Phased-array antenna, electronic equipment and communication base station

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a phased-array antenna, electronic equipment and a communication base station, and aims to improve the communication performance of the phased-array antenna. According to the phased-array antenna, the electronic equipment and the communication base station provided by the invention, the antenna array plane unit comprises a plurality of antenna sub-arrays, the digital beam forming unit comprises a plurality of conversion groups, each conversion group comprises a plurality of converters, and one converter in each conversion group corresponds to one antenna sub-array in the antenna array plane unit. The converter corresponding to the antenna sub-array in each conversion group is connected with the antenna sub-array through the phase shift unit, so that one antenna sub-array is connected with a plurality of converters, and each antenna sub-array comprises a plurality of radiators, thereby increasing the number of beams generated by the plurality of radiators in the antenna sub-arrays in the same coverage range, and improving the radiation efficiency of the antenna. And thus, the communication performance of the phased-array antenna is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and specifically to a phased array antenna, electronic equipment, and a communication base station. Background Art

[0002] The hybrid multi-beam structure has multiple antenna units, wherein the multiple antenna units form a subarray, so that the number of subarrays is less than the number of antenna units, and each subarray is connected to an ADC (Analog-Digital Converter) / DAC (Digital-Analog Converter), which controls the subarray to generate a beam, and communication can be carried out within the coverage of the beam. However, each subarray generates one beam, resulting in insufficient communication performance. Summary of the invention

[0003] The embodiments of the present application provide a phased array antenna, an electronic device, and a communication base station, aiming to improve the communication performance of the phased array antenna.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0005] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a phased array antenna, including an antenna array surface unit, a digital beam forming unit, and a phase shifting unit. The antenna array surface unit includes multiple antenna sub-arrays, each antenna sub-array includes multiple radiators, the digital beam forming unit includes multiple conversion groups, each conversion group includes multiple converters, and each radiator in each antenna sub-array is connected to the same converter in each conversion group through the phase shifting unit.

[0006] The phased array antenna provided by the present application comprises an antenna array surface unit including multiple antenna sub-arrays, a digital beam forming unit including multiple conversion groups, each conversion group including multiple converters, each conversion group including a converter corresponding to an antenna sub-array in the antenna array surface unit, and the converters corresponding to the antenna sub-array in each conversion group are connected to the antenna sub-array through a phase shifting unit, so that one antenna sub-array is connected to multiple converters, and each antenna sub-array includes multiple radiators, which increases the number of beams generated by multiple radiators in the antenna sub-array within the same coverage range, thereby improving the communication performance of the phased array antenna.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present application, the phase shift unit includes multiple phase shift groups, each phase shift group includes multiple phase shift sub-units, each phase shift group corresponds to an antenna subarray, and each phase shift sub-unit in each phase shift group is connected to each radiator in the corresponding antenna subarray; each phase shift group corresponds to the same converter in each conversion group, and each phase shift sub-unit is connected to the converter in at least one conversion group.

[0008] Through the above settings, the same phase shift group can be connected to multiple converters, so that the antenna subarray connected to this phase shift group can form multiple beams to increase the number of beams within the coverage range of the antenna subarray. At the same time, the phase shift subunits in each phase shift group can be adjusted to change the direction of the beam formed by the radiator in the antenna subarray corresponding to each phase shift group, thereby achieving the coverage range of each antenna subarray, thereby increasing the coverage range of the phased array antenna.

[0009] In the embodiment of the present application, the output end of each phase shift sub-unit in the same phase shift group is connected to a radiator in the corresponding antenna sub-array through an amplifier.

[0010] Through the above arrangement, after the signal after amplitude modulation by the phase shift subunit is transmitted to the amplifier, the amplifier amplifies the signal and radiates it through the antenna to generate a beam.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present application, the phased array antenna includes a substrate, and the antenna array unit, the digital beam forming unit, and the phase shifting unit are all arranged on the substrate and packaged together to reduce the volume of the phased array antenna.

[0012] In the embodiment of the present application, a plurality of phase shift sub-units in each phase shift group are stacked on the substrate.

[0013] Through the above arrangement, the stacked phase shift subunits can reduce the occupied area of ​​the phase shift group, thereby improving the compactness of the phase shift unit and reducing the volume of the phased array antenna.

[0014] In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna array unit, the digital beam forming unit and the phase shifting unit are all stacked on the substrate to reduce the volume of the phased array antenna.

[0015] In the embodiment of the present application, the phased array antenna further includes a circuit board, and the antenna array unit, the digital beam forming unit and the phase shifting unit are all arranged on the circuit board.

