Circumferential electric control beam scanning antenna

Abstract

The invention discloses a circumferential electric control beam scanning antenna, and belongs to the technical field of antennas. Traveling waves are transmitted in the wave guide structure, tunable elements are loaded on wave beam control arrays existing in the wave guide structure, the working state of the wave beam control arrays is controlled through external voltage so as to play a role in guiding electromagnetic waves at a fixed angle, and then the electromagnetic waves are directionally radiated to a free space by the radiation units at the outer edge. The antenna can realize circumferential electric control beam scanning, has the advantages of simple structure, low power consumption, light weight, easy integration and the like, and can be applied to a wireless communication system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of antennas and relates to a circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna. Background Art

[0002] As the application scenarios of communication technology become increasingly rich and complex, communication systems require antennas to have greater beam scanning capabilities and accuracy. Mechanically rotating beam scanning antennas mainly achieve the function of beam scanning by rotating the radiation aperture of the antenna. However, the beam scanning achieved in this way is not only low in accuracy, slow in scanning speed and high in cost, but also has a very complex feeding network, poor integration and is accompanied by a large antenna profile and weight, which greatly restricts the assembly of the antenna. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present invention aims at solving the problems in the prior art and provides a circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna.

[0004] A circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna transmits traveling waves in a waveguide structure. The beam control arrays in the waveguide structure are loaded with tunable elements. The working state of the beam control array is controlled by an external voltage to guide the electromagnetic waves at a fixed angle, and then the electromagnetic waves are radiated directionally into free space by the radiation units at the outer edge.

[0005] The advantages of the present invention are: lightweight, easy to integrate, low power consumption, large beam coverage and the like. Compared with the traditional mechanical beam scanning antenna, the present invention has the advantages of low cost, simple structure, fast beam scanning response, and high integration. Compared with the transmission array and reflection array antennas, the present invention has the advantages of low profile, simple feeding, and lightweight. Compared with the phased array antenna, the present invention has the advantages of low power consumption and low cost. The waveguide structure and the corresponding feeding structure of the present invention have the advantages of low transmission loss, low profile, high integration, and natural low side lobes, so that the antenna has the advantages of high directivity, high radiation efficiency, and low profile. The radiation beam of the present invention has the characteristics of electrically controlled beam circumferential scanning, beam wide-angle coverage, and high beam scanning accuracy. The present invention can intuitively adjust the beam angle through the beam control array module, with rapid response, high stability, high directivity, high integration, and is suitable for a complete communication system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the prior art descriptions. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work. As shown in the figure: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1a A diagram showing the principle structure of the lightweight electrically controlled circumferential beam scanning antenna of the present invention;

[0009] Figure 1b The second diagram is a principle structure of the lightweight electrically controlled circumferential beam scanning antenna of the present invention;

[0010] Figure 2 Optional form 1 for the transmission structure: magneto-electric dipole antenna;

[0011] Figure 3 Optional form 2 for the transmission structure: transmission array antenna;

[0012] Figure 4 Optional form 3 for the transmission structure: lens antenna;

[0013] Figure 5 Optional form 4 for the transmission structure: Vivaldi antenna;

[0014] Figure 6 Typical shapes that can be selected for metal connecting wires;

[0015] Figure 7 Typical shapes that can be selected for printed choke structures on PCB;

[0016] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a beam control unit array;

[0017] Fig. 9 This is a graph of S parameter results of a series of beam control unit linear arrays in full transmission state at the same time;

[0018] Fig.10 This is the S parameter result diagram of a series of beam control unit linear arrays in total reflection state at the same time;

[0019] Fig.11 An array of beam control units arranged in a circular array;

[0020] Fig.12 A feeding structure in the form of a coaxial probe;

[0021] Fig.13 A feeding structure in the form of a waveguide;

[0022] Fig.14 A feeding structure in the form of slot coupling based on waveguide or microstrip line;

[0023] Fig.15 This is the state diagram of the control unit when φ=0° beam is realized;

[0024] Fig.16 This is the state diagram of the control unit when realizing φ=6° beam;

[0025] Fig.17 The state diagram of the control unit when realizing φ=24° beam;

[0026] Fig.18 The state diagram of the control unit when φ=90° beam is realized;

[0027] Fig.19 The state diagram of the control unit when φ = 180° beam is realized;

[0028] Fig. 20 The state diagram of the control unit when realizing φ=270° beam;

