Electronic device and method for transmitting beamformed signal by using liquid crystal layer

Abstract

In an embodiment, an electronic device may include a memory, a frequency selective surface (FSS) including a plurality of cells, and at least one processor. Each of the plurality of cells may include a liquid crystal layer. The at least one processor may be configured to receive a signal from another electronic device based on the FSS. The at least one processor may be configured to determine refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS based on a difference between first pattern information related to the other electronic device and second pattern information related to the received signal. The at least one processor may be configured to perform reconfiguration of the FSS based on refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS. The at least one processor may be configured to obtain a reconstructed signal from another electronic device based on the reconfigured FSS.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device and a method for transmitting a beamforming signal by using a liquid crystal layer. Background Art

[0002] 5G communication technology uses high frequency bands. In order to overcome the short wavelength and large path loss in the high frequency band, a frequency selective surface (FSS) can be used. FSS has a structure in which conductive patterns or shapes are periodically arranged on a dielectric substrate, and has filter characteristics that selectively pass or reflect a specific frequency band of an incident plane wave.

[0003] FSS uses high gain characteristics to overcome the above losses. Summary of the invention

[0004] Technical Solution

[0005] According to aspects of the present disclosure, an electronic device may include a memory, a frequency selective surface (FSS) including a plurality of units, and at least one processor. Each of the plurality of units may include a liquid crystal layer. The at least one processor may be configured to receive a signal from another electronic device based on the FSS. The at least one processor may be configured to determine the refraction information of each of the plurality of units of the FSS based on the difference between the first pattern information of the other electronic device and the second pattern information of the received signal. The at least one processor may be configured to perform reconfiguration of the FSS based on the refraction information of each of the plurality of units of the FSS. The at least one processor may be configured to obtain a reconstructed signal from another electronic device based on the reconfigured FSS.

[0006] According to aspects of the present disclosure, a method performed by an electronic device may include receiving a signal from another electronic device based on a frequency selective surface (FSS) including a plurality of cells. Each of the plurality of cells may include a liquid crystal layer. The method may include determining refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS based on a difference between first pattern information of the other electronic device and second pattern information of the received signal. The method may include performing reconfiguration of the FSS based on the refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS. The method may include obtaining a reconstructed signal from another electronic device based on the reconfigured FSS. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The above and other aspects and features of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent through the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0008] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication environment according to various embodiments is shown;

[0009] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication environment including a frequency selective surface (FSS) according to various embodiments is shown;

[0010] Figure 3 shows an example of a functional configuration of an FSS device according to various embodiments;

[0011] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C An example of a unit cell of a FSS according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0012] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B shows an example of an FSS structure of an FSS device according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0013] Figure 5C An example of a reflection characteristic according to a ground gap according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0014] FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B An example of a mapping pattern of an FSS device according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0015] Figure 7 An example of a blocking pattern according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0016] Figure 8 shows an example of refraction information according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0017] Fig.9A shows an example of FSS reconfiguration according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0018] Fig. 9B shows another example of FSS reconfiguration according to an exemplary embodiment; and

[0019] Fig.10 An operational flow of an electronic device for reconfiguring a FSS according to an exemplary embodiment is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The terms used in this disclosure are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not necessarily intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. Singular expressions may include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meaning as that generally understood by persons with ordinary knowledge in the technical field described in this disclosure. The terms defined in the general dictionary in the terms used in this disclosure may be interpreted with the same or similar meaning as the contextual meaning of the relevant technology, and unless clearly defined in this disclosure, should not be interpreted with an ideal or overly formal meaning. In some cases, even the terms defined in this disclosure should not be interpreted as excluding embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Regarding the description of the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals may be used for the same or similar components.

[0022] In various embodiments of the present disclosure described below, a hardware method is described as an example. However, since various embodiments of the present disclosure include techniques using both hardware and software, various embodiments of the present disclosure do not exclude a software-based method.

[0023] For convenience of explanation, the terms used in the following description involving signals (e.g., signal, information, message, signaling), terms for computing states (e.g., steps, operations, processes), terms involving data (e.g., packets, user flows, information, bits), terms involving channels, terms involving network entities, terms involving components of devices, etc. are exemplified. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the terms described below, and other terms with equivalent technical meanings may be substituted.

[0024] For the convenience of description, the terms used in the following description to refer to a part of an electronic device (e.g., substrate, printed circuit board (PCB), flexible PCB (FPCB), module, layer, antenna, antenna element, circuit, processor, chip, component, device), the terms to refer to the shape of a part (e.g., structure, construction, support portion, contact portion, protrusion), the terms to refer to the connection portion between structures (e.g., connection portion, contact portion, support portion, contact structure, conductive member, assembly), the terms to refer to a circuit (e.g., PCB, FPCB, signal line, feed line, data line, RF signal line, antenna line, RF path, RF module, RF circuit, separator, distributor, coupler, combiner), etc. are shown. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the terms described below, and another term with equivalent technical meaning can be replaced. Terms such as "... unit", "... device", "... material", "... body", etc. can mean at least one shape structure, or can mean a unit of processing function.