[0016] Through the above arrangement, the connection between the antenna array unit, the digital beam forming unit and the phase shifting unit can be achieved through the circuit connection on the circuit board, replacing the wires used for connecting the antenna array unit, the digital beam forming unit and the phase shifting unit, thereby reducing the volume of the phased array antenna.

[0017] In the embodiment of the present application, a plurality of connectors are provided on the circuit board, and each phase shift sub-unit is detachably connected to a connector.

[0018] With the above arrangement, the number of phase-shifting sub-units can be increased or decreased through the detachable connection between the phase-shifting sub-units and the connector.

[0019] In the embodiment of the present application, the phase shift subunit includes a transmission line, and the electrical lengths of at least two transmission lines in each phase shift group are different, so that at least two radiators in the corresponding antenna subarray have a predetermined phase difference.

[0020] The phase shifting effect is achieved by the different electrical lengths between the transmission lines, so that there is a phase difference between the beams generated by the corresponding radiators, so as to adjust the pointing direction of the beams.

[0021] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, which includes a housing and the above-mentioned phased array antenna, and the phased array antenna is arranged in the housing.

[0022] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication base station, which includes a radio frequency unit and the above-mentioned phased array antenna, and the radio frequency unit is connected to the phased array antenna.

[0023] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved by the electronic device and the communication base station provided by the above embodiments of the present application can refer to the beneficial effects of the phased array antenna mentioned above, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present application, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in some embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the drawings described below are only drawings of some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings. In addition, the drawings described below can be regarded as schematic diagrams, and are not intended to limit the actual size of the product involved in the embodiments of the present application, the actual process of the method, the actual timing of the signal, etc.

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a communication base station transmitting information in an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of satellite transmission information in an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the evolution process of satellite communication in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 4 This is a connection diagram of the array simulation multi-beam architecture in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the array simulation multi-beam architecture in the embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 6 This is a connection diagram of a fully connected analog multi-beam architecture in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 7 This is a connection diagram of the all-digital multi-beam architecture in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a digital channel of a fully digital multi-beam architecture in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Fig. 9 This is a connection diagram of a hybrid multi-beam architecture in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Fig.10 This is a connection diagram of the phased array antenna in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Fig.11 This is a schematic diagram of the connection between the phase shift subunit and the radiator in the embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Fig.12 It is an isometric view of the phased array antenna in an embodiment of the present application.

[0037] Description of the accompanying drawings: 1. phased array antenna; 2. radiator; 3. amplifier; 4. phase shifter; 5. antenna subarray; 6. antenna array unit; 7. converter; 8. DSP; 9. power divider; 10. digital beamforming unit; 11. phase shift unit; 12. conversion group; 13. first antenna subarray; 14. second antenna subarray; 15. first conversion group; 16. second conversion group; 17. first converter; 18. second converter; 19. third converter; 20. fourth converter; 21. phase shift group; 22. first phase shift group; 23. second phase shift group; 24. phase shift subunit; 25. input end; 26. output end; 2 7. First chip; 28. Second chip; 29. ​​Third chip; 30. Fourth chip; 31. First layer; 32. Second layer; 33. Third layer; 34. Fourth layer; 35. First transmission line; 36. Second transmission line; 37. First intermediate layer; 38. First intermediate transmission line; 39. Third transmission line; 40. Fourth transmission line; 41. Second intermediate layer; 42. Second intermediate transmission line; 43. Third intermediate layer; 44. Third intermediate transmission line; 45. Zeroth layer; 46. Fifth layer; 47. Fully connected chip; 48. Communication base station; 49. Office area; 50. Residential area; 51. Low-orbit satellite; 52. Through silicon via / TSV. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0039] Please refer to Figure 1 In an embodiment of the present application, a communication base station 48 is provided, and the communication base station may include a BBU (Building Baseband Unit, indoor baseband processing unit), an RRU (Radio Remote Unit, radio frequency remote unit (referred to as radio frequency unit in the embodiment of the present application)) and a phased array antenna, one end of the radio frequency unit is connected to the indoor baseband processing unit, and the other end of the radio frequency unit is connected to the phased array antenna. Among them, the indoor baseband processing unit is used to complete channel encoding and decoding, modulation and demodulation of baseband signals, and protocol processing, including generating control instructions; the phased array antenna is used to send and receive signals; the radio frequency unit is used to transmit control instructions to the phased array antenna, and is also used to transmit the signals received by the phased array antenna to the indoor baseband processing unit. The phased array antenna in the embodiment of the present application should be understood as being used in conjunction with the indoor baseband processing unit. The phased array antenna transmits the radio frequency signal sent by the indoor baseband processing unit into the air in the form of a wireless signal. The phased array antenna may include an electrically adjustable antenna and a mechanical antenna. It is understandable that the information exchange between the indoor baseband processing unit and the phased array antenna in the embodiment of the present application (including antenna control instructions, transmitted operation results, etc.) is carried out through the radio frequency cable, so the antenna control instructions sent by the indoor baseband processing unit to the phased array antenna and the operation results sent by the phased array antenna to the indoor baseband processing unit are radio frequency signals. The phased array antenna can transmit antenna control instructions through a preset wireless network, and the preset wireless network includes but is not limited to GSM, SCDMA, LTE, CDMA and the Internet of Things such as the narrowband Internet of Things (NBIOT) based on the cellular network, etc.