[0029] Fig.21 The state diagram of the control unit when realizing omnidirectional beam;

[0030] Fig. 22 It is the beam scanning result of 360° in azimuth plane of the electrically controlled circumferential beam scanning antenna;

[0031] Fig.23 This is the result of the electrically controlled circumferential beam scanning antenna achieving omnidirectional radiation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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

[0033] Example 1: As shown in Figure 1, Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 , Fig.12 , Fig.13 , Fig.14 , Fig.15 , Fig.16 , Fig.17 , Fig.18 , Fig.19 , Fig. 20 , Fig.21 , Fig. 22 and Fig.23As shown, a circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna realizes electrically controlled beam scanning by loading tunable electronic components such as PIN diodes, MEMS switches, varactor diodes, silicon single voltage drop diodes, germanium single voltage drop diodes, etc. or tunable materials such as ferroelectric materials such as barium strontium titanate, temperature-dependent materials such as vanadium dioxide and water, liquid crystals, electro-optical crystals, graphene, piezoelectric crystals, etc., so as to achieve low cost and large beam scanning range, have the advantages of lightweight and high integration, and are suitable for more complex communication scenarios.

[0034] A lightweight electrically controlled circumferential beam scanning antenna comprises a waveguide structure, a circumferential radiation structure, a feeding structure and a beam control array.

[0035] The waveguide structure is used to guide the transmission of electromagnetic waves. It can be a parallel plate waveguide of various shapes such as circular and square, or a parallel plate waveguide with functional structures such as slow-wave ridge structure and annular groove structure. It can also be a combination of various waveguide structures such as rectangular waveguide, circular waveguide, microstrip transmission line, stripline, coplanar waveguide, ridge-gap waveguide, substrate integrated waveguide, slot line, etc. for multi-channel energy feeding.

[0036] The circumferential radiation structure itself can be composed of a horn structure and a transmission structure or only retain the horn structure, which is located at the edge of the radial waveguide and is used to radiate electromagnetic energy generated at any angle to free space. The transmission unit can be any number and type of radiation structure, including magneto-electric dipole antennas, transmission array antennas, lens antennas, Vivaldi antennas and other types of radiation antennas.

[0037] The beam steering array is a composite structure, each of which includes metal connecting wires that run through the radial waveguide and the dielectric plate, PCB printed bias wires on the surface of the dielectric plate, PIN diodes and choke structures. It is used to control the specific path in the energy conduction process to achieve beam radiation at different circumferential angles. The metal connecting wire part of the beam steering array can be processed and manufactured using a variety of processes such as metal machine tool processing, 3D metal printing, electroplating after 3D printing of the medium, and PCB metal punching; other structures of the beam steering array can be processed and manufactured using a variety of processes such as PCB printed circuit boards, LTCC low-temperature co-fired ceramics, and wafer processing; the unit arrangement of the beam steering array can be in a variety of forms such as circular arrays, square arrays, and sparse arrays.

[0038] The metal connecting wires in the beam steering array can be structures of various shapes such as cylinders, square cylinders, truncated cones, cones, stepped gradient cylinders, etc.

[0039] The bias DC circuit in the beam steering array is used to control the working state of the array element. The tuning element can be not only the PIN diode mentioned in this design, but also a MEMS switch, a varactor diode, a silicon single voltage drop diode, a germanium single voltage drop diode, etc.; the number of tuning elements contained in each array element in the beam steering array can also be any number, and the element type can also be a combination of one or more elements. The choke structure in the beam steering array can be not only a printed fan-shaped structure but also a PCB printed choke structure in various forms such as a square structure, a ring structure, and a spiral structure. The choke structure in the beam steering array can also be connected to an inductor or a resistor to achieve the same choke effect.

[0040] The feeding structure is used to feed electromagnetic energy into the waveguide structure; the feeding structure can select a variety of feeding forms such as coaxial probe feeding, waveguide feeding, slot coupling feeding based on waveguide or microstrip line, etc.

[0041] Example 2: As shown in Figure 1, Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 , Fig.12 , Fig.13 , Fig.14 , Fig.15 , Fig.16 , Fig.17 , Fig.18 , Fig.19 , Fig. 20 , Fig.21 , Fig. 22 and Fig.23 As shown, a circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna transmits traveling waves in a waveguide structure. The beam control arrays in the waveguide structure are loaded with tunable elements. The working state of the beam control array is controlled by an external voltage to guide the electromagnetic waves at a fixed angle, and then the electromagnetic waves are radiated directionally into the free space by the radiation units at the outer edge.

