waveguide. Optical splitter 54 may have a first (e.g., input) port coupled to optical path 66, a second (e.g., output) port coupled to optical path 62, and a third (e.g., output) port coupled to optical path 64. Optical path 64 may couple optical splitter 54 to a first (e.g., input) port of optical combiner 52. Optical path 62 may couple optical splitter 54 to a second (e.g., input) port of optical combiner 52. Optical combiner 52 may have a third (e.g., output) port coupled to optical path 40.

[0065] An optical phase shifter, such as optical phase shifter 80, may be (optically) inserted on or along optical path 64. An optical modulator, such as optical modulator 56, may be (optically) inserted on or along optical path 62. Optical modulator 56 may be, for example, a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM), and may therefore sometimes be referred to as MZM 56. MZM 56 includes a first optical arm (branch) 60 and a second optical arm (branch) 58 inserted in parallel along optical path 62. Propagating an optical local oscillator signal LO2 along arms 60 and 58 of MZM 56 may allow, in the presence of a voltage signal applied to one or both arms, to impart a different optical phase shift to each arm before recombining the signals at the output of the MZM (e.g., where the optical phase modulation produced on the arms is converted into intensity modulation at the output of MZM 56). When the voltage applied to MZM 56 includes wireless data, MZM 56 may modulate the wireless data onto optical local oscillator signal LO2. If desired, the phase shifting performed at MZM 56 may be used to perform beamforming / steering in addition to or in lieu of optical phase shifter 80. MZM 56 may receive one or more bias voltages W applied to one or both of arms 58 and 60. 偏置 (Sometimes referred to herein as bias signal W 偏置 ). Control circuit 14 ( Figure 1 ) can provide bias voltages with different values 偏置 , to place MZM 56 in different operating modes (eg, an operating mode that suppresses the optical carrier signal, an operating mode that does not suppress the optical carrier signal, etc.).

[0066] The intermediate frequency signal path 44 may couple the UTC PD 42 to the MZM 56 (e.g., arm 60). An amplifier (such as a low noise amplifier 82) may be inserted on the intermediate frequency signal path 44. The intermediate frequency signal path 44 may be used to pass the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF from the UTC PD 42 to the MZM 56. The DAC 74 may have an input coupled to an up-conversion circuit, a modulator circuit, and / or a baseband circuit in a transmitter of the transceiver circuit 26. The DAC 74 may receive digital data for transmission through the antenna 30, and may convert the digital data into an analog domain (e.g., as data DAT). The DAC 74 may have an output coupled to a transmit data path 78. The transmit data path 78 may couple the DAC 74 to the MZM 56 (e.g., arm 60). Each of the components along signal path 28 may allow the same antenna 30 to transmit THF signal 32 and receive THF signal 34 (eg, using the same components along signal path 28 ), thereby minimizing space and resource consumption within device 10 .

[0067] LO light source 70 may generate (emit) optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2 (e.g., at different wavelengths separated by the wavelength of THF signal 32 / 34). Optical components 68 may include lenses, waveguides, optical couplers, optical fibers, and / or other optical components that direct the emitted optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2 toward optical splitter 54 via optical path 66. Optical splitter 54 may split the optical signal on optical path 66 (e.g., by wavelength) to output optical local oscillator signal LO1 onto optical path 64 while outputting optical local oscillator signal LO2 onto optical path 62.

[0068] Control circuit 14( Figure 1 ) may provide a phase control signal CTRL to an optical phase shifter 80. The phase control signal CTRL may control the optical phase shifter 80 to apply an optical phase shift S to an optical local oscillator signal LO1 on the optical path 64. The phase shift S may be selected to steer the signal beam of the THF signal 32 / 34 in a desired pointing direction. The optical phase shifter 80 may pass the phase-shifted optical local oscillator signal LO1 (referred to as LO1+S) to the optical combiner 52. Signal beam steering is performed in the optical domain (e.g., using the optical phase shifter 80) rather than in the THF domain because there are no satisfactory phase shifting circuit components that operate at frequencies as high as the frequencies of the THF signals 32 and 34. The optical combiner 52 may receive the optical local oscillator signal LO2 via the optical path 62. The optical combiner 52 may combine the optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2 onto the optical path 40, which directs these optical local oscillator signals to the UTC PD 42 for use during signal transmission or reception.

[0069] During transmission of the THF signal 32, the DAC 74 may receive digital wireless data (e.g., data packets, frames, symbols, etc.) for transmission via the THF signal 32. The DAC 74 may convert the digital wireless data into an analog domain and may output (transmit) the data as data DAT onto a transmit data path 78 (e.g., for transmission via the antenna 30). The power amplifier 76 may amplify the data DAT. The transmit data path 78 may pass the data DAT to the MZM 56 (e.g., arm 60). The MZM 56 may modulate the data DAT onto the optical local oscillator signal LO2 to produce a modulated optical local oscillator signal LO2′ (e.g., an optical local oscillator signal at the frequency / wavelength of the optical local oscillator signal LO2 but modulated to include data identified by the data DAT). The optical combiner 52 may combine the optical local oscillator signal LO1 with the modulated optical local oscillator signal LO2′ at the optical path 40.

[0070] The optical path 40 may illuminate the UTC PD 42 with (using) the optical local oscillator signal LO1 (eg, and the phase shift S applied by the optical phase shifter 80) and the modulated optical local oscillator signal LO2'. The control circuit 14 ( Figure 1 ) can apply a control signal V to UTCPD 42 偏置 , which configures the antenna 30 to transmit the THF signal 32. The UTC PD 42 can convert the optical local oscillator signal LO1 and the modulated optical local oscillator signal LO2' into an antenna current at the frequency of the THF signal 32 on the radiating element arm 36 (e.g., when programmed to use the control signal V 偏置 When transmitting). The antenna current on the radiating element arm 36 can radiate the THF signal 32. The frequency of the THF signal 32 is given by the frequency difference between the optical local oscillator signal LO1 and the modulated optical local oscillator signal LO2'. The control signal V 偏置 The UTC PD 42 may be controlled to preserve the modulation from the modulated optical local oscillator signal LO2′ in the radiated THF signal 32. External equipment receiving the THF signal 32 will thereby be able to extract the data DAT from the THF signal 32 transmitted by the antenna 30.