[0040] An embodiment of the present application also provides an electronic device, which may include a housing and a phased array antenna, and the phased array antenna is arranged in the housing. The electronic device may also include a controller, which is also arranged in the housing, and the controller is electrically connected to the phased array antenna. The electronic device may include a wireless router or a mobile phone, etc. In the implementation method in which the electronic device includes a wireless router, the phased array antenna may include a WIFI (WIreless-Fidelity) antenna; in the implementation method in which the electronic device includes a mobile phone, the phased array antenna may include a main antenna or a diversity antenna or both a main antenna and a diversity antenna, wherein the main antenna is responsible for sending and receiving signals, and the diversity antenna is only responsible for receiving signals but not sending signals. In the implementation method in which the phased array antenna includes both the main antenna and the diversity antenna, the signal received by the main antenna and the signal received by the diversity antenna can be combined and processed, thereby improving the receiving effect of the phased array antenna.

[0041] Please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 In the related technology, phased array antennas can also be used for low-orbit satellites 51, which can realize wireless data communication with aircraft, ships and fixed base stations in its coverage area. The wireless data communication technology has LTE (Long Term Evolution) standard and 5G (Fifth Generation) ground wireless network, but there are still large areas in the world without communication network coverage. In order to build an integrated wireless communication system between air, space and land. Please refer to Figure 3 (From left to right), the wireless data communication of low-orbit satellite 51 has gradually developed from the initial wide beam and static scheduling for local on-demand services to narrow beam and dynamic scheduling for high-speed transmission, and finally to extremely narrow beam and multi-beam collaboration to ensure dynamic on-demand services and high-throughput data volume, so as to increase the coverage of the wireless data communication of low-orbit satellite 51 and adjust the coverage of the wireless data communication of low-orbit satellite 51 according to demand to improve the efficiency of the wireless data communication of low-orbit satellite 51, which in turn puts higher requirements on the array scale, number of beams and dynamic scheduling capability of the onboard phased array antenna.

[0042] In the related art, the phased array antenna can have an analog multi-beam architecture, a fully digital multi-beam architecture, and a hybrid multi-beam architecture.

[0043] In the analog multibeam architecture, see Figure 4 and Figure 5 , Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the simulated multi-beam architecture. Figure 5 The phased array antenna 1 may include a radiator 2, an amplifier 3, and a phase shifter 4, wherein the amplifier 3 may include a low noise amplifier (LNA) and a power amplifier (PA). Figure 4 , one PA (amplifier 3 on the right side of phase shifter 4) is connected to one phase shifter 4, one phase shifter 4 is connected to one LNA (amplifier 3 on the left side of phase shifter 4), one LNA is connected to one radiator 2, multiple radiators 2 form an antenna subarray 5, multiple beams generated by multiple radiators 2 interfere with each other to form an analog beam, antenna subarray 5 can be formed with multiple, multiple antenna subarrays 5 are spliced ​​to form antenna array unit 6, antenna array unit 6 can form multiple analog beams. Exemplarily, four radiators 2 form one antenna subarray 5, four antenna subarrays 5 form antenna array unit 6. However, when the demand for the number of beams increases, combined with Figure 4 and Figure 5As shown, since each antenna subarray 5 in the above embodiment can only form one simulated beam, the increase in the number of beams will lead to an increase in the number of antenna subarrays 5, thereby increasing the area of ​​the antenna array unit 6, which is not conducive to the installation design of the phased array antenna 1.