[0025] In the present disclosure, in order to determine whether a specific condition is reached or satisfied, the expression "more than" or "less than" may be used, but this is only a description for expressing an example, and does not exclude the description of "more than or equal to" or "less than or equal to". The condition described as "greater than or equal to" may be replaced with "greater than", the condition described as "less than or equal to" may be replaced with "less than", and the condition described as "greater than or equal to and less than" may be replaced with "greater than and less than or equal to". In the following, 'A' to 'B' means at least one of the elements from A (including A) to B (including B).

[0026] The present disclosure describes various embodiments by using terms used in some communication standards (e.g., 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), extensible radio access network (xRAN), and open radio access network (O-RAN)), but this is merely an example for description.

[0027] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication environment is shown in accordance with various embodiments.

[0028] refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 The wireless communication environment 100 includes a base station 110, a terminal 120, and a terminal 130 as parts of nodes using a wireless channel.

[0029] The base station 110 is a network infrastructure that provides wireless access to the terminal 120 and / or the terminal 130. The base station 110 has a coverage range that is defined as a constant geographical area based on the distance at which a signal can be sent. The base station 110 may also be referred to as a "massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) unit (MMU)", "access point (AP)", "eNodeB (eNB)", "fifth generation node (5G node)", "5G NodeB (NB)", "radio point", "transmit / receive point (TRP)", "access unit", "distributed unit (DU)", "radio unit (RU)", "remote radio head (RRH)" or another term with equivalent technical meaning. The base station 110 may send a downlink signal or may receive an uplink signal.

[0030] Each of the terminals 120 and 130 is a device used by a user, and can perform communication with the base station 110 through a wireless channel. In the following, for ease of description, the terminal 120 is described, but the description of the terminal 120 can be applied to the terminal 130. In some cases, the terminal 120 can be operated without user participation. In other words, the terminal 120 can be any device that performs machine type communication (MTC) and does not need to be carried or operated by the user. The terminal 120 may also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a subscriber station, a customer premises equipment (CPE), a remote terminal, a wireless terminal, an electronic device, a terminal for a vehicle, a user device, or another term with an equivalent technical meaning.

[0031] Figure 1 The terminal 120 and the terminal 130 shown can support vehicle communication. In the context of vehicle communication, in the LTE system, the standardization work of the V2X technology based on the device-to-device (D2D) communication structure has been completed in 3GPP Release 14 and Release 15, and efforts are currently being made to develop the V2X technology based on 5G NR. In NR V2X, unicast communication, groupcast (or multicast) communication, and broadcast communication between terminals are supported.

[0032] In order to improve the performance of the wireless communication environment, a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) 140 may be used. Here, RIS 140 is a meta-surface including controllable passive elements that can adjust the amplitude and / or phase of the reflected radio waves of the signal. By controlling the amplitude and / or phase of the reflected radio waves, a desired form of beamforming may be achieved. For example, a signal sent from the base station 110 may be reflected by the RIS 140 and sent to the terminal 130. The RIS 140 may adjust the amplitude or phase to control the direction from the base station 110 and to the terminal 130. The RIS 140 may be relatively unrestricted in terms of the installation location and may have a low cost.

[0033] In the millimeter wave (mmWave) band, path loss increases, and multipath fading loss increases due to the reduction of diffraction. Therefore, link budget degradation occurs. High-gain antennas can be used for base stations and terminals in the millimeter wave band to compensate for propagation losses. However, since the high-gain antennas used to compensate for propagation losses have narrow beam widths, the communication link is susceptible to obstacles. Due to obstacles between the transmitting end and the receiving end, at least a portion of the signal may be blocked. Since the signal does not arrive at the receiving end normally, deterioration of communication performance may occur. Therefore, a method for reducing path loss caused by obstacles is desired.

[0034] In order to reduce the path loss due to obstacles, "stealth" technology can be used to make the obstacles electrically transparent. This stealth technology is a method of attaching a metasurface or a frequency selective surface (FSS) to the surface of an obstacle to make the obstacle electrically transparent. Using stealth technology, the obstacle becomes electrically transparent by causing radio waves to bypass the obstacle or by offsetting the scattering caused by the obstacle. However, since the metasurface or FSS must be set on the obstacle, stealth technology has the disadvantage of being only available when the obstacle is fixed. In addition, stealth technology is difficult to apply to obstacles of complex shapes because the structure must be attached to the surface of the obstacle.

[0035] In order to reduce the performance degradation caused by obstacles, a frequency selective surface (FSS) including a liquid crystal layer may be used. The FSS may be provided in the base station 110, the terminal 120, or the RIS 140, or may be provided in a device related to the base station 110, the terminal 120, or the RIS 140. Hereinafter, the present disclosure describes a technique for reducing the performance degradation caused by obstacles by adjusting the impedance distribution of the FSS in the wireless communication system.

