Ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna

Abstract

The invention discloses an ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna, which comprises an all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna and a feed source horn, the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna and the feed source horn are arranged on the base, and the center of the feed source horn is aligned with the center of the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna; after energy is sent out through the feed source horn, spherical waves pass through the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna and then reach the other side to output plane waves, the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna comprises a plurality of rectangular waveguide elements, the rectangular waveguide elements are closely arranged in an array mode, and the rectangular waveguide elements are arranged in a center alignment mode. When the array antenna works, the phase and amplitude of the antenna are adjusted by adjusting the height of each rectangular waveguide element. According to the scheme, the rectangular waveguide element is applied to the design of the transmission array antenna, the manufacturing cost of the antenna is greatly reduced, particularly, the transmission array antenna with a larger aperture is manufactured subsequently, meanwhile, the 3-dB gain bandwidth and the aperture efficiency are remarkably improved, the relative impedance bandwidth is 76.9% and is smaller than-10 dB within the frequency band range of 8 GHz to 18 GHz, and the antenna performance is greatly improved. The effect of the antenna is far better than that of an existing all-metal transmission array antenna, and the antenna has a wide application prospect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of transmission array antennas, and in particular relates to an ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna. Background Art

[0002] As a planar air-fed high-gain array antenna, the transmission array antenna has the advantages of high gain, high efficiency, and simple manufacturing. The spherical electromagnetic wave emitted by the feed antenna forms a phase difference when it propagates through space and reaches the array surface. This phase difference is compensated by adjusting the phase of the transmission unit, and finally forms a plane electromagnetic wave to radiate. Most of the transmission array antennas reported in previous literature are based on all-dielectric and metal-dielectric hybrids, and generally have problems such as high profile, difficult integration, and complex installation. In recent years, with the rapid development of long-distance communications such as satellite communications and space exploration, all-metal transmission array antennas have also attracted widespread attention, mainly because of two advantages: first, it does not use a dielectric substrate, which will greatly reduce the manufacturing cost of the antenna when the antenna array surface is large; second, the performance of metal materials is less affected by the outer space environment, and the performance is stable, which is suitable for satellite communications, deep space exploration, etc.

[0003] At present, the research on all-metal transmission array antennas is mainly based on multi-layer structures, which have problems such as high profile and complex installation and processing. In addition, the impedance bandwidth of existing all-metal transmission array antennas is insufficient, generally less than 50%, and the aperture efficiency is relatively low. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna to further improve the bandwidth and aperture efficiency of the transmission array antenna, so as to solve the problems of narrow impedance bandwidth and low aperture efficiency in traditional designs.

[0005] The specific technical solution for achieving the purpose of the present invention is:

[0006] An ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna, comprising an all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna and a feed horn;

[0007] The all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna and the feed horn are arranged on a base, and the center of the feed horn is aligned with the center of the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna;

[0008] After the energy is emitted through the feed horn, the spherical wave passes through the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna and reaches the other side to output a plane wave.

[0009] Furthermore, the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna includes a plurality of rectangular waveguide elements, the rectangular waveguide elements are closely arranged in an array, and each of the rectangular waveguide elements is arranged in a center-aligned form.

[0010] Furthermore, when the array antenna is working, by adjusting the height h of each rectangular waveguide element i Realize phase and amplitude adjustment:

[0011] φ R (x i ,y i )=k0[d i -(cosφ0x i +sinφ0y i )sinθ0]

[0012]

[0013] Where k0 is the propagation constant of air, d i is the distance from the phase center of the feed horn to the center of the i-th rectangular waveguide element, (x f ,y f ,z f ) is the coordinate of the phase center of the feed horn, θ0 is the angle between the beam and the positive z-axis, φ0 is the angle between the projection vector of the beam on the xoy plane and the positive x-axis, φ R (x i ,y i ) is the compensation phase of the ith rectangular waveguide element, (x i ,y i ) is the coordinate of the ith rectangular waveguide element, d represents the total adjustment range of the set all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna, λ represents the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave, and w2 represents the inner diameter width of the rectangular waveguide element.