[0044] Please refer to Figure 6 In another embodiment, the analog multi-beam architecture may include multiple radio frequency links RF (such as Figure 6 As shown, multiple radio frequency links are arranged sequentially from top to bottom), and each radio frequency link can be connected to multiple phase shifters 4 (such as Figure 6 As shown, multiple phase shifters 4 connected to the same RF link are arranged sequentially from top to bottom), and the simulated multi-beam architecture can also include multiple radiators 2 (such as Figure 6 As shown, multiple radiators are arranged in sequence from top to bottom), a PA (the first amplifier 3 on the right side of the phase shifter 4) is connected to a phase shifter 4 accordingly, an LNA (the second amplifier 3 on the right side of the phase shifter 4) is connected to a radiator 2 accordingly, the first phase shifter 4 (the first phase shifter 4 from the top) connected to each RF link is connected to the first radiator 2 (the first radiator 2 from the top), the second phase shifter 4 (the second phase shifter 4 from the top) connected to each RF link is connected to the second radiator 2 (the second radiator 2 from the top), and so on, thereby achieving full connection between multiple phase shifters 4 and multiple radiators 2, so that multiple radiators 2 can form a number of beams corresponding to the RF links, thereby improving the efficiency of beam forming, and due to the full connection between the phase shifter 4 and the radiator 2, the forming of each beam utilizes the entire antenna array unit 6, so when the demand for the number of beams increases, the area of ​​the antenna array unit 6 will not increase, but as the number of beams increases, the connection complexity between the phase shifter 4 and the LNA will also increase accordingly.

[0045] Please refer to Figure 7 In the all-digital multi-beam architecture, the phased array antenna 1 may include a radiator 2, an amplifier 3, a converter 7, and a DSP8 (Digital Signal Process), the converter 7 may include an ADC and a DAC, and the amplifier 3 may include an LNA and a PA. A plurality of digital channels are formed on the DSP8, each digital channel is connected to a corresponding converter 7, each converter 7 is connected to a corresponding amplifier 3, and each amplifier 3 is connected to a corresponding radiator 2, so that the beam generated by the radiator 2 in the all-digital multi-beam architecture can be processed in the digital domain, which is convenient for flexibly adjusting the pointing direction of the beam and increasing the number of beams.

[0046] Combination Figure 7 and Figure 8 In some embodiments, the DSP8 in the all-digital multi-beam architecture is formed with NA digital channels, corresponding to N connections A The amount of data converted by the converter 7 in the working state can be expressed by the formula Min[2*BW*N A ,2*IBW*(N A *n)], where BW (Bandwidth) is the total bandwidth of all converters 7 in working state, IBW is the bandwidth of one converter 7 in working state, and n is the number of beams generated. It can be understood that in a fully digital multi-beam architecture, if all converters 7 are in working state, the total amount of data converted by the converter 7 is 2*BW*N A If only n converters 7 are in operation, n beams can be generated. At this time, the total amount of data converted by the converter 7 is 2*IBW*(N A *n). In the related art, the system power consumption of the all-digital multi-beam architecture depends on the total data volume of the converter 7. According to the formula, since the total data volume of the converter 7 is positively correlated with the BW or IBW, when there is a limit on the system power consumption, the system power consumption of the all-digital multi-beam architecture can be met by reducing the total bandwidth of all converters 7 or the bandwidth of a single converter 7.

[0047] Please refer to Fig. 9 In the hybrid multi-beam architecture, the phased array antenna 1 may include a radiator 2, an amplifier 3, a phase shifter 4 and a converter 7. The amplifier 3 may include an LNA and a PA. The converter 7 may include an ADC and a DAC. One radiator 2 is connected to one amplifier 3, and one amplifier 3 is connected to one phase shifter 4. Multiple radiators 2 form an antenna subarray 5. The antenna subarray 5 may be formed with multiple antenna subarrays 5. Multiple antenna subarrays 5 are spliced ​​to form an antenna array unit 6. Multiple amplifiers 3 corresponding to each antenna subarray 5 can be connected to a converter 7 through a power divider (Combiner) 9, so that multiple radiators 2 are connected to one converter 7, the number of converters 7 is reduced, the total bandwidth of all converters 7 is reduced, and the system power consumption is reduced; at the same time, the beam generated by the radiator 2 can still be processed in the digital domain. However, due to the reduction in the number of converters 7, the number of beams in the same coverage range is also reduced, which reduces the capacity density of the phased array antenna 1 during communication transmission. Fig. 9 As shown, the phased array antenna 1 in the figure has three converters 7, then the coverage range of this phased array antenna 1 ( Fig. 9 Three beams can be generated in the upper middle dashed line range (the solid line area within the coverage range).