[0036] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication environment including a frequency selective surface (FSS) according to various embodiments is shown. In this article, an FSS is a structure in which a conductive pattern or shape is periodically arranged on a dielectric substrate and has a filter characteristic that selectively passes or reflects a specific frequency band of an incident plane wave. Generally, the operating frequency can be determined by the inductance or capacitance component of the periodically arranged unit cells. The FSS may include an adjustable element (e.g., the voltage of a liquid crystal layer) that affects the capacitance or inductance that determines the electrical characteristics of each unit cell.

[0037] refer to Figure 2 , the signal source 210 may send a signal. For example, the signal source 210 may be the base station 110. As another example, the signal source 210 may be the terminal 120. As another example, the signal source 210 may be a separate node (e.g., a radio unit (RU), a distributed unit (DU), a central unit (CU), a vehicle, a CPE, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB)) that performs the functions of the base station 110 or the terminal 120.

[0038] The signal sent from the signal source 210 is radiated into the air through a wireless channel. The signal source 210 may be a transmitting end. The signal may be sent to a receiving end. The FSS 230 may be a component of the receiving end. The receiving end may receive a signal from the signal source 210. For example, the receiving end may be a base station 110. As another example, the receiving end may be a terminal 120. As another example, the receiving end may be a RIS 140. As another example, the receiving end may be a separate node that performs the functions of the base station 110 or the terminal 120. The obstacle 220 set between the transmitting end and the receiving end, that is, the obstacle 220 between the signal source 210 and the FSS 230 interferes with the propagation path of the signal, causing the signal to be blocked. In particular, in a high-frequency communication environment such as a millimeter wave band (e.g., FR2, FR2-1, FR2-2 in NR) or a terahertz band, performance degradation due to the obstacle 220 occurs more frequently.

[0039] FSS230 may be a component corresponding to the receiving end of the signal source 210. FSS230 may include a structure in which a conductive pattern or shape is periodically arranged on a dielectric substrate. For example, FSS230 may include unit cells corresponding to M rows (M is a natural number) and N columns (N is a natural number). The characteristic conversion Zij (i is the horizontal position, j is the vertical position) set in each unit cell may be independent. FSS230 has a filter characteristic that selectively allows a specific frequency band of a signal incident to FSS230 to pass or reflect. When the electrical components of the unit cell of the liquid crystal layer having FSS230 are adjusted, the filter characteristic can be reconstructed. By reconstructing the filtering characteristic, the influence of the obstacle 220 at the receiving end can be reduced. Hereinafter, in the present disclosure, a device for FSS230 may be referred to as an FSS device. The FSS device may include FSS230 and a device or other mechanism for controlling FSS230, which may be set inside or outside FSS230. The receiving end may include an FSS device. Reference Figure 3 An exemplary configuration of an FSS device is described.

[0040] Figure 3 An example of a functional configuration of an FSS device according to various embodiments is shown.

[0041] refer to Figure 3 , FSS device 300 (e.g., Figure 2 The FSS230) may include a transceiver 301, a memory 303 and a processor 305.

[0042] The transceiver 301 performs functions for sending and receiving signals through a wireless channel. For example, the transceiver 301 performs a conversion function between a baseband signal and a bit string according to the physical layer standard of the system. For example, when sending data, the transceiver 301 can generate complex symbols by encoding and modulating the transmission bit string. For example, when receiving data, the transceiver 301 can restore the received bit string by demodulating and decoding the baseband signal. The transceiver 301 can up-convert the baseband signal to a radio frequency (RF) band signal, send the signal through an antenna (e.g., FSS230), and down-convert the RF band signal received through the antenna (e.g., FSS230) to a baseband signal. To this end, the transceiver 301 may include components such as a transmission filter, a reception filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and the like. The transceiver 301 according to an embodiment may be operably coupled to the FSS230. According to an embodiment, the transceiver 301 may receive a signal transmitted from a transmitting end (eg, the signal source 210 ). The FSS 230 may output a converted signal by reflecting or selectively passing an incident signal. The transceiver 301 may receive a converted signal output from the FSS 230 .

[0043] As described above, the transceiver 301 sends and receives signals. Therefore, the transceiver 301 can be referred to as a "sending unit", "receiving unit" or "sending / receiving unit". In the following description, the sending and receiving performed by wireless channels, backhaul networks, optical cables, Ethernet and other wired routes are regarded as including the meaning of the above-described processing performed by the transceiver 301. According to an embodiment, the transceiver 301 may provide an interface for performing communications with other nodes in the network. In other words, the transceiver 301 may convert a bit string sent between nodes (e.g., access nodes, base stations, upper and lower nodes, core networks, etc.) into a physical signal, and may convert a physical signal received from another node into a bit string.