[0014] Furthermore, the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna and feed horn are made of aluminum alloy material.

[0015] Furthermore, the base is made of aluminum alloy material.

[0016] Furthermore, the outer diameter of the rectangular waveguide element is 21 mm, the inner diameter is 19 mm, there are 11 rows and 11 columns in total, and they are closely arranged along a straight line, and the interval between the rectangular waveguide elements is set to 21 mm.

[0017] Furthermore, the size of the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna is 273mm*273mm.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] (1) To address the cost issue of dielectric substrates in all-dielectric and metal-dielectric hybrid designs, the present invention applies rectangular waveguide elements to the design of transmission array antennas, which greatly reduces the manufacturing cost of antennas, especially for the subsequent manufacture of larger-diameter transmission array antennas;

[0020] (2) The scheme of the present invention utilizes the wide bandwidth characteristics of the rectangular waveguide unit to increase the relative impedance bandwidth of the transmission array antenna to 76.9%, achieving a significant bandwidth improvement. In the frequency band range of 8 GHz to 18 GHz, it is less than -10 dB, far exceeding the effect that can be achieved by the current all-metal transmission array antenna; in the frequency band range of 8.2 GHz to 16.5 GHz, the 3-dB gain bandwidth of the transmission array antenna is increased to 67.2%. At 9.2 GHz, the maximum aperture efficiency of the present invention is 46.7%, far exceeding the aperture efficiency of most current all-metal transmission array antennas.

[0021] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with specific implementation modes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 3 It is a comparison diagram of S parameters of the simulation and test of the ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the rectangular waveguide element model of the ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram comparing three types of rectangular waveguide unit settings of the super full-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 6 for Figure 5 A comparison of amplitude and phase results for the three unit settings.

[0028] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the electric field distribution in the xoy plane and the xoz plane of the ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna unit model of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the arrangement principle of the rectangular waveguide elements of the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna of the present invention.

[0030] Fig. 9 It is a gain curve diagram of the simulation and test of the ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna in the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Example

[0032] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. The described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] As shown in this application and claims, unless the context clearly indicates an exception, the words "a", "an", "an kind" and / or "the" do not refer to the singular and may also include the plural. Generally speaking, the terms "include" and "comprise" only indicate the inclusion of the steps and elements that have been clearly identified, and these steps and elements do not constitute an exclusive list. The method or device may also include other steps or elements.

[0034] Unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement, numerical expressions and numerical values ​​of the parts and steps set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present application. At the same time, it should be understood that, for ease of description, the sizes of the various parts shown in the accompanying drawings are not drawn according to the actual proportional relationship. The technology, method and equipment known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant field may not be discussed in detail, but in appropriate cases, the technology, method and equipment should be considered as a part of the authorization specification. In all examples shown and discussed here, any specific value should be interpreted as being merely exemplary, rather than as a limitation. Therefore, other examples of exemplary embodiments may have different values. It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters represent similar items in the following drawings, so that once a certain item is defined in an accompanying drawing, it does not need to be further discussed in subsequent drawings.

[0035] Combination Figure 1 , an ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna, comprising an all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna 1 and a feed horn 2;

[0036] The all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna 1 and the feed horn 2 are arranged on an integrated bracket and base 3, and the center of the feed horn 2 is aligned with the center of the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna 1;

[0037] After the energy is emitted by the feed horn 2, the spherical wave passes through the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna 1 and reaches the other side to output a plane wave.

[0038] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna 1 includes a plurality of rectangular waveguide elements, which are closely arranged in an array, and each of the rectangular waveguide elements is arranged in a center-aligned form.