[0048] Please refer to Fig.10The phased array antenna 1 provided in the present application may include an antenna array unit 6, a digital beam forming unit 10 and a phase shifting unit 11. The antenna array unit 6 includes a plurality of antenna subarrays 5, each antenna subarray 5 includes a plurality of radiators 2, the digital beam forming unit 10 includes a plurality of conversion groups 12, each conversion group 12 includes a plurality of converters 7, the converter 7 may include an ADC and a DAC, and each radiator 2 in the same antenna subarray 5 is connected to the same converter 7 in each conversion group 12 through the phase shifting unit 11. The number of conversion groups 12 is less than or equal to the number of radiators 2 in one antenna subarray 5, and the number of converters 7 in each conversion group 12 is the same as the number of antenna subarrays 5 in the antenna array unit 6.

[0049] For example, in Fig.10 In the embodiment, the antenna array unit 6 includes four antenna subarrays 5, each antenna subarray 5 includes four radiators 2, the digital beam forming unit 10 includes two conversion groups 12, each conversion group 12 includes four converters 7, the four antenna subarrays 5 include a first antenna subarray 13 and a second antenna subarray 14, the digital beam forming unit 10 includes a first conversion group 15 and a second conversion group 16, the first conversion group 15 includes a first converter 17 and a second converter 18, the second conversion group 16 includes a third converter 19 and a fourth converter 20, wherein the first converter 17 The third converter 19 corresponds to the first antenna subarray 13, the second converter 18 and the fourth converter 20 correspond to the second antenna subarray 14, each converter 7 in the first conversion group 15 can form multiple beams through all radiators 2 in the antenna array unit 6, where the number of beams is the same as the number of converters 7 in the first conversion group 15, and each converter 7 in the second conversion group 16 can also form multiple beams through all radiators 2 in the antenna array unit 6, thereby increasing the number of beams that can be formed by the antenna array unit 6 and improving its coverage.

[0050] In some embodiments, the beam coverage formed by the first conversion group 15 can be as follows: Fig.10 As shown in S1, the beam coverage formed by the second conversion group 16 can be as follows: Fig.10 As shown in S2, S1 and S2 can be adjusted by the phase shifting unit 11 so that S1 and S2 are adjacent and spliced ​​together, thereby achieving the expansion of the coverage range of the phased array antenna 1 in two-dimensional space.

[0051] The phased array antenna 1 provided in the present application comprises an antenna array surface unit 6 including a plurality of antenna sub-arrays 5, a digital beam forming unit 10 including a plurality of conversion groups 12, each conversion group 12 including a plurality of converters 7, each conversion group 12 including a converter 7 corresponding to an antenna sub-array 5 in the antenna array surface unit 6, and the converters 7 corresponding to the antenna sub-array 5 in each conversion group 12 are connected to the antenna sub-array 5 via a phase shifting unit 11, so that one antenna sub-array 5 is connected to a plurality of converters 7, and each antenna sub-array 5 includes a plurality of radiators 2, thereby increasing the number of beams generated by the plurality of radiators 2 in the antenna sub-array 5 within the same coverage range, thereby improving the communication performance of the phased array antenna 1.

[0052] In some embodiments, the beams generated within the same coverage area may be in the same frequency band. This arrangement can improve the data transmission efficiency within the coverage area, thereby improving the communication performance of the phased array antenna 1.

[0053] In other embodiments, continue to refer to Fig.10 , the multiple conversion groups 12 forming the digital beam forming unit 10 can also have different frequency bands, the same antenna subarray 5 can be connected to multiple converters 7 with different frequency bands, and multiple converters 7 with different frequency bands can form multiple beams with different frequency bands through the same antenna subarray 5. When these beams point to the same direction, multiple different beams can be superimposed, so that the total data volume of the digital beam forming unit 10 will not increase due to the increase in the number of beams, avoiding the increase in power consumption of the phased array antenna after increasing the number of beams. On the other hand, since different beams within the same coverage range are in different frequency bands, the coverage frequency band of the phased array antenna 1 can be increased (for example, covering 4G, 5G, and 6G frequency bands at the same time), thereby improving the communication performance of the phased array antenna.

[0054] Exemplarily, in an implementation in which the digital beamforming unit 10 includes a first conversion group 15 and a second conversion group 16, the first conversion group 15 includes a first converter 17 and a second converter 18, and the second conversion group 16 includes a third converter 19 and a fourth converter 20, the first converter 17 and the second converter 18 of the first conversion group 15 can have a bandwidth of a first frequency, and the third converter 19 and the fourth converter 20 of the second conversion group 16 can have a bandwidth of a second frequency, wherein the first frequency and the second frequency are not equal.

