Airborne antenna array

Abstract

The invention discloses an airborne antenna array, and belongs to the technical field of antennas. The antenna mainly comprises a pitching synthesis unit, a metal reflecting plate, a U-shaped supporting piece and a metal floor. The pitching synthesis unit is composed of a dummy element, an effective unit and a feed network, and the effective unit is subjected to constant-amplitude in-phase feed through the feed network; the metal reflecting plate is slotted according to a certain interval, and the pitching synthesis unit penetrates through the gap; the pitching synthesis unit, the metal reflecting plate and the metal floor are connected and reinforced through the U-shaped supporting piece. The ultra-wideband characteristic of the array is realized by adopting a vivaldi antenna system, the weight of the antenna array is greatly reduced by adopting a multi-layer printed board process, the consistency of the pitch synthesis unit is ensured, low-loss synthesis of the pitch synthesis unit is realized by integrating a strip line feed network in the pitch synthesis unit, and the antenna array is more compact in structure and more compact in structure. And the efficiency of the antenna array is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular to an airborne antenna array. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of modern communication technology and reconnaissance technology, electronic equipment in the fields of radio direction finding, electronic warfare, environmental monitoring and modern radar is constantly being updated, and the amount of information that needs to be processed is increasing, which requires the system bandwidth to be wide enough. In order to cope with new situations and new demands, the antenna as a radio front-end device is required to not only have high efficiency characteristics, but also be able to work in multiple frequency bands or ultra-wideband. At the same time, for airborne arrays, the antenna array is also required to have low profile, lightweight and high reliability. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, the present invention provides an airborne antenna array. It adopts a multi-layer printed circuit board processing technology to achieve a lightweight and highly consistent design of the array; by synthesizing antenna units in the pitch direction, the number of channels is reduced, and the system cost is reduced; by setting metalized vias at the edge of the radiator index gradient curve, the resonance field generated during the array scanning process is disturbed, and the array bandwidth is widened; the high stability characteristics of the array are achieved by connecting the metal reflector, the metal floor and the U-shaped support.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution provided by the present invention is:

[0005] An airborne antenna array includes a pitch synthesis unit 1, a metal reflector 2, a U-shaped support 3 and a metal floor 4.

[0006] The metal reflector 1, U-shaped support 3 and metal floor 4 are arranged in sequence from top to bottom, wherein the metal reflector and the metal floor are parallel to each other; the pitch synthesis unit passes through the corresponding gap on the metal reflector and is connected to the metal floor; the U-shaped support is used for support, which is located between the metal reflector and the metal floor, and part of the side of the pitch synthesis unit is connected to the U-shaped support.

[0007] Furthermore, the main body of the pitch synthesis unit is a dielectric substrate; a dummy unit and an effective unit group are arranged on the dielectric substrate;

[0008] The feeding network is located below the effective unit group, and its branch ends are connected to the corresponding effective units; there are two dummy units, which are respectively located on both sides of the effective unit group and connected to the outermost effective units.

[0009] Furthermore, the effective unit group includes multiple effective units; the multiple effective units are arranged along a straight line and adjacent effective units are connected; the main body of the dummy unit and the effective unit group is the feeding fan-shaped branches and strip lines pre-buried inside the dielectric substrate and the metal layers on both surfaces of the dielectric substrate.

[0010] Furthermore, the dummy element and the effective unit both include a radiator; the radiator is provided with a feeding slot and a circular hole; the feeding slot and the circular hole are connected; the slot width of the feeding slot decreases from top to bottom, and the feeding slot lines on both sides of the feeding slot are in the form of curves;

[0011] The radiator is also provided with two rows of metallized vias, which are respectively located on two sides of the feeding slot; the metallized vias are connected to the radiator on the other side.

[0012] Furthermore, it also includes a feeding fan-shaped branch and a feeding network, wherein the feeding fan-shaped branch and the feeding network are both pre-buried in the dielectric substrate; the projection of the feeding fan-shaped branch on one surface of the dielectric substrate is connected to the inner end of the feeding slot, and its radius is tangent to the circular hollowing;

[0013] The power feeding fan-shaped branches are located above the circular hollowing.