[0039] In this embodiment, a unit model of a rectangular waveguide element is first constructed, and the basic requirements of amplitude and phase are achieved by changing the height parameter of the rectangular waveguide, that is, within the corresponding frequency band, the unit model satisfies the conditions that the amplitude is less than 3 dB and the phase shift satisfies 360°;

[0040] Specifically, the period of the rectangular waveguide unit model is first determined. Through parameter optimization, it is determined that the period of the unit in this embodiment is 21 mm, the inner diameter of each rectangular waveguide unit model is 19 mm, the outer diameter is 21 mm, and the height varies from 1 mm to 60 mm;

[0041] Afterwards, three types of settings of rectangular waveguide elements are compared, namely bottom-aligned, top-aligned and middle-aligned settings. Except for the position of the waveguide part, all settings are consistent. Through comprehensive consideration, the unit type is determined to be middle-aligned.

[0042] Subsequently, several designed rectangular waveguide elements form an all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna 1, with an array size of 11 × 11. Energy is emitted from the feed horn 2, and the rectangular waveguide element adjusts the phase of the electromagnetic wave by changing its height, achieving the effect of converting the spherical wave into a plane wave output.

[0043] Finally, a metal bracket and base are added between the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna 1 and the feed horn 2, and the position of the feed horn 2 is fixed so that its center is aligned with the center of the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna 1, forming a complete model of the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna.

[0044] The model of the rectangular waveguide element in this embodiment is as follows: Figure 3 As shown in the figure, the cross-sectional view and perspective view of the unit model are given respectively. The inner diameter w2 is 19 mm and the outer diameter w1 is 21 mm. The purpose of adjusting the phase and amplitude is achieved by changing the height h of the unit. At the same time, a comparison diagram of the three unit settings is also given, such as Figure 4 As shown, the results of three types of amplitude and phase are as follows Figure 5 As shown, the phase and amplitude responses of these three models are almost the same. When the height of the waveguide element changes from 1mm to 60mm, the maximum loss is about 2.2dB, and the phase shift coverage range can exceed 360°. By comparison, it can be seen that the rectangular waveguide element is set in the form of middle alignment.

[0045] In order to understand the working mode inside the rectangular waveguide more clearly, Figure 6 The electric field distribution of the xoy plane and the xoz plane is plotted. Figure 3 The coordinate system in the figure shows the results of 8GHz, 13GHz and 18GHz. By observing the electric field in the xoy plane, it can be seen that the working mode is TE10 model.

[0046] In order to further explore the working principle of the present invention, a theoretical analysis of the present invention is given here. Figure 7 As shown, waveguide elements located at different positions can select different heights to adjust the phase shift value. The main principle of using this waveguide element is that the propagation constant of the wave in the rectangular waveguide is different from that in the air. The non-universal phase distribution can be achieved by changing the filling coefficient of the rectangular waveguide cross section.

[0047] That is, when the array antenna is working, by adjusting the height h of each rectangular waveguide element i Realize phase and amplitude adjustment:

[0048] According to the transmission array theory, the beam direction is set to (θ0, φ0), and the phase distribution should satisfy:

[0049] φ(x i ,y i )=-k0sinθ0cosφ0x i -k0sinθ0sinφ0y i

[0050] Where k0 is the propagation constant in air, θ0 is the angle between the beam and the positive z-axis, φ0 is the angle between the projection vector of the beam on the xoy plane and the positive x-axis, and φ(x i ,y i ) is the compensation phase of the ith rectangular waveguide element, (x i ,y i ) are the coordinates of the ith rectangular waveguide element;

[0051]

[0052] where d i is the distance from the phase center of the feed horn to the center of the i-th rectangular waveguide element, (x f ,y f ,z f ) is the coordinate of the phase center of the feed horn;

[0053] To achieve beam steering, the phase distribution on the transmission array can be calculated as:

[0054] φ(x i ,y i )=-k0d i +φ R (x i ,y i )

[0055] where φ R (x i,y i ) The compensation phase of the i-th rectangular waveguide element;

[0056] Then, the phase shift of the i-th rectangular waveguide element should satisfy:

[0057] φ R (x i ,y i )=k0[d i -(cosφ0x i +sinφ0y i )sinθ0]

[0058] Because the incidence is vertical, the beam direction is θ0=0, φ0=0.