[0055] Continue to refer to Fig.10In the above implementation, the phase shift unit 11 may include a plurality of phase shift groups 21, each phase shift group 21 includes a plurality of phase shift sub-units (not shown), each phase shift group 21 corresponds to an antenna sub-array 5, and each phase shift sub-unit in each phase shift group 21 is connected to each radiator 2 in the corresponding antenna sub-array 5; each phase shift group 21 corresponds to the same converter 7 in each conversion group 12, and each radiator 2 in each antenna sub-array 5 is connected to the same converter 7 in each conversion group 12 via each phase shift sub-unit in the phase shift group 21. Exemplarily, in Fig.10 In the embodiment, the phase shift unit 11 includes four phase shift groups 21, and the four phase shift groups 21 include a first phase shift group 22 and a second phase shift group 23. In combination with the above embodiments, each radiator 2 in the first antenna subarray 13 can be connected to the first converter 17 and the third converter 19 through the first phase shift group 22, and each radiator 2 in the second antenna subarray 14 can be connected to the second converter 18 and the fourth converter 20 through the second phase shift group 23, wherein each phase shift subunit is connected to the converter in at least one conversion group 12.

[0056] Through the above arrangement, the same phase shift group 21 can be connected to multiple converters 7, so that the antenna subarray 5 connected to the phase shift group 21 can form multiple beams to increase the number of beams within the coverage of the antenna subarray 5. At the same time, the phase shift subunits in each phase shift group 21 can be adjusted to change the direction of the beam formed by the radiator 2 in the antenna subarray 5 corresponding to each phase shift group 21. The coverage of each antenna subarray 5 can be spliced ​​(such as Fig.10 As shown in the right side of the figure, the coverage of the phased array antenna 1 is increased. In addition, the coverage of each antenna subarray 5 can also be made to cover the same area to improve the signal quality in a specific area; for example (combined with Figure 1 As shown), a certain number of antenna subarrays 5 can cover the office area 49, and a certain number of antenna subarrays 5 can cover the residential area 50, thereby improving the signal quality in areas with high population density.

[0057] Continue to refer to Fig.10 In the implementation mode in which the above-mentioned phase shift group 21 includes multiple phase shift sub-units, multiple phase shift sub-units in the same phase shift group 21 are connected to multiple radiators 2 in the corresponding antenna sub-array 5, and the multiple phase shift sub-units and the multiple radiators 2 are connected in a fully connected manner, that is, each phase shift sub-unit is connected to all radiators 2 in the corresponding antenna sub-array 5, and it can also be considered that each radiator 2 is connected to all phase shift sub-units in the corresponding phase shift unit 11. Among them, when multiple phase shift sub-units in a phase shift group 21 are connected in a fully connected manner, this phase shift group 21 can be called FC-VAP (Fully connected-VAP).

[0058] The phase shift subunit may include a phase shifter or a Butler matrix circuit, wherein the Butler matrix circuit is a beamformer circuit configured to feed the array antenna with a uniform distribution and a constant phase difference between adjacent antenna elements. The Butler matrix may be implemented using interconnected phase shifters and hybrid couplers. The Butler matrix may be implemented using fewer component types (e.g., using only hybrid couplers) or more component types (e.g., using phase shifters, hybrid couplers, and crossover circuits) in alternative aspects. In order to send an RF signal on an array antenna, a modem may select one or more ports of the Butler matrix so that the Butler matrix receives one or more signals on those ports and generates output signals with different phases on the relative ports for transmission on a certain number of antenna elements coupled to the relative ports. In addition, the Butler matrix may provide a reciprocity function for receiving radio frequency signals. For example, the Butler matrix may receive radio frequency signals with different phases via multiple ports coupled to multiple antenna elements, and then phase shift and combine them to provide one or more signals for signal reception on one or more relative ports selected by the modem. In one aspect, each antenna element of the array antenna can be coupled to a port of the Butler matrix, for example, via one or more low noise amplifiers (LNA), power amplifiers (PA), etc., to compensate for insertion loss. The phase shifters in the Butler matrix can include active phase shifters (requiring a connection to a power source) or passive phase shifters (requiring no connection to a power source).

[0059] In an implementation in which the phase shift subunit includes a Butler matrix circuit, the phase shift subunit includes a transmission line, and at least two transmission lines in each phase shift group have different electrical lengths, so that the corresponding antenna subarray 5 (such as Fig.10 At least two radiators 2 (as shown) Fig.10 The phase shifting effect is achieved by different electrical lengths between the transmission lines, so that the beams generated by the corresponding radiators have a phase difference to fix the pointing direction of the beams.

[0060] Please refer to Fig.11 In the embodiment of the present application, the phased array antenna may further include a substrate, an antenna array unit 6, a digital beam forming unit 10 (such as Fig.10 As shown in FIG. 1 , the phase shifting unit 11 and the phase shifting unit 11 are both arranged on the substrate and packaged together.