[0014] Furthermore, the feed network is located in the dielectric substrate area between the metal floor and the metal reflector; the branch end of the feed network is connected to the center of the fan-shaped branch of the effective unit group through a strip line pre-buried in the dielectric substrate.

[0015] Furthermore, the effective unit group and the dummy element are an integrated metal layer; the metal layer covers the entire surface of the dielectric substrate.

[0016] Furthermore, the strip line is in the form of a broken line to avoid circular hollowing, and a matching resistor is provided at the end of the strip line of the dummy element.

[0017] Furthermore, the metal layers on both surfaces of the dielectric substrate extend into the projection area where the feeding network is located.

[0018] Due to the adoption of the above technical solution, the technical progress achieved by the present invention is:

[0019] 1. The present invention realizes the ultra-wideband characteristics of the antenna array by adopting the Vivaldi array design;

[0020] 2. The present invention realizes the lightweight and high consistency characteristics of the antenna by adopting a multi-layer printed circuit board processing technology;

[0021] 3. The present invention reduces the number of channels and saves costs by performing pitch synthesis on antenna units, and reduces losses by using a stripline feeding network, thereby ensuring efficient radiation characteristics of the antenna array;

[0022] 4. The present invention provides metallized vias at the edge of the radiator index gradient curve to disrupt the resonance field generated during array scanning, thereby broadening the array bandwidth;

[0023] 5. The present invention realizes the high stability characteristics of the array by connecting the metal reflector, the metal floor and the U-shaped support, and has the characteristics of high reliability and high environmental adaptability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of an array antenna in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the pitch synthesis unit.

[0026] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 Schematic diagram of effective units.

[0027] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the dummy variable.

[0028] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the metal reflector structure.

[0029] Figure 6 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the metal floor.

[0030] In the figure: 1, pitch synthesis unit, 2, metal reflector, 3, U-shaped support, 4, metal floor, 5, RF socket, 6, dummy element, 7, effective unit group, 8, feeding network, 9, radiator, 10, metalized via, 11, feeding fan-shaped branch, 12, feeding slot line, 13, matching resistor, 14, gap, 15, round hole, 16, baffle DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments:

[0032] An airborne antenna array comprises an elevation synthesis unit, a metal reflector, a U-shaped support and a metal floor, wherein the metal reflector, the U-shaped support and the metal floor are arranged in sequence from top to bottom, the elevation synthesis unit passes through a gap on the metal reflector, the bottom end is connected to the metal floor, and the side is connected to the U-shaped support;

[0033] The dummy element and effective unit are mainly divided into radiators, feeding slots and feeding fan-shaped branches according to their functions. The dummy element and effective unit are formed by laminating two layers of double-sided boards, and according to the relationship between the printed board layers, they include the front metal layer, dielectric substrate a, middle metal layer, dielectric substrate b and rear metal layer;

[0034] The radiator is located at the front metal layer and the rear metal layer, and the shape of the radiator of the front metal layer is the same as the shape of the radiator of the rear metal layer, and both adopt an exponentially gradient curve structure;

[0035] The feeding slot lines of the front and rear metal layers have the same shape, and are formed by slotting the corresponding radiators; the feeding slot line of the front metal layer is located at the radiator of the front metal layer, and the feeding slot line of the rear metal layer is located at the radiator of the rear metal layer;

[0036] The feeding fan-shaped branch is a middle metal layer, composed of strip lines and fan-shaped branches. For dummy elements, the lower end of the feeding fan-shaped branch is connected to one end of the matching resistor of the upper metal layer through a metallized via. For effective units, the lower end of the feeding fan-shaped branch is connected to the branch end of the feeding network.