[0059] The total phase compensation of each element can be divided into two parts, namely the phase shift caused by the air part and the waveguide part. The total height of the element is set to d, and the height of the waveguide part is set to h n . Therefore, the compensation phase can be rewritten as:

[0060] φ R (h n )=φ wg (h n )+φ air (dh n )

[0061] =k wg *h n +k0*(dh n )

[0062] where k0 is the wave number in air, k wg is the wave number in the rectangular waveguide, φ wg is the nth height h n The compensation phase of the waveguide unit, φ air is the compensation phase of the air part.

[0063] According to waveguide theory, the wave number k wg Determined by the fundamental mode. mn Mode, wave number can be:

[0064]

[0065] where k m It is TE mn The wave number in the mode, because the dominant mode is TE 10 mode, that is, m = 1, n = 0. And because k0 = 2π / λ, the compensation phase can be expressed as:

[0066]

[0067] Where λ represents the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave.

[0068] Therefore, the rectangular waveguide element can be arranged according to the above formula to achieve the desired phase distribution.

[0069] In addition, in this embodiment, the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna 1 and the feed horn 2 are made of aluminum alloy, and the base is made of aluminum alloy. The size of the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna 1 is 273 mm*273 mm.

[0070] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of S parameter comparison between simulation and test of the ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna in this embodiment. From 8 GHz to 18 GHz, S11 is less than -10 dB, and the corresponding impedance bandwidth is 76.9%;

[0071] Fig. 9 The gain curves of the simulation and test of the ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna are given. It can be seen that at 9.2GHz, the maximum aperture efficiency is 46.7% and the peak gain is 24.7dBi. In the frequency band of 8.2GHz to 16.5GHz, the simulated 3-dB gain bandwidth is 67.2%. The test was carried out using two horn antennas operating in the X-band and Ku-band respectively. The simulation results are in good agreement with the measured results. The slight differences in the measurements are mainly due to manufacturing and measurement errors.

[0072] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. An ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna, characterized in that: It comprises an all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna (1) and a feed horn (2); The all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna (1) and the feed horn (2) are arranged on a base, and the center of the feed horn (2) is aligned with the center of the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna (1); After the energy is emitted through the feed horn (2), the spherical wave passes through the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna (1) and reaches the other side to output a plane wave.

2. The ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna (1) comprises a plurality of rectangular waveguide elements, which are closely arranged in an array, and each of the rectangular waveguide elements is arranged in a center-aligned form.

3. The ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the array antenna is working, by adjusting the height h of each rectangular waveguide element i Realize phase and amplitude adjustment: f R (x i ,y i )=k0[d i -(cosφ0x i +sinφ0y i )sinθ0] Where k0 is the propagation constant of air, d i is the distance from the phase center of the feed horn to the center of the i-th rectangular waveguide element, (x f ,y f ,z f ) is the coordinate of the phase center of the feed horn, θ0 is the angle between the beam and the positive z-axis, φ0 is the angle between the projection vector of the beam on the xoy plane and the positive x-axis, φ R (x i ,y i ) is the compensation phase of the ith rectangular waveguide element, (x i ,y i ) is the coordinate of the ith rectangular waveguide element, d represents the total adjustment range of the set all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna (1), λ represents the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave, and w2 represents the inner diameter width of the rectangular waveguide element.

4. The ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna (1) and the feed horn (2) are made of aluminum alloy material.

5. The ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base is made of aluminum alloy material.

6. The ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The rectangular waveguide element has an outer diameter of 21 mm and an inner diameter of 19 mm. There are 11 rows and 11 columns in total and they are closely arranged along a straight line. The interval between the rectangular waveguide elements is set to 21 mm.

7. The ultra-wideband all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna according to claim 6, characterized in that: The size of the all-metal dual-polarization transmission array antenna (1) is 273 mm*273 mm.

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