Antenna and electronic equipment

Abstract

The invention provides an antenna which comprises at least one antenna unit, and the antenna unit comprises at least one oscillator and a luneberg lens located on the radiating surface side of the oscillator. Wherein the oscillator comprises a phase adjustment structure and a radiation structure connected with the phase adjustment structure; and the luneberg lens is configured to converge electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation structures of the oscillators in the antenna unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure belongs to the field of communication technology, and particularly relates to an antenna and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] Satellite communications have the obvious advantage of wide coverage and are developing rapidly as a supplement to the ground-based 5G (Generation Mobile Communication Technology) network. However, the rapid movement of satellites relative to the ground requires ground communication terminals to maintain beam connections in real time. Therefore, ground communication terminals need to have fast beam scanning capabilities to maintain beam connections with satellites in real time. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art and provides an antenna and an electronic device.

[0004] The present disclosure provides an antenna, which includes at least one antenna unit, wherein the antenna unit includes at least one vibrator and a Luneburg lens located on the radiation surface side of the vibrator; wherein:

[0005] The oscillator includes a phase adjustment structure and a radiation structure connected to the phase adjustment structure;

[0006] The Luneburg lens is configured to converge the electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation structures of the oscillators in the antenna unit.

[0007] There are multiple vibrators in the antenna unit, and the multiple vibrators are electrically connected to the same feeding network.

[0008] There are multiple vibrators in the antenna unit; the antenna also includes a feeding network, which includes a main circuit and multiple branches connected to the main circuit; one of the branches is connected to the vibrator through a switch unit.

[0009] Wherein, the switch unit includes any one of a MEMS switch, a PIN switch, and a liquid crystal switch.

[0010] There are multiple vibrators in the antenna unit; and the multiple vibrators are divided into multiple sub-arrays; and the multiple vibrators in one sub-array are connected to the same feeding network.

[0011] There are multiple antenna units, each of which includes one oscillator, and each of the oscillators is connected to the same feeding network.

[0012] Wherein, the phase adjustment structure includes a liquid crystal phase shifter.

[0013] Wherein, the Luneburg lens includes any one of a spherical lens and a cylindrical lens.

[0014] The Luneburg lens comprises N layers of sub-lenses, and the i+1th layer of sub-lenses wraps the i-th layer of sub-lenses; N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and i is 1 to (N-1); the dielectric constants of the N layers of sub-lenses decrease monotonically from the 1st layer to the Nth layer.

[0015] The present disclosure provides an electronic device, comprising any one of the above antenna units. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the convergence effect of Luneburg lenses on electromagnetic waves in some examples;

[0017] Figure 2 Schematic diagrams of the structures of Luneburg lens antennas in some examples;

[0018] Figure 3 Schematic diagrams of cross-sectional structures of vibrators in some examples;

[0019] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the antenna of the first example of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 5 This is a structural schematic diagram of an antenna according to a second example of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of another antenna of the second example of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the antenna of the third example of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0024] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the present disclosure should be understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which the present disclosure belongs. The "first", "second" and similar words used in the present disclosure do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Similarly, similar words such as "one", "one" or "the" do not indicate quantity restrictions, but indicate that there is at least one. Similar words such as "include" or "comprise" mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Similar words such as "connect" or "connected" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "Up", "down", "left", "right" and the like are only used to indicate relative positional relationships. When the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0025] In the related technologies, mechanical scanning antennas have slow scanning speeds and expensive servo systems, and are not suitable for low-orbit satellite communications. Low-cost phased array antennas are developing rapidly. For example, active phased array antennas based on CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) and beam reconfigurable antennas based on liquid crystal have their technical limitations. Among them, CMOS active phased array antennas have high power consumption and cost due to the material properties of Si or GaAs semiconductors. The passive architecture of liquid crystal beam reconfigurable antennas causes their link loss to be large, and it is difficult to control the degree of loss.

[0026] As a classic electromagnetic lens, the Luneburg lens can greatly improve the gain of the antenna by focusing electromagnetic waves. The rotational symmetry of the Luneburg lens allows the electromagnetic waves passing through it to have a very wide scanning angle. In addition, the Luneburg lens also has advantages in reducing the number of channels and reducing system complexity.