[0037] The feeding network is also formed by laminating two layers of double-sided boards, including a front metal layer, a dielectric substrate c, an intermediate metal layer, a dielectric substrate d and a rear metal layer. The feeding network is a set of more than 1-point stripline feeding network, the branch end is connected to the feeding layer of the effective unit, the combining end is interconnected with the RF socket, and the end is transformed into a microstrip line by opening a blind groove between the front metal layer and the dielectric substrate c;

[0038] The metal reflector is slotted at equal intervals, the slots correspond to the pitch synthesis units one by one, the slot width is the same as or slightly larger than the thickness of the pitch synthesis unit, the slot length is the same as or slightly larger than the length of the pitch synthesis unit, and the pitch synthesis unit passes through the slot to a certain height.

[0039] The U-shaped support has its upper bottom surface connected to the metal reflector, its lower bottom surface connected to the metal floor, and its side surface connected to the elevation synthesis unit, so that the antenna array becomes a solid whole;

[0040] The metal floor contacts the bottom end of the pitch synthesis unit and is provided with a hole, and the inner core of the radio frequency socket passes through the circular hole of the metal floor to realize interconnection with the pitch synthesis unit;

[0041] The connection between the U-shaped support and the pitch synthesis unit is achieved by clamping the pitch synthesis unit with a rectangular metal plate and the U-shaped support through screws.

[0042] A baffle is installed on one side of the circular hole of the metal floor, and the baffle is parallel to the pitch synthesis unit. The pitch synthesis unit can be connected and fixed to the metal baffle by screws to reduce the influence of vibration on the connection between the joint inner core and the pitch synthesis unit.

[0043] The thickness of the dielectric substrate a, dielectric substrate b, dielectric substrate c and dielectric substrate d is 0.508 mm.

[0044] Reference Figure 1In this embodiment, an airborne antenna array includes a pitch synthesis unit 1, a metal reflector 2, a U-shaped support 2, a metal floor 4 and a radio frequency socket 5. The metal reflector, the U-shaped support, the metal floor and the radio frequency socket are arranged in sequence from top to bottom. The pitch synthesis unit passes through the gap on the metal reflector, the bottom end is connected to the metal floor, and the side is connected to the U-shaped support;

[0045] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 The pitch synthesis unit includes a dummy element 6, an effective unit (7 and a feeding network 8, wherein the dummy element has the same form as the effective unit, and includes a radiator 9, a feeding fan-shaped branch 11 and a feeding slot line 12 according to the function. The dummy element and the effective unit are formed by laminating two layers of double-sided boards, and according to the relationship between the printed board layers, they include a front metal layer, a dielectric substrate a, a middle metal layer, a dielectric substrate b and a rear metal layer. In this embodiment, the dielectric substrate a and the dielectric substrate b are both made of CLTE-XT, with a dielectric constant of 2.94, a thickness of 0.508 mm, and a size of 170 mm×57.8 mm;

[0046] Reference Figure 2 ,In this embodiment, the feeding network is a 1-to-8 stripline feeding network, the branch end is connected to the feeding layer of the effective unit, the combining end is interconnected with the RF socket, and at the very end, a blind slot is opened between the front metal layer (the front metal layer and the front metal layer belong to the same metal layer) and the dielectric substrate 1, and the size of the blind slot is 5mm×5mm;

[0047] Reference Figure 3 In this embodiment, the radiator is located in the front metal layer and the rear metal layer, and the radiators of the front and rear metal layers have the same shape, both of which are exponentially gradient curve structures. The lower end of the radiator is connected to the feeding slot line. The circular resonant cavity radius of the feeding slot line is 2.5mm, and the opening size of the slot line connected to the radiator is 0.4mm.

[0048] Reference Figure 3 In this embodiment, the radius of the fan-shaped branch of the feeding fan-shaped branch is 4.5 mm, the opening angle is 70 degrees, and the widths of the strip line from top to bottom are 0.6 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.7 mm, and 0.7 mm respectively.