[0042] Figure 1a This is a top view of the principle structure of the circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna. Figure 1b It is a cross-sectional diagram of the principle architecture of a circumferentially electrically controlled beam scanning antenna.

[0043] A circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna comprises a waveguide structure 1, a circumferential radiation structure 2, a feed structure 3, and a beam control unit 4. The waveguide structure 1 is a radial waveguide, the bottom metal plate of the waveguide structure 1 is an aluminum seat, and the metal plate of the upper part of the waveguide structure 1 is a layer of Rogers 4350B dielectric material with a copper sheet on the lower surface. The feed structure 3 excites an electromagnetic wave 7 in the waveguide structure 1 in the form of central feeding, and the electromagnetic wave 7 is conducted in the waveguide structure 1 in the form of a traveling wave. During the conduction process, the electromagnetic wave 7 will be affected by the beam control unit 4, and the beam control unit 4 is loaded with a PIN diode 6, and is connected to the bottom metal layer of the waveguide structure 1 through a metal connecting wire 5.

[0044] The beam control unit 4 will change its own reflection effect on the electromagnetic wave 7 due to the voltage change across the loaded PIN diode 6, thereby regulating the propagation path of the electromagnetic wave 7 in the waveguide structure 1. The electromagnetic wave 7 is directionally radiated to the free space by the circumferential radiation structure 2 at the outer edge of the waveguide structure 1 after passing through the characteristic transmission path.

[0045] The waveguide structure 1 can be a parallel plate waveguide of various shapes such as circular and square, or a parallel plate waveguide with functional structures such as a slow-wave ridge structure and annular groove structure; it can also be a combination of various waveguide structures such as rectangular waveguides, circular waveguides, microstrip transmission lines, strip lines, coplanar waveguides, ridge gap waveguides, substrate integrated waveguides, slot lines, etc. for multi-channel energy feeding.

[0046] The circumferential radiation structure 2 is located at the outer edge of the waveguide structure 1, and its function is to radiate the electromagnetic wave 7 in the waveguide structure 1 to the free space. The circumferential radiation structure 2 itself can be composed of a horn structure and a transmission structure or only retain the horn structure, and the transmission structure can be adopted as follows Figure 2 The magnetoelectric dipole antenna shown in Figure 3 The transmission array antenna shown in Figure 4 The lens antenna shown in Figure 5 There are many types of radiating antennas, such as the Vivaldi antenna shown.

[0047] The beam control unit 4 includes a metal connecting line 5, a PIN diode 6, a choke structure 8, an isolation ring 9, and a microstrip line 10. The metal connecting line 5 runs through the waveguide structure 1 and the Rogers 4350B as the dielectric layer 13. The PIN diode 6, the choke structure 8 and the microstrip line 10 are located on the upper surface of the dielectric layer 13. These structures can be processed and manufactured using a variety of processes such as PCB printed circuit boards, LTCC low-temperature co-fired ceramics, and wafer processing. The PIN diode as the tuning element of this design can also be replaced by a MEMS switch, a varactor diode, a silicon single voltage drop diode, a germanium single voltage drop diode, and the like. The metal connecting line 5 can be processed and manufactured using a variety of processes such as metal machine tool processing, 3D metal printing, electroplating after dielectric 3D printing, and PCB metal punching; the metal connecting line can be such as Figure 6 The structures are of various shapes such as cylinder, square column, truncated cone, cone, stepped gradient column, etc. Figure 7 As shown, the PCB printed choke structure diagram can be not only a fan-shaped structure but also a square structure, a ring structure, a spiral structure, etc. The choke structure in the beam control array can also be connected to an inductor or a resistor to achieve the same choke effect to reduce electromagnetic loss.