[0044] The memory 303 may store data such as a basic program, an application program, and setting information for the operation of the FSS device 300. The memory 303 may be composed of a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, or a combination of a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory. And the memory 303 may provide the stored data according to a request of the processor 305. According to an embodiment, the memory 303 may store refraction information about the FSS 230. For example, the refraction information may include information about the refractive index (refractive index) of each unit of the FSS 230.

[0045] The processor 305 controls the overall operation of the FSS device 300. For example, the processor 305 can read data from and write data to the memory 303. For example, the processor 305 can send and receive signals through the transceiver 301. Figure 3 A processor is shown in the figure, but the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. The FSS device 300 may include at least one processor to perform the embodiments of the present disclosure. The processor 305 may be referred to as a control unit or a control means. According to an embodiment, the processor 305 may control the device to perform the operation of the FSS device 300 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. According to an embodiment, the FSS device 300 may reconfigure the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may control the voltage applied to the unit of the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may change the frequency response characteristics of each unit of the FSS 230 by adjusting the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer of the FSS 230.

[0046] According to an embodiment, the components of the FSS device 300 may be implemented within one node. In the following, mainly, the FSS device 300 is described as a node including the FSS 230, but the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, according to another embodiment, the FSS device 300 may be implemented by being divided into a first entity 310 and a second entity 320. The first entity 310 may include a transceiver 301, a memory 303, and a processor 305. The second entity 320 may include the FSS 230. The FSS 230 may be arranged in an entity different from the components for signal processing (e.g., the transceiver 301, the memory 303, and the processor 305) to receive a signal through a wireless channel.

[0047] FSS230 may include a plurality of unit cells. FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C The structure and shape of each unit cell are described.

[0048] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C An example of a unit cell of a FSS according to an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0049] refer to Figure 4A, presenting a perspective view 400 of a unit cell observed from the outside. The unit cell may include a liquid crystal layer 405. The liquid crystal layer 405 may be used to change the amplitude component and the phase component of the power supply signal or the received signal. The liquid crystal layer 405 may be used to change the amplitude component of the power supply signal or the received signal. The liquid crystal layer 405 may be used to change the phase component of the power supply signal or the received signal. Based on the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 405, the signal may be refracted in the liquid crystal layer 405. For example, a processor (e.g., processor 305) of the FSS device may apply DC to a biasing line. The processor 305 may individually control the DC bias for grounding the unit cell through a through hole. When the DC bias changes, the voltage applied to the unit cell changes. The liquid crystal layer 405 may include a liquid crystal having a permittivity anisotropy. The dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 405 depends on the applied voltage, and thus may be set and adjusted in a variable manner by adjusting the applied voltage. The changed dielectric constant may in turn change the electrical characteristics of the signal passing through the unit cell.

[0050] refer to Figure 4B , presenting a plan view 420 of a unit cell viewed from above. The unit cell may include multiple dipoles (e.g., three dipoles in the unit cell shown). Different resonant frequencies may provide a broadband. According to an embodiment, the unit cell may include dipoles with different lengths for broadband operation. According to an embodiment, the multiple dipoles of the unit cell may have different lengths. According to an embodiment, the intervals between the multiple dipoles of the unit cell may be different from each other. Different lengths or different intervals result in different resonant frequencies in each dipole. Forming another resonant frequency in an adjacent range may extend the frequency range, which provides a gain greater than a specific decibel. The extended frequency range may be broadband.

[0051] refer to Figure 4C, the cross-sectional view 430 shows the stacked structure of the unit cell. The unit cell may include a stacked structure of a quartz layer 401, a first metal layer 403, a liquid crystal layer 405, a second metal layer 407, a PCB 409, and a third metal layer 411. The liquid crystal layer 405 may be disposed between the first metal layer 403 and the second metal layer 407. For the liquid crystal layer 405, polyamides 404a and 404b may be disposed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the liquid crystal layer 405, respectively. The polyamide 404a may be disposed between the first metal layer 403 and the liquid crystal layer 405. The polyamide 404b may be disposed between the liquid crystal layer 405 and the second metal layer 407. The liquid crystal layer 405 may include a liquid crystal having a dielectric constant anisotropy. A spacer 406 may be provided to fix the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal layer 405. The spacer 406 may be disposed between the polyamide 404a coupled to the first metal layer 403 and the polyamide 404b coupled to the second metal layer 407.

[0052] In order to send a feed signal or a signal received from the outside, a through hole 410 may be formed above the layer of the PCB 409. The second metal layer 407 and the third metal layer may be electrically connected to each other through the through hole 410. Therefore, an electrical connection may be formed across the first metal layer 403, the liquid crystal layer 405, the second metal layer 407, and the third metal layer 411 of the stacked structure. According to an embodiment, a processor (e.g., processor 305) may apply a voltage to the unit cell. For example, a voltage (e.g., Vb) may be applied between the first metal layer 403 and the third metal layer 411. The dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer 405 disposed between the first metal layer 403 and the third metal layer 411 depends on the applied voltage. Therefore, the dielectric constant may be set and adjusted in a variable manner by adjusting the applied voltage. The changing dielectric constant may in turn change the electrical characteristics of the signal passing through the unit cell.