[0049] Reference Figure 4 In this embodiment, the lower end of the feeding fan-shaped branch of the dummy element is connected to one end of the matching resistor (13 in the figure) of the front metal layer through a metallized via, and the matching resistor is a 0402-49R9F (49.9Ω) type resistor.

[0050] Reference Figure 5In this embodiment, the metal reflector is slotted at equal intervals (14 in the figure), the interval is 17mm, the slots correspond to the pitch synthesis units one by one, the slot width is 1.1mm, the slot length is 172mm, and the pitch synthesis unit passes through the slot at a height of 35mm.

[0051] Reference Figure 6 In this embodiment, the metal floor contacts the bottom end of the pitch synthesis unit and is opened with a circular hole (15 in the figure). The diameter of the circular hole is 4.2 mm. The inner core of the RF socket passes through the circular hole of the metal floor to interconnect with the pitch synthesis unit. A baffle (16 in the figure) is installed on one side of the circular hole. The baffle is parallel to the pitch synthesis unit. The pitch synthesis unit can be connected and fixed to the metal baffle by screws to reduce the influence of vibration on the connection between the inner core of the joint and the pitch synthesis unit.

[0052] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Any modifications made within the scope of the claims of the present invention should be equally changed and fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An airborne antenna array, comprising a pitch synthesis unit (1), a metal reflector (2), a U-shaped support (3) and a metal floor (4), characterized in that: The metal reflector (1), the U-shaped support (3) and the metal floor (4) are arranged in sequence from top to bottom, wherein the metal reflector and the metal floor are parallel to each other; the pitch synthesis unit passes through the corresponding gap on the metal reflector and is connected to the metal floor; the U-shaped support is used for support and is located between the metal reflector and the metal floor, and part of the side surface of the pitch synthesis unit is connected to the U-shaped support.

2. The airborne antenna array according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main body of the pitch synthesis unit is a dielectric substrate; a dummy unit and an effective unit group are arranged on the dielectric substrate; The feeding network is located below the effective unit group, and its branch ends are connected to the corresponding effective units; there are two dummy units, which are respectively located on both sides of the effective unit group and connected to the outermost effective units.

3. The airborne antenna array according to claim 2, characterized in that: The effective unit group includes multiple effective units; the multiple effective units are arranged along a straight line and adjacent effective units are connected; the main bodies of the dummy unit and the effective unit group are the feeding fan-shaped branches and strip lines pre-buried in the dielectric substrate and the metal layers on the two surfaces of the dielectric substrate.

4. The airborne antenna array according to claim 2, characterized in that: The dummy element and the effective unit both include a radiator; the radiator is provided with a feeding slot and a circular hole; the feeding slot and the circular hole are connected; the slot width of the feeding slot decreases from top to bottom, and the feeding slot lines on both sides of the feeding slot are in the form of curves; The radiator is also provided with two rows of metallized vias, which are respectively located on two sides of the feeding slot; the metallized vias are connected to the radiator on the other side.

5. The airborne antenna array according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes a feeding fan-shaped branch and a feeding network, both of which are pre-buried in the dielectric substrate; the projection of the feeding fan-shaped branch on one surface of the dielectric substrate is connected to the inner end of the feeding slot, and its radius is tangent to the circular hollowing; The power feeding fan-shaped branches are located above the circular hollowing.

6. The airborne antenna array according to claim 5, characterized in that: The feed network is located in the dielectric substrate area between the metal floor and the metal reflector; the branch end of the feed network is connected to the center of the fan-shaped branch of the effective unit group through a strip line pre-buried in the dielectric substrate.

7. The airborne antenna array according to claim 4, characterized in that: The effective unit group and the dummy element are an integrated metal layer; the metal layer covers the entire surface of the dielectric substrate.

8. The airborne antenna array according to claim 6, characterized in that: The strip line is in the form of a broken line, which is used to avoid the circular hollowing out, and a matching resistor is arranged at the end of the strip line of the dummy element.

9. The airborne antenna array according to claim 3, characterized in that: The metal layers on both surfaces of the dielectric substrate extend to the projection area where the feeding network is located.

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