[0071] During reception of the THF signal 34, the MZM 56 does not modulate any data onto the optical local oscillator signal LO2. The optical path 40 thus illuminates the UTC PD 42 with the optical local oscillator signal LO1 (eg, and the phase shift S) and the optical local oscillator signal LO2. The control circuit 14 ( Figure 1 ) can apply a control signal V to the UTC PD 42 偏置 (e.g., bias voltage), which configures antenna 30 to receive THF signal 32. UTC PD 42 may use optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2 to convert received THF signal 34 into an intermediate frequency signal SIGIF output to intermediate frequency signal path 44 (e.g., when programmed to use bias voltage V 偏置 34). The intermediate frequency signal SIGIF may include modulated data from the received THF signal 34. The low noise amplifier 82 may amplify the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF, which is then provided to the MZM 56 (e.g., arm 60). The MZM 56 may convert the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF into the optical domain as an optical signal LOrx (e.g., by modulating the data in the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF onto one of the optical local oscillator signals), and may pass the optical signals to the optical receiver 72 in the optical component 68, as shown by arrow 63 (e.g., via optical paths 62 and 66 or other optical paths). The control circuit 14 ( Figure 1) may use an optical receiver 72 to convert the optical signal LOrx into another format and to recover (demodulate) the data carried by the THF signal 34 from the optical signal. In this way, the same antenna 30 and signal path 28 may be used to transmit and receive THF signals while also performing beam steering operations.

[0072] Figure 6 The example in which the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF is converted to the optical domain is merely illustrative. If desired, the transceiver circuit 26 can receive and demodulate the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF without first transferring these signals to the optical domain. For example, the transceiver circuit 26 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), the intermediate frequency signal path 44 may be coupled to the input of the ADC instead of being coupled to the MZM 56, and the ADC may convert the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF to the digital domain. For another example, the intermediate frequency signal path 44 may be omitted, and the control signal V 偏置 The UTC PD 42 may be controlled to sample the THF signal 34 directly into the optical domain along with the optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2. For example, the UTC PD 42 may use the received THF signal 34 and the control signal V 偏置 An optical signal is generated on optical path 40. The optical signal may have an optical carrier with sidebands that are separated from the optical carrier by a fixed frequency offset (e.g., 30 GHz-100 GHz, 60 GHz, 50 GHz-70 GHz, 10 GHz-100 GHz, etc.). The sidebands may be used to carry modulated data from the received THF signal 34. Signal path 28 may direct (propagate) the optical signal generated by UTC PD 42 to an optical receiver 72 in optical component 68 (e.g., via optical paths 40, 64, 62, 66, 63 and / or other optical paths). Control circuit 14 ( Figure 1 ) may use an optical receiver 72 to convert the optical signal into another format and to recover (demodulate) the data carried by the THF signal 34 from the optical signal (eg, from a sideband of the optical signal).

[0073] Figure 7 A circuit diagram showing an example of how multiple antennas 30 may be integrated into a phased antenna array 88 that transmits THF signals via corresponding signal beams. Figure 7 For clarity, in the example Figure 6 The MZM 56, the intermediate frequency signal path 44, the data path 78 and the optical receiver 72 have been omitted. Each of these antennas in the phased antenna array 88 may alternatively sample the received THF signal directly into the optical domain, or may pass the intermediate frequency signal SIGIF to an ADC in the transceiver circuit 26.

[0074] like Figure 7As shown, the phased antenna array 88 includes N antennas 30, such as a first antenna 30-0, a second antenna 30-1, and an Nth antenna 30-(N-1). Each of the antennas 30 in the phased antenna array 88 can be connected via a corresponding optical signal path (e.g., Figure 6 The optical signal path 28 of the N signal paths is coupled to the optical component 68. Each of the N signal paths may include a corresponding optical combiner 52, which is coupled to the UTC PD 42 of the corresponding antenna 30 (e.g., the UTC PD 42 in the antenna 30-0 may be coupled to the optical combiner 52-0, the UTC PD 42 in the antenna 30-1 may be coupled to the optical combiner 52-1, the UTC PD 42 in the antenna 30-(N-1) may be coupled to the optical combiner 52-(N-1), etc.). Each of the N signal paths may also include a corresponding optical path 62 and a corresponding optical path 64, which are coupled to the corresponding optical combiner 52 (for example, optical paths 64-0 and 62-0 may be coupled to optical combiner 52-0, optical paths 64-1 and 62-1 may be coupled to optical combiner 52-1, optical paths 64-(N-1) and 62-(N-1) may be coupled to optical combiner 52-(N-1), etc.).

[0075] The optical component 68 may include an LO light source 70, such as a first LO light source 70A and a second LO light source 70B. The optical signal paths for each of the antennas 30 in the phased antenna array 88 may share one or more optical splitters 54, such as a first optical splitter 54A and a second optical splitter 54B. The LO light source 70A may generate (e.g., produce, emit, transmit, etc.) a first optical local oscillator signal LO1, and may provide the first optical local oscillator signal LO1 to the optical splitter 54A via an optical path 66A. The optical splitter 54A may distribute the first optical local oscillator signal LO1 to each of the UTC PDs 42 in the phased antenna array 88 via an optical path 64 (e.g., optical paths 64-0, 64-1, 64-(N-1), etc.). Similarly, the LO light source 70B may generate (e.g., produce, emit, transmit, etc.) a second optical local oscillator signal LO2, and may provide the second optical local oscillator signal LO2 to the optical splitter 54B via an optical path 66B. The optical splitter 54B may distribute the second optical local oscillator signal LO2 to each UTC PD in the UTCPD 42 in the phased antenna array 88 through the optical paths 62 (eg, optical paths 62 - 0 , 62 - 1 , 62 -(N− 1 ), etc.).

[0076] A corresponding optical phase shifter 80 may be inserted along (on) each optical path 64 (e.g., a first optical phase shifter 80-0 may be inserted along the optical path 64-0, a second optical phase shifter 80-1 may be inserted along the optical path 64-1, an Nth optical phase shifter 80-(N-1) may be inserted along the optical path 64-(N-1) and so on). Each optical phase shifter 80 may receive a control signal CTRL that controls the phase S provided by the optical phase shifter to the optical local oscillator signal LO1 (e.g., the first optical phase shifter 80-0 may apply an optical phase shift of zero degrees / radians to the optical local oscillator signal LO1 provided to the antenna 30-0, the second optical phase shifter 80-1 may apply an optical phase shift of Δφ to the optical local oscillator signal LO1 provided to the antenna 30-1, and the Nth optical phase shifter 80-(N-1) may apply an optical phase shift of (N-1)Δφ to the optical local oscillator signal LO1 provided to the antenna 30-(N-1). By adjusting the phase S applied by each of the N optical phase shifters 80, the control circuit 14 ( Figure 1 ) can control each of the antennas 30 in the phased antenna array 88 to transmit the THF signal 32 and / or receive the THF signal 34 within the formed signal beam 83. The signal beam 83 can be oriented in a particular beam pointing direction (angle) 84 (e.g., the direction of the peak gain of the signal beam 83). The THF signal transmitted by the phased antenna array 88 can have a wavefront 86 orthogonal to the beam pointing direction 84. For example, the control circuit 14 can adjust the beam pointing direction 84 over time to point toward or away from an external communication device or an external object.