[0027] like Figure 1 As shown in Figure 1, the classic Luneburg lens is a spherical lens with a gradient refractive index and a spherically symmetrical structure. The refractive index n (or dielectric constant ε) of the Luneburg lens is r ) and the normalized radius r / R (where r is the distance between the dielectric layers in the Luneburg lens and the center of the Luneburg lens, and R is the radius of the Luneburg lens) is:

[0028]

[0029] That is, the refractive index n or the dielectric constant ε rIt gradually decreases from the center of the sphere to the spherical surface. For the electromagnetic waves incident from the focus of the spherical surface, they can be refracted and reflected inside the spherical lens, so that the electromagnetic waves reaching the surface of the Luneburg lens are converged and then emitted.

[0030] An ideal Luneburg lens has several advantages: (1) The surface of a sphere has multiple focal points. By placing multiple feed sources at the focal positions of the sphere surface, multiple beams can be realized, and the radiation characteristics of each beam are the same; (2) The operating frequency band depends only on the feed source and has nothing to do with the lens dielectric material.

[0031] In the related art, if the Luneburg lens-based antenna is to realize the beam scanning function, it can have a single feeding point or multiple feeding points. For a Luneburg lens antenna with a single feeding point, the feed source can be installed on a mechanical moving device, and the position of the feed source can be changed by moving the mechanical moving device, thereby changing the beam direction of the Luneburg lens antenna to realize the beam scanning function. For a Luneburg lens antenna with multiple feeding points, a switch unit can be set on the feed line of each feeding point, and different feed sources can be selected by controlling the conduction or disconnection of each switch unit to realize the switching of the feed source, change the beam direction, and realize the beam scanning function.

[0032] For a Luneburg lens antenna with multiple feed points, e.g. Figure 2 As shown, the Luneburg lens in the Luneburg lens antenna P is a disk-shaped structure with a certain thickness, and includes multiple lens layers nested in sequence from the inside to the outside along the radial direction of the Luneburg lens, and the dielectric constants of the multiple lens layers gradually decrease. On the side of the Luneburg lens, multiple feeding ports P1 to P11 are provided (the feeding ports can be radiation patches). By feeding different ports, the Luneburg lens antenna radiates electromagnetic waves in different directions, and by feeding multiple adjacent ports in P1 to P11 in sequence, a beam scanning function is realized.

[0033] However, for Luneburg lens antennas with a single feeding point, the mechanical moving device moves slowly, making it difficult to have a faster beam scanning speed; for Luneburg lens antennas with multiple feeding points, the fineness of the beam scanning is limited by the position and number of the feeding points, making it difficult to achieve fine beam scanning and having poor flexibility.

[0034] In view of this, the present disclosure provides an antenna that combines a Luneburg lens with a vibrator with a beam scanning function. While being able to achieve a faster beam scanning speed, the Luneburg lens's beam converging effect can also be used to make the antenna unit have a higher radiation gain.

[0035] like Figure 3As shown, the present disclosure provides an antenna, which includes at least one antenna unit 1, the antenna unit 1 includes at least one vibrator 10, and a Luneburg lens 20 located on the radiation surface side of the vibrator 10; wherein the vibrator 10 includes a phase adjustment structure, and a radiation structure connected to the phase adjustment structure; the Luneburg lens 20 is configured to converge the electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation structure of each vibrator 10 in the antenna unit 1.

[0036] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the vibrator 10 includes a phase adjustment structure and a radiation structure connected to the phase adjustment structure. The microwave signal is transmitted to the phase adjustment structure, and the phase adjustment structure phase-modulates the microwave signal and then transmits it to the radiation structure, which is radiated by the radiation structure. By phase-modulating the microwave signal by the phase adjustment structure, the electromagnetic wave obtained when the radiation structure radiates the microwave signal after phase modulation can have a continuously changing beam pointing, realize the function of beam scanning, and have high flexibility. The Luneburg lens 20 is arranged on the radiation surface side of each vibrator 10 to converge the beam of the electromagnetic wave radiated by the radiation structure of each vibrator 10, thereby improving the radiation gain of the antenna unit 1. At the same time, compared with the single-feed Luneburg lens antenna and the multi-feed Luneburg lens antenna in the related art, the vibrator in the antenna unit of the present disclosure can realize continuous beam scanning, the beam scanning angle is more refined, and has a fast scanning capability, and the cost is low.