[0048] Figure 8 Yes Figure 1a The antenna structure in the figure cuts off a one-dimensional part to illustrate the principle of switching the reflection effect of the electromagnetic wave 7 by the beam control unit 4. One end of the microstrip line 10 is connected to the PIN diode 6, and the other end of the microstrip line 10 is connected to the metal connecting line 5. The metal connecting line 5 is connected to the bottom metal layer of the waveguide structure 1, that is, the second metal layer 16. The beam control unit 4 includes a metal connecting line 5, a PIN diode 6, a choke structure 8, an isolation ring 9 and a microstrip line 10. The first metal layer 12 is located on the lower surface of the dielectric layer 13, the isolation ring 9 is located on the first metal layer 12, the PIN diode 6, the choke structure 8 and the microstrip line 10 are located on the top of the dielectric layer 13, that is, above the isolation ring 9 and the first metal layer 12. The metal connecting line 5 runs through the waveguide structure 1 and the Rogers 4350B as the dielectric layer 13. The PIN diode 6, the choke structure 8 and the microstrip line 10 are located on the upper surface of the dielectric layer 13.

[0049] Figure 8 The two boundaries of the one-dimensional structure in the x direction are set as periodic boundary conditions, and the first port 14 is used for feeding, and the second port 15 is used as the absorption port at the other end of the one-dimensional structure. When the PIN diode 6 is given a forward bias voltage, the beam control unit 4 is in a full transmission state for the electromagnetic wave 7, such as Fig. 9 When a reverse bias voltage is applied to the PI N diode 6, the beam control unit 4 is in a state of total reflection of the electromagnetic wave 7, as shown in FIG. Fig.10According to this rule, the two feedback states of the beam control unit 4 to the electromagnetic wave 7 can be used to control the directional transmission of the electromagnetic wave 7 in the waveguide structure 1.

[0050] Fig.11 It is a beam control unit array in the form of a circular array. In addition to this method, it can also adopt various array arrangements such as square array, sparse array, etc.

[0051] The feeding structure 3 is used to feed the electromagnetic wave 7 into the waveguide structure 1. Typical types of the feeding structure 3 include: Fig.12 The coaxial probe feed diagram shown in Fig.13 The waveguide feed diagram shown in Fig.14 Various feeding structure types such as slot-coupled feed based on waveguide or transmission line are shown.

[0052] Fig.15 , Fig.16 , Fig.17 , Fig.18 , Fig.19 , Fig. 20 , Fig.21 The state distribution examples of the beam control unit 4 when the antenna of the present design realizes the circumferential beam φ=0, φ=6°, φ=24°, φ=90°, φ=180°, φ=270° and omnidirectional beam are respectively given. In this example, the black unit represents that the beam control unit 4 is in the state of total reflection of the electromagnetic wave 7; the white unit represents that the beam control unit 4 is in the state of total transmission of the electromagnetic wave 7. Fig.18 It can be seen that by constructing the beam control unit 4 in a reflecting state into a parabola that fits the approximate parabola and constructing a single reflection unit near the center of the circular array, the electromagnetic wave 7 can be directed to propagate along the direction of φ=0, and then radiate to the free space through the circumferential radiation structure 2. In order to realize the beam scanning function, it is only necessary to rotate the constructed approximate parabola and the single reflection unit structure to the corresponding angle. When the parabola and the single reflection unit are rotated at the same angle, large-angle beam scanning can be realized, such as Fig.15 , Fig.18 , Fig.19 , Fig. 20 As shown; when the parabola rotates at a small precision angle and a single reflection unit is fixed, small angle high precision scanning can be achieved, such as Fig.16 , Fig.17 This rotation process is achieved by selectively applying an external voltage to the PIN diode 6. Fig. 22 The beam scanning result of full circumferential coverage achieved by the present invention at a frequency of 5.3 GHz is given. Fig.23 The omnidirectional radiation achieved by the present invention at a frequency of 5.3 GHz is given.

[0053] The waveguide structure is used to transmit electromagnetic waves and is composed of a circular radial waveguide. The circumferential radiation structure is located at the edge of the radial waveguide and radiates electromagnetic waves into free space in the form of a horn antenna to form a highly directional radiation beam. The beam steering array can flexibly control the direction of the generated beam by changing the reflection state of the array element to achieve the electrically controlled beam scanning characteristics of the antenna. The feeding structure is used to feed the waveguide structure to obtain a large impedance bandwidth.

[0054] In general, the antenna in the embodiment of the present invention can achieve circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning characteristics in the 5.3 GHz and nearby frequency bands. At the same time, the antenna also has the advantages of lightweight and low profile, and is suitable for future millimeter wave wireless communication systems.