[0061] In the above implementation, the antenna array unit 6, the digital beam forming unit 10 and the phase shifting unit 11 are all arranged on the substrate, and can be stacked on the substrate to reduce the volume of the phased array antenna 1. The phase shifting unit 11 is located between the antenna array unit 6 and the digital beam forming unit 10.

[0062] In the above implementation, the radiator 2 in the antenna array unit 6 is connected to the phase shift subunit 24 in the phase shift unit 11. The phased array antenna 1 in the embodiment of the present application may further include an amplifier 3, the amplifier 3 includes an LNA and a PA, and the phase shift subunit 24 has an input end 25 and an output end 26. The input end 25 of the phase shift subunit 24 is used to communicate with the converter 7 (such as Fig.10 The output ends 26 of the phase shift subunits 24 in the same phase shift group 21 are connected to the amplifier 3, and are connected to a radiator 2 in the corresponding antenna subarray 5 through the amplifier 3.

[0063] Through the above arrangement, after the signal after amplitude modulation by the phase shift subunit 24 is transmitted to the amplifier 3, the amplifier 3 amplifies the signal and radiates it through the radiator 2 to generate a beam.

[0064] Continue to refer to Fig.11In the embodiment of the present application, a plurality of phase shift sub-units 24 in each phase shift group 21 are stacked on the substrate. Exemplarily, each phase shift group 21 may include four phase shift subunits 24, and the phase shift subunits 24 may be integrated into a chip. The four phase shift subunits 24 include a first chip 27, a second chip 28, a third chip 29, and a fourth chip 30 that are stacked, wherein the first chip 27, the second chip 28, the third chip 29, and the fourth chip 30 all have an output terminal 26, the first chip 27 is located on a first layer 31, the second chip 28 is located on a second layer 32, the third chip 29 is located on a third layer 33, and the fourth chip 30 is located on a fourth layer 34; wherein the first layer 31 is provided with a first transmission line 35 connected to the output terminal of the first chip 27, the second layer 32 is provided with a second transmission line 36 connected to the output terminal of the second chip 28, a first intermediate layer 37 is provided between the first layer 31 and the second layer 32, the first intermediate layer 37 is provided with a first intermediate transmission line 38, and a through silicon via 52 (Through Silicon Via) can be formed between the first transmission line 35 and the first intermediate transmission line 38. Via, TSV) is used for vertical electrical interconnection, and the second transmission line 36 and the first intermediate transmission line 38 can be vertically electrically interconnected by forming TSV52 to realize the connection between the first chip 27 and the second chip 28; the third layer 33 is provided with a third transmission line 39 connected to the output end 26 of the third chip 29, the fourth layer 34 is provided with a fourth transmission line 40 connected to the output end 26 of the fourth chip 30, a second intermediate layer 41 is provided between the third layer 33 and the fourth layer 34, the second intermediate layer 41 is provided with a second intermediate transmission line 42, the third transmission line 39 and the second intermediate transmission line 42 can be vertically electrically interconnected by forming TSV52, the fourth transmission line 40 and the second intermediate transmission line The lines 42 can be vertically electrically interconnected by forming TSV52 to achieve the connection between the third chip 29 and the fourth chip 30; a third intermediate layer 43 is provided between the second layer 32 and the third layer 33, and the third intermediate layer 43 is provided with a third intermediate transmission line 44; the first intermediate transmission line 38 and the third intermediate transmission line 44 can be vertically electrically interconnected by forming TSV52; the second intermediate transmission line 42 and the third intermediate transmission line 44 can be vertically electrically interconnected by forming TSV52 to achieve the connection between the first chip 27, the second chip 28, the third chip 29 and the fourth chip 30; the third intermediate transmission line 44 is used to connect to the radiator 2 in the antenna subarray 5.

[0065] Continue to refer to Fig.11 In the implementation of the phased array antenna 1 including the amplifier 3, the amplifier is located at the zeroth layer 45, and the zeroth layer 45 is located between the first layer 31 and the digital beam forming unit 10 (such as Fig.10As shown in the figure, the third intermediate transmission line 44 and the input end of the amplifier 3 can be vertically electrically interconnected by forming TSV52; the radiator 2 can be located in the fifth layer 46, the fifth layer 46 is located on the side of the phase shift unit 11 away from the amplifier 3, and the output end of the amplifier 3 and the radiator 2 can be vertically electrically interconnected by forming TSV52.