[0037] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the vibrator 10 includes a phase adjustment structure and a radiation structure connected to the phase adjustment structure. Among them, the phase adjustment structure can be a liquid crystal phase shifter with a dual substrate structure, such as a differential liquid crystal phase shifter, a CPW (Coplanar Waveguide) liquid crystal phase shifter, a microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter, a stripline periodically loaded liquid crystal phase shifter, an inverted microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter, etc., which are not specifically limited here. In the subsequent description of the present disclosure, the phase adjustment structure is a microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter as an example for description, but this does not constitute a limitation of the present disclosure.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vibrator 10 includes a phase adjustment structure and a radiation structure connected to the phase adjustment structure. The radiation structure may include, for example, a radiation patch, and the radiation patch may be selected from any one of a rectangular radiation patch and a circular radiation patch; the radiation patch may have a cut-angle design, a slotted design, etc., and branches, short-circuit points, etc. may also be loaded on the radiation patch to make the radiation patch have a higher gain and a lower voltage standing wave ratio. The specific design of the radiation structure is not specifically limited here. In the subsequent description of the present disclosure, the radiation structure including the radiation patch is used as an example for description, but this does not constitute a limitation of the present disclosure.

[0039] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the phase adjustment structure can be connected to the radiation structure through a feeder line. The feeder line can be selected from any one of a coaxial cable, a microstrip line and a waveguide tube, which is not specifically limited here. The material of the feeder line can include at least one of copper, aluminum, gold and silver.

[0040] like Figure 3 As shown, it is a schematic diagram of the structure of the oscillator in some examples, wherein the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter includes a first dielectric substrate 01 and a second dielectric substrate 02 arranged oppositely; the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter also includes a first electrode 03, a second electrode 04, an adjustable dielectric layer and a first reference electrode layer 05, wherein the first electrode 03 is arranged on the side of the first dielectric substrate 01 close to the second dielectric substrate 02, the second electrode 04 is arranged on the side of the second dielectric substrate 02 close to the first dielectric substrate 01, the adjustable dielectric layer is arranged between the first electrode 03 and the second electrode 04, and the first reference electrode layer 05 is arranged on the side of the first dielectric substrate 01 away from the second dielectric substrate 02. The first electrode 03 is connected to the feeding port, and the second electrode 04 is connected to the first end of the feed line. When the microwave signal is phase modulated, the potential difference between the first electrode 03 and the second electrode 04 is changed by changing the potential loaded on the first electrode 03 and the second electrode 04, the dielectric constant of the adjustable dielectric layer is adjusted, and then the capacitance between the first electrode 03 and the second electrode 04 is changed, so as to realize the phase modulation of the microwave signal.

[0041] like Figure 3 As shown, the oscillator also includes a third dielectric substrate 06, which is arranged on the side of the second dielectric substrate 02 away from the second electrode 04; the oscillator also includes a second reference electrode layer 07, which is arranged between the second dielectric substrate 02 and the third dielectric substrate 06; the radiation patch 08 is arranged on the side of the third dielectric substrate 06 away from the second reference electrode layer 07.

[0042] like Figure 3 As shown, a slit opening is provided on the second reference electrode layer 07, and the orthographic projection of the slit opening on the second dielectric substrate 02 at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the second end of the feed line on the second dielectric substrate 02, and the orthographic projection of the slit opening on the second dielectric substrate 02 at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the radiation patch 08 on the second dielectric substrate 02, so that the feed line feeds the microwave signal phase-modulated by the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter into the radiation patch 08 through the slit opening on the second reference electrode layer 07, and finally the microwave signal is emitted by the radiation patch 08.

[0043] Of course, in other embodiments, the vibrator may also have other structures, which are not specifically limited here.