[0053] exist FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C In the figure, three dipole antennas are shown in the unit cell, but the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this. According to an embodiment, more than three antennas (for example, four or five antennas) or less than three antennas (for example, two antennas) may be provided in the unit cell. In addition, the type of antenna provided in the unit cell is shown as a dipole, but the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this. According to another embodiment, the unit cell structure having a liquid crystal layer may include a radiation layer that uses at least one of a patch antenna, a microstrip antenna, a horn antenna, or a slot antenna to receive a signal.

[0054] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B An example of an FSS structure of an FSS device according to an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0055] refer to Figure 5A, an FSS (e.g., FSS 230) of an FSS device (e.g., FSS device 300) may include a plurality of unit cells. A plan view 510 of two unit cells viewed from above is presented. The unit cells may include a first unit cell 501 and a second unit cell 503. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C As described above, the lengths of the dipoles in each unit cell can be different from each other. In addition, the spacing between the dipoles in the unit cell can be different.

[0056] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the FSS device 300 may apply a separate voltage to each unit cell of the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may perform reconfiguration of the FSS 230 by applying a specific voltage to the unit cell. In order to achieve separate voltage application, electric separation may be provided between the unit cells. According to an embodiment, in the ground plane of the unit cell of the FSS 230, the gap between the unit cells may be arranged for electrical separation between the unit cells. For example, the gap 505 may be provided between the first unit cell 501 and the second unit cell 503. For example, the length of the gap may be about 100 micrometers (μm).

[0057] refer to Figure 5B , schematic 520 shows bias lines applied to each unit cell of FSS 230. Individual bias lines (e.g., bias line 521) can be connected to each unit cell (e.g., unit cell 523). FSS device 300 can individually control the voltage applied to the unit cells. For example, the voltage amplitude applied between unit cells can be different. Based on, for example, the applied voltage amplitude, the physical configuration of the unit cells, or a combination thereof, the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer of each of the unit cells can be different from each other.

[0058] Figure 5C An example of reflection characteristics according to a ground gap according to an exemplary embodiment is shown. Herein, a ground gap is a gap provided to form a physical separation between unit cells within a ground plane of a FSS (eg, FSS 230).

[0059] refer to Figure 5C , graph 530 shows the reflection characteristics of each dielectric constant. The horizontal axis 531 of the graph 530 indicates the dielectric constant (unit: mm) of the liquid crystal layer (e.g., liquid crystal layer 405). The left vertical axis 532 of the graph 530 indicates the reflection amplitude (unit: decibel (dB)). The right vertical axis 533 of the graph 530 indicates the reflection phase (unit: degree). For this example, the graph 530 is based on the FSS230 receiving a signal transmitted in a frequency band of about 37 GHz, but similar results can be seen using other frequency bands.

[0060] The first line 541 indicates the reflection amplitude of the FSS when there is no ground gap. The second line 542 indicates the reflection amplitude of the FSS including the ground gap. Comparing the first line 541 and the second line 542, the difference in performance change due to the ground gap is within the threshold range. In addition, an improvement in gain can be identified in a certain section. The third line 551 indicates the reflection phase of the FSS including the ground gap. The fourth line 552 represents the reflection phase of the FSS when there is no ground gap. Comparing the third line 551 and the fourth line 552, the difference in performance change due to the ground gap is within the threshold range. In addition, an improvement in gain can be identified in a certain section.

[0061] FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B An example of a mapping pattern of an FSS device according to an embodiment is shown. An FSS (e.g., FSS230) of an FSS device (e.g., FSS device 300) may include a planar surface. At least a portion of the planar surface may include unit cells in a rectangular area, the unit cells in the rectangular area being arranged as M in one direction and arranged as N in another direction perpendicular to the one direction. FSS230 may thus include M×N units. Each unit cell may correspond to (m, n) (where m is an integer from 1 to M, and n is an integer from 1 to N). Here, the mapping pattern is a pattern that is sampled so that the value of the received incident pattern is mapped to each unit cell of the FSS.

[0062] refer to Fig. 6A In a first exemplary wireless communication environment without obstacles, the first incident pattern 610 Indicates the distribution of the signal incident on the FSS 230 of the FSS device 300. The signal of the signal source 210 The signal of the signal source 210 can be transmitted to the FSS device 300 through the wireless channel in the first exemplary wireless communication environment. Therefore, the FSS device 300 can normally receive the signal of the signal source 210 without a separate obstruction. That is, the FSS device 300 can receive an unobstructed signal. The signal obtained by the FSS device 300 may correspond to the signal of the signal source 210. Based on this, the first incident pattern 610 The signal at the signal source 210 may be is derived rather than determined by actual transmission to the FSS device 300.