[0077] The phased antenna array 88 may be capable of operating in an active mode in which the array transmits and / or receives THF signals using the optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2 (e.g., using a phase-shifted steering signal beam 83 provided to each antenna element). If desired, the phased antenna array 88 may also be capable of operating in a passive mode in which the array does not transmit or receive THF signals. Conversely, in the passive mode, the phased antenna array 88 may be configured to form a passive reflector that reflects THF signals or other electromagnetic waves incident on the device 10. In the passive mode, the UTCPD 42 in the phased antenna array 88 is not illuminated by the optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2, and the transceiver circuit 26 does not perform modulation / demodulation, mixing, filtering, detection, modulation, and / or amplification on the incident THF signal. When in the passive mode, the control signal V 偏置Each antenna 30 may be controlled to impart one or more selected phase shifts, carrier frequency shifts, and / or polarization changes in the process of reflecting incident electromagnetic waves. The phased antenna array 88 when placed in a passive mode and when controlled / programmed to impart one or more phase shifts, carrier frequency shifts, and / or polarization changes to the reflected electromagnetic waves may sometimes be referred to as an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS). For example, the carrier frequency shift may be from a given carrier frequency f c to 2*f c Or other frequencies, or vice versa. The polarization change may be from vertical linear polarization to horizontal linear polarization, from horizontal linear polarization to vertical linear polarization, to or from orbital angular momentum (OAM) configuration, etc. Any desired combination of polarization change, frequency change, and phase change may be used.

[0078] Figure 8 8 is a diagram of a given antenna 30 in a phased antenna array 88 that can be configured to reflect electromagnetic waves when the phased antenna array 88 is placed in a passive mode. Figure 8 As shown, in the passive mode, the UTC PD 42 is not supplied with an optical local oscillator signal. 偏置 A bias voltage and / or other control signal may be included to configure the UTC PD 42 to exhibit a selected output impedance. The selected output impedance may be mismatched (e.g., at the frequency of the THF signal 34) relative to the input impedance of the antenna radiating element arm 36. This impedance mismatch may cause the antenna 30 to reflect (scatter) the incident THF signal 34 as a reflected THF signal 34R (sometimes referred to herein simply as the reflected signal 34R).

[0079] The selected impedance mismatch may also configure the antenna 30 to impart a selected phase shift and / or carrier frequency shift to the reflected signal 34R relative to the incident THF signal 34 (e.g., wherein the reflected signal 34R is phase-shifted by a selected phase shift relative to the THF signal 34, frequency-shifted by a selected carrier frequency shift relative to the THF signal 34, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the system may be adapted to configure the antenna 30 to impart a polarization change to the reflected signal 34R relative to the incident THF signal 34. The control signal V 偏置 The output impedance of UTC PD 42 may be changed, adjusted, or varied over time to change the amount of mismatch between the output impedance of UTC PD 42 and the input impedance of antenna radiating element arm 36 in order to impart a different phase shift and / or carrier frequency shift to reflected signal 34R. In other words, control circuit 14 may program the phase, frequency, and / or polarization characteristics of reflected signal 34R (e.g., using control signal V applied to UTC PD 42). 偏置 ).

[0080] At any given time, the same impedance mismatch may be applied to all antennas 30 in the phased antenna array 88, or different impedance mismatches may be applied to different antennas 30 in the phased antenna array 88. Applying different impedance mismatches across the phased antenna array 88 may, for example, allow the control circuit 14 to perform space-time encoding on the reflection signal 34R (e.g., where the spatial response and / or time response of the reflection signal 34R is encoded to convey information to external equipment that receives the reflection signal 34R) and / or form a signal beam of the reflection signal 34R that is pointed in one or more desired beam pointing directions. When the phased antenna array 88 is operated in an active mode, the control circuit 14 may control the LO light source 70 to illuminate the UTC PD 42 in the phased antenna array 88 using the optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2, and the control signal V 偏置 can be adjusted to configure the UTC PD 42 to cause the antenna radiating element arm 36 to radiate the THF signal 32 or receive the THF signal 34 (e.g., as Figure 2 and Figure 3 shown).

[0081] Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional side view of a given UTC PD 42 in the phased antenna array 88. Fig. 9 As shown, the UTC PD 42 may include a plurality of stacked layers (e.g., in a semiconductor substrate). The stacked layers of the UTC PD 42 may include an n-type contact layer 104 and a p-type contact layer 90 (e.g., on opposite sides of the stack). For example, the n-type contact layer 104 may include n-type doped indium phosphide (InP). A waveguide layer (such as waveguide 102) may be stacked (layered) on the n-type contact layer 104. A depletion layer (such as depletion layer 100) may be stacked on the waveguide 102. For example, the depletion layer 100 may include n-type doped InP. One or more spacers (such as spacers 96 and 98) may be stacked on the depletion layer 100. An absorption layer (such as absorption layer 94) may be stacked on the spacer 96. For example, the absorption layer 94 may include p-type doped indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs). A ridge layer (such as ridge layer 92) may be stacked on the absorption layer 94. For example, the ridge layer 92 may include p-type doped InP. The p-type contact layer 90 may be stacked on the ridge layer 92. For example, the p-type contact layer 90 may include InGaAs. A control signal V may be applied to (across) the p-type contact layer 90 and the n-type contact layer 104. 偏置 , to control the operation of UTC PD 42. The control signal V 偏置 The output impedance of the UTC PD 42 may be adjusted and / or the UTC PD 42 may be configured to transmit the THF signal 32 and / or receive the THF signal 34 .

[0082] Fig. 9The examples are illustrative only. Antenna 30 need not include a UTC PD, and if desired, UTC PD 42 may be replaced by a PIN diode (e.g., a PIN photodiode) or any other desired programmable diode structure. The layers of UTC PD 42 may be stacked in other orders (e.g., waveguide 102 may be interposed between other layers, etc.). Additional layers may be included in the stack. For example, a graphene layer (such as graphene sublayer 105) may be layered onto waveguide 102 or may be otherwise layered onto antenna radiating element arm 36 ( Figure 8 ) below. The graphene sublayer 105 may be used, for example, to extend the frequency range of the antenna 30 for transmitting / receiving THF signals and / or for passively reflecting the THF signal 34 as a reflected signal 34R.

[0083] Fig.10 is the equivalent circuit diagram of UTC PD 42. Fig.10 As shown, the UTC PD 42 may include an impedance matching portion (region) 106 coupled between the lines 110 and 112. For example, the impedance matching portion 106 may be composed of Fig. 9 100. Line 110 may couple terminal 111 to a first terminal of current source 108. Line 112 may couple terminal 113 to a second terminal of current source 108. Antenna radiating element arm 36 ( Figure 8 ) can be coupled between terminals 111 and 113.

[0084] The first resistor R1 may be inserted on the line 110 between the impedance matching portion 106 and the terminal 111. P It can be inserted in series on line 110 between resistor R1 and terminal 111. Parasitic capacitance C P Can be coupled between the resistor R1 and the parasitic inductor L P Between a node on line 110 between the impedance matching portion 106 and the terminal 113 and a node on line 112 between the impedance matching portion 106 and the terminal 113.