[0044] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the antenna unit 1 includes at least one vibrator 10. In the case where the antenna unit 1 includes multiple vibrators 10, the Luneburg lens 20 is located on the radiation surface side of each vibrator 10 to converge the electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation structure of each vibrator 10. The radiation structures of the multiple vibrators 10 can be located on the same plane, or can be arranged in an arc or arc surface around the Luneburg lens 20. In the case where the radiation structures of the multiple vibrators 10 are located on the same plane, the multiple vibrators 10 can be arranged in an array, that is, they can be arranged in multiple rows along a first direction and in multiple columns along a second direction. The first direction is the extension direction of the columns of the multiple vibrators 10, and the second direction is the extension direction of the rows of the multiple vibrators 10. The first direction is different from the second direction. In the case where the multiple vibrators 10 are arranged in an arc or arc surface around the Luneburg lens 20, the distance between the radiation structure of the multiple vibrators 10 and the Luneburg lens 20 can be equal, so that the Luneburg lens 20 has the same convergence effect on the electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation structures of each vibrator 10.

[0045] The antenna unit 1 includes multiple vibrators 10, and the multiple vibrators 10 can have a larger beam coverage range on the surface of the Luneburg lens 20, so that the antenna unit 1 has a larger beam scanning range. The beams of the multiple vibrators 10 can have the same phase in space, so that the electromagnetic wave energy of the antenna unit 1 is more concentrated, thereby improving the radiation gain of the antenna unit 1.

[0046] Of course, in other embodiments, the plurality of vibrators 10 may also have other arrangements, which are not specifically limited here.

[0047] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the antenna includes at least one antenna unit 1. In the case where the antenna includes multiple antenna units 1, the multiple antenna units 1 can be arranged in an array, that is, they can be arranged in multiple rows along the third direction and in multiple columns along the fourth direction, the third direction is the extension direction of the columns of the multiple antenna units 1, the fourth direction is the extension direction of the rows of the multiple antenna units 1, and the third direction is different from the fourth direction.

[0048] The antenna includes multiple antenna units 1. The electromagnetic wave beams radiated by the multiple antenna units 1 can have multiple possible beam directions in space, so that the antenna has a larger beam scanning range. The multiple antenna units 1 can have the same phase, which can make the electromagnetic wave energy of the antenna more concentrated and improve the radiation gain of the antenna.

[0049] Of course, in other embodiments, the multiple antenna units 1 may also have other arrangements, which are not specifically limited here.

[0050] In the subsequent description of the present disclosure, the antenna includes four antenna units 1 arranged in an array, but this does not constitute a limitation to the present disclosure. Of course, in other examples, the antenna units 1 may have other numbers, and the multiple antenna units 1 may also have other arrangements, which are not specifically limited here.

[0051] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the Luneburg lens 20 may include any one of a spherical lens and a cylindrical lens, wherein the cylindrical shape may be any one of a cylinder, a cuboid, a hexagonal prism, etc. In the subsequent description of the present disclosure, the Luneburg lens 20 is taken as an example of a spherical lens, but this does not constitute a limitation of the present disclosure.

[0052] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the Luneburg lens 20 includes N layers of sub-lenses, and the i+1th layer of sub-lenses wraps the ith layer of sub-lenses; N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and i is 1 to (N-1); the dielectric constants of the N layers of sub-lenses decrease monotonically from the 1st layer to the Nth layer, that is, the sub-lenses with lower dielectric constants wrap the sub-lenses with higher dielectric constants.

[0053] In some examples, N can be 3, 4, 6, 7, etc., and is not specifically limited here.

[0054] In some examples, the Luneburg lens 20 may include 5 layers of sub-lenses, the first layer of sub-lenses may be spherical, the second layer of sub-lenses may completely wrap the first layer of sub-lenses, and the thickness of the second layer of sub-lenses is equal everywhere, then the lens composed of the first layer of sub-lenses and the second layer of sub-lenses is still a spherical lens, the third layer of sub-lenses may completely wrap the spherical lens, and the thickness of the third layer of sub-lenses is equal everywhere, then the lens composed of the first, second and third layers of sub-lenses is still a spherical lens, the fourth layer of sub-lenses may completely wrap the spherical lens, and the thickness of the fourth layer of sub-lenses is equal everywhere, then the lens composed of the first, second, third and fourth layers of sub-lenses is still a spherical lens, similarly, the fifth layer of sub-lenses may completely wrap the spherical lens, and the thickness of the fifth layer of sub-lenses is equal everywhere, then the lens composed of the first, second, third and fourth layers of sub-lenses is still a spherical lens.