[0063] The FSS device 300 may be based on the first incident pattern 610 Obtaining a first mapping pattern 620 The FSS device 300 may obtain information about the size of the FSS 230. According to an embodiment, the information about the size of the FSS 230 may include the number of unit cells of the FSS 230. According to an embodiment, the information about the size of the FSS 230 may include information about the arrangement of the unit cells. The FSS device 300 may detect the first incident pattern 610 based on the information about the size of the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may obtain a first mapping pattern 620 based on the sampling. First mapping pattern 620 It can be used for the reflection function in FSS230. First mapping pattern 620 Multiple elements of Each of may correspond to a unit cell (m, n) of a corresponding FSS 230 and may be determined based on at least one sample of the corresponding unit cell (m, n) from the FSS 230. Thus, the obtained first mapping pattern 620 The first incident pattern 610 may be Export.

[0064] refer to Figure 6B In a second example wireless communication environment with an obstacle (eg, obstacle 220), the second incident pattern 630 Indicates the distribution of the signal incident on the FSS 230 of the FSS device 300. The signal of the signal source 210 When transmitting through the wireless channel in the second example wireless communication environment, it may be scattered or blocked after colliding with obstacle 220. FSS device 300 may still receive the signal of signal source 210. However, due to the obstruction of obstacle 220, it is difficult for FSS device 300 to normally receive the signal from signal source 210. On the contrary, the reflection vector This may occur due to obstacle 220. Due to the reflection vector of obstacle 220 The signal obtained by the FSS device 300 may be different from the signal obtained from the signal source 210. The FSS device 300 may receive a blocked signal according to the signal source 210. and the reflection vector of obstacle 220 To obtain the second incident pattern 630

[0065] The FSS device 300 may be configured based on the second incident pattern 630 Obtaining the second mapping pattern 640 The FSS device 300 may obtain information about the size of the FSS 230. According to an embodiment, the information about the size of the FSS 230 may include the number of unit cells of the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may generate a signal for the second incident pattern 630 based on the information about the size of the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may obtain a second mapping pattern 640 based on the sampling. Second mapping pattern 640 It can be used for the reflection function of FSS230. Second mapping pattern 640 Multiple elements of Each of may correspond to a unit cell (m, n) of a corresponding FSS 230 and may be determined based on at least one sample from the corresponding unit cell (m, n) of the FSS 230. Thus, the resulting second mapping pattern 640 The second incident pattern 630 may be Export.

[0066] Figure 7 An example of a blocking pattern according to an exemplary embodiment is shown. An FSS (e.g., FSS 230) of an FSS device (e.g., FSS device 300) may obtain information of an obstacle 220 so that a signal is not lost due to the obstacle 220. For example, a pattern of a signal incident on FSS 230 may be changed due to the obstacle 220. The obtained information may be used to make the obstacle 220 electrically transparent.

[0067] refer to Figure 7 , the FSS device 300 can obtain the blocking pattern 700. For example, the FSS device 300 can be based on Fig. 6A The first mapping pattern 620 and Figure 6B The second mapping pattern 640 The FSS device 300 may obtain the blocking pattern 700 based on the first mapping pattern 620. With the second mapping pattern 620 The difference between the obtained blocking pattern 700 For example, the first mapping pattern 620 The signal corresponding to the signal source 210 Second mapping pattern 640 The signal corresponding to the signal source 210 Reflection vector with obstacle 220 For example, the second mapping pattern 640 Can correspond to the signal and the reflection vector The sum of Based on the first mapping pattern 620 With the second mapping pattern 640 The FSS device 300 can obtain the reflection vector corresponding to the obstacle 220. The blocking pattern 700

[0068] The first incident pattern 610 and the first mapping pattern 620 may be pre-acquired based on a signal incident before the signal is blocked due to the obstacle 220. The FSS device 300 may pre-acquire the first incident pattern 610 and the first mapping pattern 620 before the wireless communication environment changes due to external factors such as the obstacle 220. The second incident pattern 630 and the second mapping pattern 640 may be acquired based on a signal incident due to at least a portion of the signal being scattered or blocked by the obstacle 220 after the wireless communication environment changes.

[0069] The FSS device 300 can obtain spatial information related to the wireless channel and the wireless communication environment through the blocking pattern 700. According to an embodiment, the FSS device 300 can identify spatial changes that have occurred in the wireless channel, such as the obstacle 220, based on the blocking pattern 700. For example, if a gain value different from the first mapping pattern 620 (i.e., the second mapping pattern 640) is detected, the FSS device 300 can recognize that the physical path environment of the wireless communication channel has changed due to the obstacle 220. Although one obstacle 220 is exemplarily mentioned in the above description, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. The FSS device 300 can obtain information about the space located in the current signal transmission path regardless of the number or position of the obstacles.