[0085] The impedance matching portion 106 may include resistors R2, R3, and R4 coupled in series between the lines 110 and 112. The impedance matching portion 106 may include capacitors C1, C2, and C3 coupled in series between the lines 110 and 112 (and in parallel with the resistors R2, R3, and R4). A path 114 in the impedance matching portion 106 may couple a node between the resistors R2 and R3 to a node between the capacitors C1 and C2. A path 116 in the impedance matching portion 106 may couple a node between the resistors R3 and R4 to a node between the capacitors C2 and C3. The impedance matching portion 106 may also be simplified to a single capacitor coupled between the lines 110 and 112 or a single capacitor and a single resistor (e.g., a resistor across the depletion layer 100) coupled in parallel between the lines 110 and 112.

[0086] Current source 108 may generate a photocurrent I between lines 110 and 112 in response to illumination from optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2. PH . Photocurrent I PH The THF signal 32 may flow along the antenna radiating element arm (eg, between the terminals 111 and 113) to radiate the THF signal 32. The impedance matching portion 106 may be configured to present an output impedance Z of the UTC PD 42. The control signal V 偏置 (eg, one or more bias voltages and / or other control signals) may be applied to the P-type contact layer 90 and the N-type contact layer 104 ( Fig. 9 ) to change one or more resistors among the resistors R2, R3 and / or R4, and / or change one or more capacitors among the capacitors C1, C2 and / or C3, so as to adjust the output impedance Z of the UTC PD 42.

[0087] For example, when the antenna is transmitting or receiving a THF signal in active mode, the control signal V 偏置 Impedance matching section 106 may be configured to match the output impedance Z to the input impedance of the antenna radiating element arm coupled across terminals 111 and 113. However, when the antenna is in passive mode, control signal V 偏置 The impedance matching section 106 may be configured to exhibit an output impedance Z that differs (mismatches) by a selected amount from the input impedance of the antenna radiating element arm. The amount of mismatch may be selected to impart a selected phase shift and / or carrier frequency shift when the incident THF signal 34 is reflected as the reflected signal 34R (e.g., by the antenna 30 itself or in conjunction with other antennas 30 in a phased antenna array). The control signal V 偏置 The output impedance Z may be adjusted to adjust the (selected) amount of mismatch between the output impedance Z and the input impedance of the antenna radiating element arm over time (e.g., to adjust the phase shift and / or carrier frequency shift imparted by the antenna 30 itself or in combination with other antennas 30 when reflecting an incident THF signal 34 as a reflected signal 34R).

[0088] Fig.11 1 is a diagram showing how one or more antennas 30 (e.g., phased antenna array 88) on device 10 may reflect an incident THF signal. Fig.11 As shown, communication network or system 96 may include device 10 and external communication equipment such as external equipment 114. External equipment 114 may be another device such as device 10, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, a peripheral device, an accessory device, a user input device, or the like.

[0089] like Fig.11 As shown, the external equipment 114 may transmit a THF signal 34. The THF signal 34 may be incident at an angle θi When configured in the passive mode, one or more of the antennas 30 in the phased antenna array 88 may transmit the THF signal 34 at an incident angle θ i The reflection is the reflection signal 34R. The control signal V 偏置 can be varied across the phased antenna array 88 (eg, thereby varying the phase shift imparted) to configure the array 88 to direct the THF signal 34 from the incident angle θ i Commonly reflected to the corresponding output (scattering) angle θ R on (e.g., as the output angle θ R a reflected signal beam having a beam pointing direction in the direction of the beam).

[0090] Control signal V 偏置 The output angle θ can be R Configurable to any desired angle. For example, the output angle θ R The device 10 may be oriented toward the external equipment 114 so that the external equipment 114 receives the reflected signal 34R. This may allow the external equipment 114 to locate the position of the device 10 (e.g., in the case where the external equipment 114 does not have a priori knowledge of the position of the device 10) and / or receive information encoded in the reflected signal from the device 10. In the case where the external equipment 114 locates the position of the device 10 based on receiving the reflected signal 34R, the external equipment 114 may use the known position of the device 10 to perform further wireless communications with the device 10 using the THF signal (e.g., by directing the signal beam of the THF signal 34 toward the known position of the device 10 for subsequent communication).

[0091] If necessary, the control circuit 14 ( Figure 1 ) may further adjust the phase shift and / or frequency shift imparted by one or more of the antennas in the phased antenna array 88 as a function of space and / or as a function of time to perform space-time encoding of information to be received by the external equipment 114 within the reflected signal 34R. Such space-time encoding may involve providing a control signal V to each of the antennas 30 in the phased antenna array 88. 偏置 , these control signals configure each antenna 30 to generate a reflected signal 34R having a corresponding phase shift (e.g., ranging from -180 degrees to 180 degrees or a certain subset thereof), amplitude and / or frequency shift at each antenna 30 in the array at different times by reflecting / scattering the incident THF signal 34. The control circuit 14 may, for example, switch the UTC PD control signal V at a sufficiently high rate, such as at a rate that matches or exceeds the sample rate and / or matches or exceeds the symbol rate of the external equipment 114. 偏置In general, in time and space, the reflected signal 34R may encode any desired information for reception and decoding by the external equipment 114 and / or any other desired external communication equipment. The information may include, for example, information identifying a portion or subset of the reflected THF signal 34 of the device 10, a device identifier identifying the device 10 and / or a user of the device 10, application data, messages, control data, configuration data, etc.

[0092] If necessary, the control circuit 14 can control the output angle θ R The control circuit 14 may be configured to point in other directions, as indicated by arrow 118. If desired, arrow 118 may be oriented toward other external communication equipment. The other external communication equipment may identify the location of the device 10 based on receiving the reflected signal 34R and / or may identify any other information transmitted via the reflected signal (e.g., using space-time encoding). If desired, the control circuit 14 may output the reflected signal at a plurality of different output angles θ as a function of time. R Reflected signal 34R is scanned internally, as indicated by arrow 116. This may, for example, help device 10 find other external communication equipment for performing subsequent THF communications (eg, identify the location of other external communication equipment for performing additional THF communications).

[0093] If desired, control circuitry 14 may diffuse reflected signals 34R as much as possible across all available directions (e.g., as indicated by arrows 118) in any desired sequence (e.g., a random or pseudo-random sequence) to reduce the radar cross section of device 10. This may, for example, help preserve the privacy of device 10 by hiding the presence or precise location of device 10 relative to the rest of system 96. If desired, control circuitry 14 may adjust control signal V 偏置 , to maximize the electromagnetic energy from the THF signal 34 absorbed at the device 10, rather than reflected as the reflected signal 34R. For example, such absorption can be used to heat the device 10. If desired, the phased antenna array 88 can configure the device 10 to form a cooperative device in a radar system. When acting as a cooperative device, the THF signal 34 is a spatial ranging signal such as a radar signal, and the control circuit 14 can use the reflected signal 34R to notify the transmitter of the THF signal 34 that the user is present at the device 10 or adjacent to the device. This can, for example, help the transmitter of the THF signal 34 to be aware of potential dangers caused by the presence of the user (for example, when the transmitter is implemented on an automotive vehicle or poses other potential dangers to pedestrians or users of the device 10).