[0055] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna, characterized in that: Traveling waves are transmitted in the waveguide structure, and the beam control arrays in the waveguide structure are loaded with tunable elements. The working state of the beam control array is controlled by an external voltage to guide the electromagnetic waves at a fixed angle, and then the electromagnetic waves are radiated into the free space by the radiation units at the outer edge.

2. The circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that: It includes a waveguide structure, a circumferential radiation structure, a feeding structure, and a beam control unit. The waveguide structure is a radial waveguide. The bottom metal plate of the waveguide structure is an aluminum seat. The metal plate of the upper part of the waveguide structure is a copper skin on the lower surface of a layer of dielectric material.

3. The circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The feeding structure excites electromagnetic waves in the waveguide structure in the form of central feeding. The electromagnetic waves are conducted in the waveguide structure in the form of traveling waves. The electromagnetic waves are affected by the beam control unit. The beam control unit is loaded with a PIN diode and is connected to the bottom metal layer of the waveguide structure through a metal connecting wire. The beam control unit changes its own reflection effect on the electromagnetic wave due to the voltage change at both ends of the loaded PIN diode, thereby regulating the propagation path of the electromagnetic wave in the waveguide structure. The electromagnetic wave is directionally radiated to the free space by the circumferential radiation structure at the outer edge of the waveguide structure after passing through the characteristic transmission path.

4. The circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The waveguide structure is a parallel plate waveguide of various shapes such as round and square, or a parallel plate waveguide with a slow-wave ridge structure or annular groove structure; or a combination of various waveguide structures such as rectangular waveguide, circular waveguide, microstrip transmission line, stripline, coplanar waveguide, ridge gap waveguide, substrate integrated waveguide and slot line for multi-channel energy feeding.

5. The circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The circumferential radiation structure is located at the outer edge of the waveguide structure, and radiates the electromagnetic waves in the waveguide structure to the free space. The circumferential radiation structure is composed of a horn structure and a transmission structure or only retains the horn structure. The transmission structure is a variety of radiating antennas such as magneto-electric dipole antennas, transmission array antennas, lens antennas, and Vivaldi antennas.

6. The circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The beam control unit includes a metal connecting line, a PIN diode, a choke structure, an isolation ring, and a microstrip line. The metal connecting line runs through the waveguide structure and serves as a dielectric layer. The PIN diode, the choke structure, and the microstrip line are located on the upper surface of the dielectric layer. The metal connecting line is a structure in the shape of a cylinder, a square column, a truncated cone, a cone, or a stepped gradient column. The choke structure is a fan-shaped structure, or a square structure, a ring structure, a spiral structure, etc. The choke structure in the beam control array achieves the same choke effect by connecting an inductor or a resistor to reduce electromagnetic loss.

7. The circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna according to claim 6, characterized in that: PIN diodes are replaced by MEMS switches, varactor diodes, silicon single voltage drop diodes, and germanium single voltage drop diodes.

8. The circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna according to claim 6, characterized in that: One end of the microstrip line is connected to a PIN diode, and the other end of the microstrip line is connected to a metal connecting line, which is connected to the bottom metal layer of the waveguide structure, namely the second metal layer. The beam control unit includes a metal connecting line, a PIN diode, a choke structure, an isolation ring and a microstrip line. The first metal layer is located on the lower surface of the dielectric layer, and the isolation ring is located on the first metal layer. The PIN diode, the choke structure and the microstrip line are located on the top of the dielectric layer, above the isolation ring and the first metal layer. The metal connecting line runs through the waveguide structure and the dielectric layer PIN diode, and the choke structure and the microstrip line are located on the upper surface of the dielectric layer. Power is fed through the first port, and the second port serves as the absorption port at the other end of the one-dimensional structure. When a forward bias voltage is given to the PIN diode, the beam control unit is in a state of total transmission of electromagnetic waves. When a reverse bias voltage is given to the PIN diode, the beam control unit is in a state of total reflection of electromagnetic waves. The two feedback states of the beam control unit to electromagnetic waves are used to control the directional transmission of electromagnetic waves in the waveguide structure.

9. The circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The feeding structure is used to feed electromagnetic waves into the waveguide structure. The feeding structure includes a coaxial probe feeding structure type, a waveguide feeding structure type, and a slot coupling feeding structure type based on a waveguide or a transmission line.

10. The circumferential electrically controlled beam scanning antenna according to claim 2, characterized in that: The beam control unit array in the form of a circular array is a square array, and there are various array arrangements in the form of a sparse array.

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