[0070] Figure 8 An example of refraction information according to an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0071] refer to Figure 8 , the FSS device (eg, the FSS device 300) may obtain a refraction pattern 800 based on the blocking pattern 700. The refraction pattern 800 may indicate refraction information (eg, a refractive index) in the liquid crystal layer of each unit cell.

[0072] The FSS device 300 may assign the refraction pattern 800 to the FSS (e.g., FSS 230) based on the blocking pattern 700. The FSS device 300 may identify the signal information of the unit cell (e.g., unit cell (m, n)) of the FSS 230 from the blocking pattern 700. The FSS device 300 may normally restore the signal incident on the unit cell based on the signal information. For example, the FSS device 300 may reversely apply the signal information of the unit cell so that the signal incident to the unit cell is not affected by the spatial constraint (e.g., the obstacle 220). In other words, the FSS device 300 may obtain the expected signal from the signal source (e.g., signal source 210) by reversely applying the changes caused by the obstacle.

[0073] According to an embodiment, in order to normally restore the signal incident to the unit cell, the FSS device 300 may determine the refraction information (e.g., refractive index) of the unit cell based on the blocking pattern 700. Here, the refraction information may be used to change the amplitude and / or phase of the signal passing through the liquid crystal layer. In other words, the refraction information may be used to change the electrical length of the signal. The FSS device 300 may determine the refraction information of each of the plurality of unit cells of the FSS 230.

[0074] The FSS device 300 may determine voltage information of the FSS 230 based on the refraction pattern 800. The FSS device 300 may determine voltage information of the FSS 230 based on the refraction information of each unit cell. The refraction information of the liquid crystal layer depends on the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer. The FSS device 300 may obtain a dielectric constant value of a specific unit cell based on the refraction information of the specific unit cell; more specifically, the FSS device 300 may determine a value of a dielectric constant that will achieve a desired refractive index of the specific unit cell. Therefore, the FSS device 300 may determine a voltage applied to a specific unit cell based on the desired dielectric constant. The voltage information may include a voltage of each unit cell.

[0075] exist FIG. 6A to FIG. 8 , after sampling from incident patterns (e.g., first incident patterns 610 and second incident patterns 630) to derive mapping patterns (e.g., first mapping patterns 620 and second mapping patterns 640), an example of obtaining a quantized blocking pattern 700 based on the difference between the sampled mapping patterns is described. However, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. Obtaining a blocking pattern by directly sampling the difference between the incident patterns and determining refraction information based on the blocking pattern can also be understood as an operation of the FSS device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0076] Fig.9AAn example of FSS reconfiguration according to an exemplary embodiment is shown. Herein, FSS reconfiguration indicates that an FSS device (e.g., FSS device 300) resets a voltage value of each unit cell of an FSS (e.g., FSS 230). The dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer of the unit cell may be changed by resetting the voltage. According to the changed dielectric constant, a signal incident on FSS 230 may be reflected with a different amplitude and / or a different phase.

[0077] refer to Fig.9A , the obstacle 901 may be set between the signal source 210 and the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may obtain an incident pattern (hereinafter, a reception pattern) of a signal incident on the FSS 230 due to the obstacle 901. The FSS device 300 may also obtain another incident pattern (hereinafter, a basic pattern) for the signal source 210. Here, the basic pattern is a pattern in which a signal received from the signal source 210 is incident on the FSS 230 through a wireless channel before the obstacle 901 is set. The FSS device 300 may obtain a blocking pattern based on a difference between the reception pattern and the basic pattern. Here, the blocking pattern is a pattern that describes a gain change due to the obstacle 901 according to the gain of the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may obtain refraction information 910 based on the blocking pattern for the obstacle 901. The FSS device 300 may perform FSS reconfiguration based on a mapping of the refraction information 910 (e.g., a refractive index) in each unit cell. The FSS device 300 may change the dielectric constant of the unit cell by applying voltage information corresponding to the refraction information of the unit cell to the unit cell. The FSS device 300 may obtain a radiation pattern for overcoming the obstacle 901 by resetting the dielectric constant of each unit cell.

[0078] Graph 920 indicates a radiation pattern. A horizontal axis 921 of graph 920 indicates an angle (unit: degree) relative to the visual axis. A vertical axis 923 of graph 920 indicates a gain (unit: decibel isotropic (dBi)). A first line 931 indicates a basic pattern, which is a radiation pattern of signal source 210. When a signal of signal source 210 is incident on FSS230 without reflection, a radiation pattern as indicated by first line 931 can be obtained in FSS230. A second line 932 indicates a reception pattern in FSS230 reconfigured according to an embodiment. A third line 933 indicates a reception pattern. The reception pattern refers to a reception pattern in FSS230 that reflects a loss caused by obstacle 901 before the FSS is reconfigured.