[0094] Fig.12 State diagram 120 of device 10 and one or more antennas 30 on device 10, such as antennas 30 integrated into a phased antenna array (such as phased antenna array 88), is shown. Control circuit 14 ( Figure 1) can be achieved by adjusting the LO light source 70 and the control signal V provided to the antenna 30 偏置 To adjust / transition device 10 between states of state diagram 120.

[0095] In the transmit mode (state) 122, the control circuit 14 may provide (assert / supply) a control signal V having a first setting to the antenna 30. 偏置 This may, for example, include providing a first bias voltage to the antenna 30. The control signal V 偏置 The impedance matching portion 106 of the UTCPD 42 in the antenna 30 can be configured to exhibit an output impedance that matches the input impedance of the antenna radiating element arm 36 in the antenna. This can be used to maximize the power transfer and efficiency of the antenna transmitting the THF signal. At the same time, the LO light source 70 can generate optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2. The MZM 56 can transmit the wireless data DAT ( Figure 6 ) is modulated onto the optical local oscillator signal LO2 to generate a modulated optical local oscillator signal LO2'. The UTC PD 42 in the antenna 30 may be illuminated with the optical local oscillator signal LO1 and the modulated optical local oscillator signal LO2'. The antenna 30 may radiate (transmit) a corresponding THF signal 32 ( Figure 6 If necessary, the optical phase shifter 80 may apply a phase shift to the first optical local oscillator LO1 to cause the antenna to be in a selected beam pointing direction 84 ( Figure 7 ) transmits the THF signal 32 within the signal beam 83 oriented (formed) upward.

[0096] In the receive mode (state) 126, the control circuit 14 may provide (assert / supply) a control signal V having a second setting to the antenna 30. 偏置 This may, for example, include providing a second bias voltage to the antenna 30. The control signal V 偏置 The impedance matching portion 106 of the UTCPD 42 in the antenna 30 can be configured to exhibit an output impedance that matches the input impedance of the antenna radiating element arm 36 in the antenna. This can be used to maximize the efficiency of power transfer and antenna reception of the THF signal. At the same time, the LO light source 70 can illuminate the UTC PD 42 in the antenna 30 using the optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2. The antenna 30 can receive the THF signal 34 and can convert the THF signal into an intermediate frequency signal SIGIF ( Figure 6 ) (e.g., for conversion to the optical domain by MZM 56 or for passing to an ADC) or the THF signal may be sampled directly into the optical domain. A receiver in transceiver circuitry 26 may demodulate the wireless data in the received signal and may pass the demodulated data up the protocol stack for further processing.

[0097] In a passive mode such as reflection mode 124 (sometimes referred to herein as passive mode 124, passive reflective mode 124, passive reflector mode 124, passive reflection mode 124, or reflection mode 124), the optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2 do not illuminate the UTC PD 42 in the antenna 30 (e.g., the LO light source 70 may be disabled, inactive, or powered off, or optical switching or absorption may be used to prevent the optical local oscillator signal from illuminating the UTC PD 42). The antenna 30 may receive the incident THF signal 34 while illuminating the UTC PD 42. At the same time, the control circuit 14 may provide (assert / supply) a control signal V having one or more settings other than the first setting and the second setting to the antenna 30. 偏置 . Control signal V 偏置 The impedance matching portion 106 of the UTC PD 42 in the antenna 30 may be configured to exhibit one or more output impedances that do not match (i.e., are mismatched) the input impedance of the antenna radiating element arm 36 in the antenna. This may be used to reflect the THF signal 34 incident on the antenna 30 as a reflected signal 34R.

[0098] If necessary, the control circuit 14 can use the control signal V 偏置 Different impedance mismatches are provided for the incident THF signal 34 at different antennas 30 and / or at different times. This can be used to impart one or more phase shifts and / or carrier frequency shifts to the reflected signal 34R as a function of space and / or time. For example, different phase shifts can be produced in the reflected signal 34R at different antennas 30 to provide a signal at a selected output angle θ. R ( Fig.11 ) to form a signal beam to perform space-time encoding for transmitting information to external communication equipment (such as a transmitter of the THF signal 34) or other external equipment, to scatter reflected signals in as many directions as possible, to absorb as much of the incident THF signal 34 at the device 10 as possible so as to allow the device 10 to form a cooperative device for the radar system, to notify the transmitter of the THF signal 34 and / or other external equipment of the location and / or identity of the device 10 (for example, for use in performing subsequent communications), etc.

[0099] When the device 10 has wireless data DAT to transmit, the control circuit 14 may place the device 10 in the transmit mode 122. For example, when the device 10 is scheduled to receive wireless data in the THF signal 34, the control circuit 14 may place the device 10 in the receive mode 126. When the THF signal is not actively transmitted or received, the control circuit 14 may place the device 10 in the reflection mode 124. The reflection mode 124 may be, for example, the default mode of the device 10. The device 10 may consume less power in the reflection mode 124 than in the transmit mode 122 or the receive mode 126, while still being able to passively transmit information to external communication equipment via the reflected signal 34R.

[0100] Fig.13 1 is a perspective view showing an example of how different antennas 30 may be located at different locations on device 10. Fig.13 In the example of FIG. 1 , device 10 has a front face 127F (e.g., a front face from a display or display cover of device 10), a rear face 127R (e.g., a rear housing wall opposite the front face), and sides 127S (e.g., peripheral housing structures extending from rear face 127R to front face 127F). This is merely illustrative, and in general, device 10 may have other form factors (e.g., a cylindrical form factor, a composite form factor, a laptop form factor, a desktop form factor, a wearable form factor such as a wristwatch form factor or a head mounted device form factor, etc.).

[0101] like Fig.13 As shown, one or more antennas may be located in one or more regions (locations) 128 on the front 127F, the rear 127R, and / or one or more sides 127S. If desired, antennas in different regions 128 may be integrated into one or more phased antenna arrays 88, and / or a single phased antenna array 88 may be located in one or more regions of the regions 128. There may be zero regions 128, one such region, or more than one such region on the front 127F, the rear 127R, and the side 127S.