[0055] In some examples, when the Luneburg lens 20 includes 5 layers of sub-lenses, the dielectric constants of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th layers of sub-lenses may be different, or the dielectric constants of two adjacent layers of sub-lenses may be the same. For example, the dielectric constant of the 2nd layer of sub-lenses is the same as that of the 3rd layer of sub-lenses, and / or the dielectric constant of the 4th layer of sub-lenses is the same as that of the 5th layer of sub-lenses, that is, the Luneburg lens 20 includes three lens layers with different dielectric constants, or only the dielectric constants of the 3rd layer of sub-lenses and the 4th layer of sub-lenses are the same, that is, the Luneburg lens 20 includes four lens layers with different dielectric constants, and so on. The dielectric constants of some three adjacent layers of sub-lenses may also be the same. For example, the dielectric constants of the 2nd layer of sub-lenses, the 3rd layer of sub-lenses and the 4th layer of sub-lenses are the same, or the dielectric constants of the 3rd layer of sub-lenses, the 4th layer of sub-lenses and the 5th layer of sub-lenses are the same, and so on. For another example, the dielectric constants of the first layer of sub-lenses and the second layer of sub-lenses may be the same, the dielectric constants of the third layer of sub-lenses, the fourth layer of sub-lenses, and the fifth layer of sub-lenses may be the same, etc. In other examples, when the Luneburg lens 20 includes more or fewer layers of sub-lenses, there may be other adjacent two or more layers of sub-lenses with the same dielectric constant, which is not specifically limited here.

[0056] In the disclosed embodiment, the Luneburg lens 20 may be made of materials such as glass and polyimide, and may be made by techniques such as 3D printing.

[0057] Next, the antenna of the present disclosure is described in detail with reference to specific examples, but this shall not constitute a limitation to the present disclosure.

[0058] The first example is Figure 4 As shown, the antenna includes four antenna units 1 arranged in an array, one antenna unit 1 includes a vibrator 10 and a Luneburg lens 20 located on the radiation surface side of the vibrator 10. The Luneburg lens 20 is a spherical lens. The vibrator 10 is the above-mentioned Figure 3 In the structure shown, the Luneburg lens 20 is configured to converge the electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation patch of the vibrator 10. The vibrators 10 of each antenna unit 1 are connected to the same feeding network 30.

[0059] In this example, the microwave signal is transmitted to the first electrode of the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter of the vibrator 10 through the feed network 30. After the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter phase modulates the microwave signal, the microwave signal is transmitted to the radiation patch through the feed line, and the radiation patch radiates electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation patch of the vibrator 10 continue to radiate outward after the convergence effect of the Luneburg lens 20. After the microwave signal is phase modulated by the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation patch from the microwave signal after phase modulation have a continuously changing beam pointing, realizing the beam scanning function, and having higher flexibility. After the electromagnetic waves are converged by the Luneburg lens 20, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna unit 1 have a higher gain. At the same time, compared with the single-feed point Luneburg lens antenna and the multi-feed point Luneburg lens antenna in the related art, the beam scanning angle of the antenna in this example is more refined and has higher flexibility.

[0060] In some examples, such as Figure 4 As shown, the feeding network 30 includes a first feeding port 31 and four second feeding ports 32 connected to the first feeding port, the first feeding port 31 is connected to the feed source, the first electrode 03 of the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter of an oscillator 10 is connected to a second feeding port 32, and the microwave signal is transmitted to the first electrode 03 of the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter of the oscillator 10 through the second feeding port 32, so that the oscillators 10 of each antenna unit 1 are connected to the same feeding network 30.

[0061] In the antenna of this example, the vibrator 10 of each antenna unit 1 is connected to the same feeding network, and one antenna unit 1 includes one vibrator 10, that is, each vibrator 10 is connected to the same feeding network 30, so that the electromagnetic waves radiated by each vibrator 10 have the same phase, so that the energy of the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna is more concentrated. At the same time, through the convergence effect of the Luneburg lens 20 on the electromagnetic waves, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna can have a higher gain; and through the modulation effect of the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter on the microwave signal, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the vibrator 10 can have a continuous deflection angle, realizing beam scanning, and having higher flexibility.