[0066] Through the above arrangement, the stacked phase shift subunits 24 can reduce the occupied area of ​​the phase shift group 21 , thereby improving the compactness of the phase shift unit 11 and reducing the volume of the phased array antenna 1 .

[0067] Please refer to Fig.11 and Fig.12 In the above implementation, each of the first chip 27, the second chip 28, the third chip 29 and the fourth chip 30 has four input terminals 25, each of which is used to communicate with the digital beamforming unit 10 (such as Fig.10 As shown in the figure, the corresponding converter 7 is connected. In the embodiment in which four phase shift sub-units 24 are stacked on the substrate, the first chip, the second chip, the third chip and the fourth chip are stacked to form a fully connected chip 47. The fully connected chip 47 has 16 input terminals 25, and the 16 input terminals 25 are arranged in sequence around the fully connected chip 47.

[0068] Continue to refer to Fig.10 In some embodiments, multiple phase shift subunits 24 (such as Fig.11 As shown in the figure, the phase shift subunits 24 may be arranged at intervals in the same layer, and the output ends 26 of the multiple phase shift subunits 24 in the same phase shift group 21 may be combined through a transmission line to achieve full connection of the multiple phase shift subunits.

[0069] In the embodiment of the present application, the phased array antenna 1 may further include a circuit board, and the antenna array unit 6, the digital beam forming unit 10, and the phase shifting unit 11 are all arranged on the circuit board. The circuit board may include an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit), a PCB (Printed Circuit Board), etc. A circuit is arranged inside the circuit board. In the above implementation, the connection between the antenna array unit 6, the digital beam forming unit 10, and the phase shifting unit 11 may be connected through the circuit on the circuit board.

[0070] Through the above arrangement, the connection between the antenna array unit 6, the digital beam forming unit 10 and the phase shifting unit 11 can be achieved through the circuit connection on the circuit board, replacing the wires used to connect the antenna array unit 6, the digital beam forming unit 10 and the phase shifting unit 11, thereby reducing the volume of the phased array antenna 1.

[0071] In the above implementation, a plurality of connectors may be provided on the circuit board, and each phase shift subunit 24 in each phase shift group 21 in the phase shift unit 11 may be detachably connected to a connector. Through the above configuration, the number of phase shift subunits 24 may be increased or decreased through the detachable connection between the phase shift subunit 24 and the connector.

[0072] It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection or an integral connection; it can also be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0073] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein by equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A phased array antenna, characterized in that: include: An antenna array unit, wherein the antenna array unit comprises a plurality of antenna sub-arrays, and each of the antenna sub-arrays comprises a plurality of radiators; a digital beamforming unit, the digital beamforming unit comprising a plurality of switching groups, each of the switching groups comprising a plurality of switches; A phase shifting unit, wherein each radiator in each antenna subarray is connected to the same converter in each conversion group through the phase shifting unit.

2. The phased array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: The phase shift unit includes multiple phase shift groups, each of which includes multiple phase shift sub-units, each of which corresponds to an antenna subarray, and each of the phase shift sub-units in each of the phase shift groups is connected to each of the radiators in the corresponding antenna subarray; each of the phase shift groups corresponds to the same converter in each of the conversion groups, and each of the phase shift sub-units is connected to the converter in at least one of the conversion groups.

3. The phased array antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The output end of each phase shift subunit in the same phase shift group is connected to one of the radiators in the corresponding antenna subarray through an amplifier.

4. The phased array antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The phased array antenna comprises a substrate, and the antenna array surface unit, the digital beam forming unit and the phase shifting unit are all arranged on the substrate and packaged together.

5. The phased array antenna according to claim 4, characterized in that: The plurality of phase shift subunits in each phase shift group are stacked on the substrate.

6. The phased array antenna according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The antenna array unit, the digital beam forming unit and the phase shifting unit are all stacked on the substrate.

7. The phased array antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The phased array antenna further comprises a circuit board, and the antenna array unit, the digital beam forming unit and the phase shifting unit are all arranged on the circuit board.

8. The phased array antenna according to claim 7, characterized in that: The circuit board is provided with a plurality of connectors, and each of the phase shift subunits is detachably connected to one of the connectors.

9. The phased array antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The phase shift subunit comprises a transmission line, and at least two of the transmission lines in each phase shift group have different electrical lengths, so that at least two radiators in the corresponding antenna subarray have a predetermined phase difference.

10. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises a housing and the phased array antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the phased array antenna is arranged in the housing.

11. A communication base station, characterized in that: The communication base station comprises a radio frequency unit and the phased array antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and the radio frequency unit is connected to the phased array antenna.

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