[0102] If desired, device 10 may include one or more antennas 30 (e.g., one or more phased antenna arrays 88) that may be used only when Fig.12The antenna 30 may be operable in the transmit mode 122 and the reflection mode 124 of the device 10 (e.g., to transmit or reflect only the THF signal), may be operable only in the receive mode 126 and the reflection mode 124 (e.g., to receive or reflect only the THF signal), may be operable in all three modes of the transmit mode 122, the receive mode 126, and the reflection mode 124 (e.g., to transmit, receive, or reflect the THF signal at different times), and / or may be operable only in the reflection mode 124. The antenna 30 that is operable only in the reflection mode 124 may be a dedicated passive antenna in the device 10 and does not need to receive the optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2. If desired, a single array of antennas 30 may include different subsets of antennas that are operable in one, two, or all three of the modes 122-126.

[0103] Fig.14 A top view is shown to illustrate how a single array of antennas 30 may include different subsets of antennas that may operate in one, two, or all three of modes 122-126. Fig.14 As shown, device 10 may include an array 130 of antennas 30. Antennas 30 in array 130 may be integrated into a single substrate (e.g., a printed circuit board or other substrate), or may be distributed across multiple substrates. Array 130 may be located within a single region 128, or may be distributed across multiple regions 128 ( Fig.13 )distributed.

[0104] The array 130 may include different subsets of antennas 30, such as subsets 132 and 134. The subsets 132 and 134 may be capable of operating in different numbers of modes 122-126. For example, one or more subsets 130 may be capable of operating only in the reflection mode 124 (e.g., the subset 130 may include passive antennas 30) or may be capable of operating in all three of the reflection modes 122-126, while the first subset 134 may be capable of operating only in the transmit mode 122 and the second subset 134 may be capable of operating only in the receive mode, or the subset 134 may be capable of operating in the transmit mode 122 and the receive mode 126, but not in the reflective mode 124, or the subset 134 may be capable of operating only in the transmit mode 124, or the subset 134 may be capable of operating only in the receive mode 126, etc. If desired, any desired number of antennas 30 in the array 130 may form a portion of or all of the antennas in the corresponding phased antenna array 88.

[0105] Fig.14The examples are merely illustrative. Array 130 may include any desired number of antennas 30. There may be any desired number of subsets 134 and any desired number of subsets 132. Subsets 134 and 132 may each include any desired number of antennas 30. Each subset 134 may include the same number of antennas 30, or different subsets 134 may include different numbers of antennas 30. Each subset 132 may include the same number of antennas 30, or different subsets 132 may include different numbers of antennas 30. There may be more than two types of subsets in array 130. Fig.14 In the example of FIG. 1 , antennas 30 in subset 132 are adjacent to each other, and antennas 30 in subset 134 are adjacent to each other within array 130. In general, antennas 30 in each subset 132 and antennas in each subset 134 may be distributed across array 130 in any desired manner. Antennas 30 in array 130 need not be arranged in a rectangular grid pattern of rows and columns, and may generally be arranged in any desired pattern.

[0106] If desired, additional materials may be provided to the antenna 30 to help the antenna 30 focus the transmitted THF signal, the reflected THF signal, and / or the reflected THF signal. For example, a THz lens may be provided in the device 10 to help the antenna 30 focus the transmitted THF signal, the received THF signal, and / or the reflected THF signal. Fig.15 1 is a cross-sectional side view showing one example of how the device 10 may include a THz lens to help the antenna 30 focus the transmitted THF signal, the received THF signal, and / or the reflected THF signal.

[0107] like Fig.15 As shown, one or more antennas 30 (e.g., integrated within the array 130) may be disposed on or within a substrate 138. A THz lens (such as a THz lens 142) may be mounted on or above the substrate 138. The THz lens 142 may overlap at least some of the antennas 30 (e.g., all of the antennas) on the substrate 138. The THz lens 142 may be used to focus the THz signal 34 onto the antenna 30, to focus the transmitted THF signal 32 in a particular direction (e.g., within a corresponding signal beam), and / or to focus the reflected signal 34R in a particular direction (e.g., within a corresponding signal beam). This example is merely illustrative. Multiple THz lenses may be used to focus THz signals for different antennas, and / or multiple THz lenses may be used to focus THz signals for one or more antennas. The THz lens 142 may have any desired shape.

[0108] Fig.16 The control circuit 14 ( Figure 1) is a flowchart of exemplary operations performed by the control circuit 14. At optional operation 144, the control circuit 14 may use the control signal V 偏置 Antenna 30 is placed in reflection mode 124 (e.g., while also controlling LO light source 70 to stop providing optical local oscillator signals LO1 and LO2 to the antenna). Operation 144 may be omitted in examples where antenna 30 is operable only in reflection mode 124 (e.g., the antenna is a passive antenna).

[0109] At operation 146 (in the reflective mode 124), the control circuit 14 may use the control signal V 偏置 The UTC PD 42 in the antenna 30 is controlled to produce one or more mismatches (e.g., a series of impedance mismatches over time) between the output impedance of the UTC PD and the input impedance of the antenna radiating element arm 36 in the antenna 30. This can configure the antenna 30 to reflect the incident THF signal 34 as a reflected signal 34R. If desired, the impedance mismatch can be selected and / or varied to impart one or more phase shifts and / or frequency shifts in the reflected signal 34R relative to the incident THF signal 34.

[0110] If necessary, the control circuit 14 can use the control signal V 偏置 The UTC PD is adjusted as a function of time and / or space (e.g., across the array of antennas 30) to perform space-time encoding in the reflected signal 34R (at operation 148). The control circuit 14 may, for example, encode the reflected signal 34R with a device identifier that identifies the device 10 and / or a user of the device 10 to external communication equipment, an identifier that identifies a portion of the device 10 if a reflection of the THF signal 34 occurs, information that informs external communication equipment that the user of the device 10 is present at the location of the device 10 (e.g., for forming a cooperative device in a radar system), etc.

[0111] If necessary, the control circuit 14 may adjust the operation of one or more antennas 30 for transmitting and / or receiving the THF signal based on the configuration and / or state information from the antenna 30 in the reflection mode 124 (at operation 150). The transmitting and / or receiving antennas may include one or more antennas in the same reflection mode 124 (e.g., antennas that will be switched to be used for THF signal transmission and / or reception later), or may be different antennas from the antennas in the reflection mode 124. For example, the control circuit 14 may identify the incident angle θ based on the configuration or state of the antenna in the reflection mode 124 that generates the reflection signal 34R. i and / or output angle θ R The antenna 30 for transmission and / or reception may then use the identified incident angle θ i and / or output angle θ RAs a priori information about the location of the external communication equipment used to perform THF communication. The control circuit 14 can then steer the signal beams generated by those antennas to head towards the identified incident angle θ i and / or output angle θ R Conversely, control circuitry 14 may use information about the location of external communication equipment in communication with transmit and / or receive antenna 30 to adjust the phase produced by antenna 30 in reflection mode 124 to point toward the known location of the external communication equipment (e.g., to reflect subsequently transmitted THF signals 34 incident from the direction of the external communication equipment). This may be used to minimize the time required to establish a THF communication link between device 10 and the external equipment.