[0062] The second example, such as Figure 5 As shown, the antenna includes four antenna units 1 arranged in an array, one antenna unit 1 includes three vibrators 10, and the three vibrators 10 are arranged side by side along the fourth direction. The antenna unit 1 also includes a Luneburg lens 20 located on the radiation surface side of the three vibrators 10. The Luneburg lens 20 is a spherical lens, and each vibrator 10 is the above-mentioned Figure 3 In the structure shown, the Luneburg lens 20 is configured to converge the electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation patches of the three oscillators 10. The three oscillators 10 in one antenna unit 1 are electrically connected to the same feeding network 40.

[0063] In this example, the microwave signal is transmitted to the first electrode of the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter of each vibrator 10 through the feed network 40. After the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter phase modulates the microwave signal, the microwave signal is transmitted to the radiation patch through the feed line, and the radiation patch radiates electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation patch of the vibrator 10 continue to radiate outward after the convergence effect of the Luneburg lens 20. After the microwave signal is phase modulated by the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation patch from the microwave signal after phase modulation have a continuously changing beam pointing, realizing the beam scanning function, and having higher flexibility. After the electromagnetic waves are converged by the Luneburg lens 20, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna unit 1 have a higher gain. Compared with the single-feed point Luneburg lens antenna and the multi-feed point Luneburg lens antenna, the frontal beam scanning angle of the antenna in this example is more refined and has higher flexibility. At the same time, an antenna unit 1 includes a plurality of vibrators 10, so that the beams of the plurality of vibrators 10 can have a larger beam coverage range on the surface of the Luneburg lens 20, so that the antenna unit 1 has a larger beam scanning range.

[0064] like Figure 5 As shown, in some examples, the feeding network 40 includes four third feeding ports 41, all of which are connected to the feed source, one third feeding port 41 is connected to three fourth feeding ports 42, and the three fourth feeding ports 42 connected to the same third feeding port 41 are respectively connected to three vibrators 10 of an antenna unit 1. Specifically, one fourth feeding port 42 is connected to the first electrode 03 of the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter of one vibrator 10, so that the three vibrators 10 in one antenna unit 1 are connected to the same feeding network 40.

[0065] In this example, the four third feed ports 41 can be connected to the same feed source or to different feed sources. When the four third feed ports 41 are connected to the same feed source, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the vibrators 10 of the four antenna units 1 have the same phase, so that the energy of the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna is more concentrated. Through the convergence of the electromagnetic waves by the Luneburg lens 20, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna can have a higher gain. When the four third feed ports 41 are connected to different feed sources, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the four antenna units 1 can have different phases, that is, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the four antenna units 1 can have different beam directions, so that more space object information can be obtained at the same time, the efficiency of beam scanning is improved, and the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna unit 1 have a higher gain through the convergence of the electromagnetic waves by the Luneburg lens 20.

[0066] like Figure 6As shown, in other examples, the feeding network 40 may include a fifth feeding port 43 and twelve sixth feeding ports 44 connected to the fifth feeding port 43, the fifth feeding port 43 is connected to the feed source, and the first electrode 03 of the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter of an oscillator 10 is connected to the sixth feeding port 44, so that each oscillator 10 in the four antenna units 1 is connected to the same feeding network 40.

[0067] In this example, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the vibrators 10 of the four antenna units 1 have the same phase, so that the energy of the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna is more concentrated. Through the convergence effect of the Luneburg lens 20 on the electromagnetic waves, the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna can have a higher gain.

[0068] In other examples, the antenna unit 1 may include other numbers of multiple vibrators 10, for example, 4, 6, etc. The multiple vibrators 10 may also have other arrangements, which are not specifically limited here.

[0069] In some examples, such as Figure 6 As shown, the three oscillators 10 of an antenna unit 1 are respectively connected to a fourth feeding port 42 or a sixth feeding port 44 through a switch unit 45, that is, the first electrode 03 of the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter of an oscillator 10 is connected to a fourth feeding port 42 or a sixth feeding port 44 through a switch unit 45.