[0112] If necessary, the control circuit 14 can use the control signal V 偏置 The UTC PD is adjusted as a function of time and / or space (e.g., across the array of antennas 30) to perform a privacy protection operation using the reflected signal 34R (at operation 152). The control circuit 14 may, for example, adjust the phase of the UTC PD 42 of the antenna 30 in the reflection mode to spread the output angle θ of the reflected signal 34R over as many angles as possible. R For example, this may be used to minimize the radar cross section of device 10 to THF signals. Additionally or alternatively, UTC PD 42 may be configured to absorb as much of incident THF signal 34 as possible (eg, using THF signal 34 to heat device 10).

[0113] If necessary, the control circuit 14 can use the control signal V 偏置 The UTC PD is adjusted as a function of time and / or space (eg, across an array of antennas 30) to form a reflection signal 34R at a selected output angle θ R The signal beam is directed (at operation 154). The output angle θ R The reflected signal 34R may be selected to point toward the external communication equipment that transmitted the THF signal 34 or toward other external communication equipment. This may allow the device 10 to communicate information in the reflected signal 34R to the external communication equipment and / or may allow the external communication equipment to locate the device 10 (e.g., for directing the THF signal toward the device 10 for subsequent THF communication).

[0114] If necessary, the control circuit 14 can use the control signal V 偏置 The UTC PD 42 is adjusted as a function of time and / or space (eg, across an array of antennas 30) to provide a plurality of different output angles θ RThe signal beam of the reflected signal 34R is scanned internally (at operation 156). This may, for example, allow the external communication equipment to receive the reflected signal 34R even if the device 10 does not have a priori knowledge of the location of the external communication equipment (e.g., during subsequent THF communications, allowing the external communication equipment to direct the THF signal toward the device 10 and / or allowing the device 10 to direct the THF signal toward the external communication equipment). The control circuit 14 may perform one or more (e.g., all) of the operations 148-156. If desired, the control circuit 14 may perform two or more of the operations 148-156 simultaneously.

[0115] At optional operation 158, the control circuit 14 may use the control signal V 偏置 The antenna 30 is placed in the transmit mode 122 and / or the receive mode 126 for performing THF communication with external communication equipment. Operation 158 may be omitted in examples where the antenna 30 can only operate in the reflective mode 124 (e.g., the antenna is a passive antenna). The control circuit 14 may perform operation 146 for some of the antennas 30 in the device 10, while simultaneously performing operation 158 for other antennas 30 in the device 10, if desired.

[0116] Figures 6 to 16 The example in which an antenna operable in reflection mode 124 transmits THF signals is illustrative only. If desired, device 10 may include one or more antenna arrays that operate at lower frequencies and that are operable in reflection mode 124 (e.g., in addition to or in lieu of antenna 30 operable in reflection mode 124 for THF signals). Fig.17 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating how device 10 may include antenna 30 that may operate in reflection mode 124 but at frequencies less than about 100 GHz.

[0117] like Fig.17As shown, the device 10 may include one or more phased antenna arrays 172. The phased antenna array 172 may include M antennas 30 (e.g., antennas 30-0, 30-(M-1), etc.). The antennas 30 may be coupled to the phase and magnitude controller block 164 via the output amplifier stage 166. The output amplifier stage 166 may include an output amplifier 168 coupled to each antenna 30. The phase and magnitude controller block 164 may include a phase controller 176 and a magnitude controller 174 that adjust the phase and magnitude of the signal transmitted through the antenna 30 (respectively). The phase and magnitude controller block 164 may map M radio frequency (RF) multiple input multiple output (MIMO) streams 162 (e.g., the first MIMO stream 162-0, the Mth MIMO stream 162-(M-1), etc.) to the M antennas 30 in the phased antenna array 172. Each MIMO stream 162 may be mapped to each antenna 30, or may be mapped to only a subset of the antennas 30 by the phase and magnitude controller block 164.

[0118] Fig.17 The phased antenna array 172 may transmit radio frequency signals at a frequency less than about 100 GHz. For example, these signals may include millimeter wave signals and / or centimeter wave signals, and / or may include signals below 10 GHz. The phased antenna array 172 may be capable of operating in the reflection mode 124. In the reflection mode, the control circuit 14 may provide a control signal CTRL' to the output amplifier stage 168. The control signal CTRL' may adjust the output impedance of the output amplifier 168 to form one or more impedance mismatches between the output impedance of the output amplifier 168 and the input impedance of the antenna 30. If necessary, the control circuit 14 may use the control signal CTRL' to adjust the output impedance of the output amplifier 168 to match the input impedance of the antenna 30 during the transmission and reception of the radio frequency signal. During the reflection of the radio frequency signal (in the reflection mode), the impedance mismatch may cause the phased antenna array 172 to reflect the incident radio frequency signal 170 as a reflected radio frequency signal 170R (sometimes referred to as the reflected signal 170R in this article). The control circuit 14 may control the output impedance of the output amplifier 168 as a function of time and / or space to impart any desired phase shift and / or frequency shift in the reflected signal 170R relative to the incident signal 170 .

[0119] Device 10 may collect and / or use personally identifiable information. As is well known, use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to the user. If desired, the optical components described herein (e.g., MZM modulators, waveguides, phase shifters, UTC PDs, etc.) can be implemented in plasmon technology.

[0120] Combination of the above Figures 1 to 17 The methods and operations described (e.g., Fig.12 and Fig.16 The operations of the apparatus 10 may be performed by the components of the apparatus 10 using software, firmware, and / or hardware (e.g., dedicated circuits or hardware). The software code for performing these operations may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a tangible computer-readable storage medium) stored on one or more of the components of the apparatus 10 (e.g., Figure 1 The software code may sometimes be referred to as software, data, instructions, program instructions, or code. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media may include a drive, non-volatile memory such as non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), a removable flash drive or other removable media, other types of random access memory, etc. The software stored on the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be executed by processing circuitry (e.g., Figure 1 The processing circuit may include a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), a dedicated integrated circuit with a processing circuit, or other processing circuits.

[0121] According to one embodiment, an electronic device is provided, comprising: an antenna radiating element having an input impedance; a photodiode coupled to the antenna radiating element and having an output impedance, the photodiode being configured to receive a control signal that places the photodiode in a selected mode of a first mode or a second mode, wherein the input impedance is mismatched relative to the output impedance at a frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz in the first mode, and wherein the input impedance matches the output impedance at the frequency in the second mode; and an optical signal path configured to illuminate the photodiode using a first optical local oscillator (LO) signal and a second optical LO signal that is offset in wavelength relative to the first optical LO signal when the photodiode is in the second mode, the antenna radiating element being configured to reflect a wireless signal at the frequency when the photodiode is in the first mode.

[0122] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: an optical modulator inserted along the optical signal path and configured to modulate wireless data onto the second optical LO signal when the photodiode is in the second mode, and the antenna radiating element is configured to transmit an additional wireless signal at a frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz when the photodiode is in the second mode.

[0123] According to another embodiment, the optical modulator comprises a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM).

[0124] According to another embodiment, the control signal includes a first bias voltage and a second bias voltage different from the first bias voltage, the photodiode is configured to receive the first bias voltage when in the second mode, and the photodiode is configured to receive an additional wireless signal at an additional frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz using the antenna radiating element when the photodiode receives the second bias voltage.

[0125] According to another embodiment, the antenna radiating element is configured to receive an additional wireless signal at an additional frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz when the photodiode is in the second mode.

[0126] According to another embodiment, when the photodiode is in the first mode, the first optical LO signal and the second optical LO signal do not illuminate the photodiode.

[0127] According to another embodiment, the photodiode comprises a single line carrier photodiode (UTC PD).

[0128] According to another embodiment, the photodiode comprises a PIN photodiode.

[0129] According to another embodiment, the photodiode includes a graphene sublayer.

[0130] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: one or more processors; and a phased antenna array, which includes the antenna radiating element and the photodiode, and the one or more processors are configured to control the phased antenna array when the photodiode is in the first mode to form a signal beam in the selected beam pointing direction of the wireless signals reflected by the antenna radiating element at the frequency.

[0131] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: one or more processors, which are configured to perform space-time coding on the wireless signals reflected by the antenna radiating element by changing the mismatch between the input impedance and the output impedance over time using the control signal.

[0132] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: one or more processors configured to use the control signal to impart a selected phase shift, frequency shift, or polarization change to the wireless signals reflected by the antenna radiating element.

[0133] According to another embodiment, the electronic device includes: a terahertz lens, which overlaps the antenna radiating element.

[0134] According to an embodiment, a method for operating an electronic device is provided, the electronic device having an antenna array, the antenna array including antenna radiating elements and photodiodes coupled to the antenna radiating elements, the method comprising: utilizing the photodiodes to generate a current on the antenna radiating elements when the photodiodes are irradiated with a first optical local oscillator (LO) signal and a second optical LO signal shifted in wavelength relative to the first optical LO signal, the antenna radiating element emitting a first wireless signal at a frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz; and utilizing the antenna radiating elements to reflect a second wireless signal at the frequency when the photodiodes are controlled to exhibit one or more output impedances that are mismatched relative to the input impedance of the antenna radiating elements at the frequency.

[0135] According to another embodiment, the method includes varying, with one or more processors, the output impedance of the photodiodes across the array.

[0136] According to another embodiment, the method includes encoding, using one or more processors, information in the second wireless signals reflected by the antenna radiating elements by changing the output impedance of the photodiodes.

[0137] According to another embodiment, the method includes: utilizing one or more processors, changing the output impedance of the photodiodes to form signal beams of the second wireless signals reflected by the antenna radiating elements that are oriented in the selected beam pointing direction.

[0138] According to one embodiment, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a phased antenna array; and one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to place the phased antenna array in a first mode, a second mode, or a third mode, wherein the phased antenna array is configured to transmit a first wireless signal in the first mode, wherein the phased antenna array is configured to receive a second wireless signal in the second mode, and wherein the phased antenna array is configured to reflect a third wireless signal incident on the phased antenna array in the third mode.

[0139] According to another embodiment, the first wireless signal, the second wireless signal and the third wireless signal are at a frequency less than 100 GHz.

[0140] According to another embodiment, the first wireless signal, the second wireless signal and the third wireless signal are at a frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz.

[0141] The foregoing is merely exemplary and various modifications may be made to the embodiments described. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented independently or in any combination.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: an array of antenna elements; as well as a transmitter communicatively coupled to the array of antenna elements, wherein The antenna element array is configured to reflect a first wireless signal incident on the electronic device at a first time, and The transmitter is configured to transmit a second wireless signal using the array of antenna elements at a second time different from the first time.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: A phase shifter coupled to the antenna element array, wherein the phase shifter configures the antenna element array to impart a set of phase shifts to the wireless signal when the wireless signal is reflected by the antenna element array, and the set of phase shifts configure the wireless signal to be reflected from an incident angle to a corresponding output angle in a signal beam. 3 . The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the phase shifter has a first setting at the first time and has a second setting different from the first setting at the second time. 4 . The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the phase shifter is configured to modulate information onto the first wireless signal when the first wireless signal is reflected by the antenna element array.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the antenna element array is configured as: reflecting the wireless signal from a first incident angle to a first output angle at the first time; and The wireless signal is reflected from the first incident angle to a second output angle different from the first output angle at a third time different from the first time. 6 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the antenna element array is configured to reflect the first wireless signal from a first external device toward a second external device. 7 . The electronic device according to claim 6 , wherein the wireless signal comprises wireless data modulated by the first external device onto a carrier wave having a frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz. 8 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmitter is configured to modulate wireless data onto a carrier wave of the second wireless signal, and a frequency of the carrier wave is greater than or equal to 100 GHz.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: A receiver is communicatively coupled to the array of antenna elements, wherein the receiver is configured to receive a third wireless signal using the array of antenna elements at a third time different than the first time and the second time.

10. An electronic device comprising: an array of antenna elements; as well as a receiver communicatively coupled to the array of antenna elements, wherein The antenna element array is configured to reflect a first wireless signal incident on the electronic device at a first time, and The receiver is configured to receive a second wireless signal using the array of antenna elements at a second time different from the first time.

11. The electronic device according to claim 10, further comprising: A phase shifter coupled to the antenna element array, wherein the phase shifter configures the antenna element array to impart a set of phase shifts to the wireless signal when the wireless signal is reflected by the antenna element array, and the set of phase shifts configure the wireless signal to be reflected from an incident angle to a corresponding output angle in a signal beam.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the phase shifter has a first setting at the first time and has a second setting different from the first setting at the second time.

13. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the phase shifter is configured to modulate information onto the first wireless signal when the first wireless signal is reflected by the array of antenna elements.

14. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the antenna element array is configured as: reflecting the wireless signal from a first incident angle to a first output angle at the first time; and The wireless signal is reflected from the first incident angle to a second output angle different from the first output angle at a third time different from the first time. 15 . The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the antenna element array is configured to reflect the first wireless signal from a first external device toward a second external device. 16 . The electronic device according to claim 15 , wherein the wireless signal comprises wireless data modulated by the first external device onto a carrier wave having a frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz. 17 . The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the receiver is configured to demodulate wireless data from a carrier wave of the second wireless signal, the carrier wave having a frequency greater than or equal to 100 GHz.

18. An electronic device, comprising: an array of antenna elements; as well as a phase shifter coupled to the antenna element array, wherein The phase shifter configures the array of antenna elements to reflect wireless signals from a first external device toward a second external device; as well as The phase shifter is configured to modulate information onto the wireless signal when the wireless signal is reflected by the array of antenna elements.

19. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein the information comprises an identifier associated with the electronic device.

20. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein the information comprises a message.

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