[0070] By setting the switch unit 45, whether to feed the microwave signal to each oscillator 10 of an antenna unit 1 can be controlled by controlling the on and off of each switch unit 45, thereby achieving flexible control of the beam pointing and beam scanning range of each antenna unit 1.

[0071] In some examples, the switch unit 45 includes any one of a MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) switch, a PIN switch, and a liquid crystal switch.

[0072] The third example is Figure 7 As shown, the antenna includes four antenna units 1 arranged in an array, and one antenna unit 1 includes nine vibrators 10; the antenna unit 1 also includes a Luneburg lens 20 located on the radiation surface side of the nine vibrators 10, and the Luneburg lens 20 is a spherical lens. The nine vibrators 10 are arranged in three rows and three columns in a spherical surface parallel to the surface of the spherical lens, and the distances between the nine vibrators 10 and the Luneburg lens 20 are equal. Each vibrator 10 is the above Figure 3In the structure shown, the Luneburg lens 20 is configured to converge the electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation patches of the nine oscillators 10. The nine oscillators 10 of the antenna unit 1 are divided into three sub-arrays, each sub-array includes three oscillators 10, and the three oscillators 10 in a sub-array are connected to the same feeding network.

[0073] In some examples, such as Figure 7 As shown, the nine dipoles 10 of the antenna unit 1 are divided into three sub-arrays, namely a first sub-array 11, a second sub-array 12 and a third sub-array 13. The three sub-arrays respectively include three dipoles 10. The three dipoles 10 in the first sub-array 11 are connected to a first feeding network 50, the three dipoles 10 in the second sub-array 12 are connected to a second feeding network 60, and the three dipoles 10 in the third sub-array 13 are connected to a third feeding network 70. Thus, the three dipoles 10 in one sub-array are connected to the same feeding network.

[0074] In this example, the first feed network 50, the second feed network 60 and the third feed network 70 may have the same structure or different structures, which is not specifically limited herein. In a specific example, the first feed network 50, the second feed network 60 and the third feed network 70 may respectively have the structure of the feed network 40 in the second example described above. Taking the first feeding network 50 as an example, for example, the first feeding network 50 includes four third feeding ports, the four third feeding ports are all connected to the feed source, one third feeding port is connected to three fourth feeding ports, and the three fourth feeding ports connected to the same third feeding port are respectively connected to the three vibrators 10 in the same subarray. Specifically, one fourth feeding port is connected to the first electrode of the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter of one vibrator 10, so that the three vibrators 10 in one subarray are all connected to the first feeding network 50; for another example, the first feeding network 50 includes one fifth feeding port and twelve sixth feeding ports connected to the one fifth feeding port, the fifth feeding port is connected to the feed source, and the first electrode of the microstrip line liquid crystal phase shifter of one vibrator 10 in the first subarray is connected to one sixth feeding port, so that the three vibrators 10 in one subarray are all connected to the first feeding network 50. For the second feeding network 60 and the third feeding network 70, the same is true and will not be repeated here.

[0075] In this example, by dividing the multiple vibrators 10 in an antenna unit 1 into multiple sub-arrays, that is, an antenna unit 1 includes multiple sub-arrays, a sub-array includes multiple vibrators 10, and the vibrators 10 in a sub-array are connected to the same feeding network, the same or different microwave signals can be fed to the vibrators 10 in different sub-arrays of the antenna unit 1, so that the electromagnetic waves radiated by the vibrators 10 in different sub-arrays have the same or different beam directions. In the case where the electromagnetic waves radiated by the vibrators 10 in multiple sub-arrays have the same beam direction, the energy of the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna unit 1 is more concentrated, and the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna unit 1 can have a higher gain through the convergence effect of the Luneburg lens 20 on the electromagnetic waves. In the case where the electromagnetic waves radiated by the vibrators 10 in multiple sub-arrays have different beam directions, more space object information can be obtained at the same time, the efficiency of beam scanning is improved, and the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna unit 1 have a higher gain through the convergence effect of the Luneburg lens 20 on the electromagnetic waves.

[0076] The present disclosure provides an electronic device, comprising any one of the above antennas.

[0077] The electronic device includes the above-mentioned antenna. The electronic device also includes a transceiver unit, a radio frequency transceiver, a signal amplifier, a power amplifier, and a filtering unit. The antenna can be used as a transmitting antenna or a receiving antenna. Among them, the transceiver unit may include a baseband and a receiving end. The baseband provides a signal of at least one frequency band, for example, 2G signals, 3G signals, 4G signals, 5G signals, etc., and sends a signal of at least one frequency band to the radio frequency transceiver. After the antenna receives the signal, it can be processed by the filtering unit, the power amplifier, the signal amplifier, and the radio frequency transceiver and then transmitted to the receiving end in the transceiver unit. The receiving end may be, for example, a smart gateway.

[0078] In some examples, the RF transceiver is connected to the transceiver unit and is used to modulate the signal sent by the transceiver unit, or to demodulate the signal received by the antenna and transmit it to the transceiver unit. Specifically, the RF transceiver may include a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, a modulation circuit, and a demodulation circuit. After the transmitting circuit receives various types of signals provided by the substrate, the modulation circuit can modulate various types of signals provided by the baseband and then send them to the antenna. The antenna receives the signal and transmits it to the receiving circuit of the RF transceiver. The receiving circuit transmits the signal to the demodulation circuit, and the demodulation circuit demodulates the signal and transmits it to the receiving end.

[0079] In some examples, the RF transceiver is connected to a signal amplifier and a power amplifier, which are then connected to a filter unit, and the filter unit is connected to at least one antenna. In the process of sending signals by the communication system, the signal amplifier is used to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal output by the RF transceiver and then transmit it to the filter unit; the power amplifier is used to amplify the power of the signal output by the RF transceiver and then transmit it to the filter unit; the filter unit may specifically include a duplexer and a filter circuit, and the filter unit combines the signals output by the signal amplifier and the power amplifier and transmits them to the antenna after filtering out clutter, and the antenna radiates the signal. In the process of receiving signals by the communication system, the antenna receives the signal and transmits it to the filter unit, and the filter unit filters out clutter from the signal received by the antenna and transmits it to the signal amplifier and the power amplifier. The signal amplifier amplifies the signal received by the antenna to increase the signal-to-noise ratio; the power amplifier amplifies the power of the signal received by the antenna. The signal received by the antenna is processed by the power amplifier and the signal amplifier and then transmitted to the RF transceiver, and the RF transceiver then transmits it to the transceiver unit.

[0080] In some examples, the signal amplifier may include various types of signal amplifiers, such as a low noise amplifier, which is not limited herein.

[0081] In some examples, the antenna further includes a power management unit connected to the power amplifier to provide the power amplifier with a voltage for amplifying a signal.

[0082] It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments used to illustrate the principles of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For those of ordinary skill in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An antenna comprising at least one antenna unit, wherein the antenna unit comprises at least one vibrator and a Luneburg lens located on the radiation surface side of the vibrator; wherein: The oscillator includes a phase adjustment structure and a radiation structure connected to the phase adjustment structure; The Luneburg lens is configured to converge the electromagnetic waves radiated by the radiation structures of the oscillators in the antenna unit.

2. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein: The antenna unit includes a plurality of dipoles, and the plurality of dipoles are electrically connected to the same feeding network.

3. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein: The antenna unit has a plurality of oscillators; the antenna further includes a feeding network, the feeding network including a main circuit and a plurality of branches connected to the main circuit; One of the branches is connected to the vibrator through a switch unit.

4. The antenna according to claim 3, wherein: The switch unit includes any one of a MEMS switch, a PIN switch, and a liquid crystal switch.

5. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein: There are multiple dipoles in the antenna unit; and the multiple dipoles are divided into multiple sub-arrays; and the multiple dipoles in one sub-array are connected to the same feeding network.

6. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein: There are multiple antenna units, each of which includes one oscillator, and each oscillator is connected to the same feeding network.

7. The antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The phase adjustment structure includes a liquid crystal phase shifter.

8. The antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The Luneburg lens includes any one of a spherical lens and a cylindrical lens.

9. The antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The Luneburg lens includes N layers of sub-lenses, and the i+1th layer of sub-lenses wraps the i-th layer of sub-lenses; N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and i is 1 to (N-1); the dielectric constants of the N layers of sub-lenses decrease monotonically from the 1st layer to the Nth layer.

10. An electronic device comprising the antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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