[0079] Referring to the graph 920, the reconfigured FSS230 corresponds to an effective medium. For example, referring to the gain at 0°, the first line 931 indicates about 21.1 dBi, and the third line 933 indicates about 7.0 dBi. That is, the gain is reduced by about 14.1 dB due to the obstacle 901. The FSS230 according to the embodiment can be reconfigured based on the refraction information 910. The second line 932 indicates about 16.45 dBi at 0 degrees. It can be seen from the graph 920 that the gain is increased by about 9.45 dB due to the reconfigured FSS230.

[0080] Fig. 9B Another example of FSS reconfiguration according to an exemplary embodiment is shown. Herein, FSS reconfiguration indicates that an FSS device (eg, FSS device 300) resets the voltage value of each unit cell of the FSS (eg, FSS 230). Fig. 9B , an example in which the refraction information is changed due to another obstacle 951 will be described.

[0081] refer to Fig. 9B , an obstacle 951 may be provided between the signal source 210 and the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may obtain an incident pattern (hereinafter, a reception pattern) of a signal incident on the FSS 230 due to the obstacle 951. The FSS device 300 may also obtain an incident pattern (hereinafter, a basic pattern) for the signal source 210. Here, the basic pattern is a pattern in which a signal received from the signal source 210 is incident on the FSS 230 through a wireless channel before the obstacle 951 is provided. The FSS device 300 may obtain a blocking pattern based on a difference between the reception pattern and the basic pattern. Here, the blocking pattern is a pattern that describes a gain change due to the obstacle 951 according to a gain of the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may obtain refraction information 960 based on the blocking pattern for the obstacle 951. The FSS device 300 may perform FSS reconfiguration based on a mapping of the refraction information 960 (e.g., a refractive index) in each unit cell. The FSS device 300 may change the dielectric constant of the unit cell by applying voltage information corresponding to the refraction information of the unit cell to the unit cell. The FSS device 300 may obtain a radiation pattern for overcoming the obstacle 951 by resetting the dielectric constant of each unit cell.

[0082] Graph 970 indicates a radiation pattern. A horizontal axis 971 of graph 970 indicates an angle (unit: degree) relative to the visual axis. A vertical axis 973 of graph 970 indicates a gain (unit: decibel isotropic (dBi)). A first line 981 indicates a basic pattern, which is a radiation pattern of signal source 210. When a signal of signal source 210 is incident on FSS230 without reflection, a radiation pattern as indicated by first line 981 can be obtained in FSS230. A second line 982 indicates a reception pattern in FSS230 reconfigured according to an embodiment. A third line 983 indicates a reception pattern. The reception pattern refers to a reception pattern in FSS230 that reflects a loss caused by obstacle 951 before the FSS is reconfigured.

[0083] Referring to the graph 970, the reconfigured FSS230 corresponds to an effective medium. For example, referring to the gain at 0°, the first line 981 indicates about 21.1 dBi, and the third line 983 indicates about 3.6 dBi. That is, the gain is reduced by about 17.5 dB due to the obstacle 951. The FSS230 according to the embodiment can be reconfigured based on the refraction information 960. The second line 982 indicates about 13.9 dBi at 0 degrees. It can be seen from the graph 970 that the gain is increased by about 10.3 dB due to the reconfigured FSS230.

[0084] Fig.10 FIG. 1 shows an operation flow of an electronic device for reconfiguring a FSS according to an exemplary embodiment. Figure 3 FSS device 300.

[0085] refer to Fig.10 In operation 1001, an electronic device may receive a signal. The electronic device may receive a signal from another electronic device. The electronic device may receive the signal based on a FSS (e.g., FSS 230). FSS 230 may be in a base state. Here, the base state is a state before a voltage applied to each unit cell is changed due to an obstacle; i.e., before reconfiguration as described elsewhere herein.

[0086] In operation 1003, the electronic device may identify pattern information. The pattern information may indicate a difference between pattern information of another electronic device and pattern information actually received from another electronic device. For example, the electronic device may obtain the first incident pattern 610 The electronic device may obtain a first mapping pattern 620 The electronic device can obtain a second incident pattern 630 The electronic device may obtain a second mapping pattern 640 The electronic device may be based on the first mapping pattern 620 With the second mapping pattern 640 The difference between (or the first incident pattern 610 With the second incident pattern 630 The difference between the blocking patterns 700 and the blocking patterns 700 is used to obtain the blocking pattern 700. The blocking pattern 700 may indicate the spatial constraints of the wireless channel between the electronic device and another electronic device. Based on the distribution of the blocking pattern 700, the electronic device may recognize that one or more obstacles are set between the propagation paths of the signal.

[0087] In operation 1005, the electronic device may determine refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS 230. The electronic device may determine the refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS 230 based on the pattern information. That is, the refraction information may be determined based on the difference between the basic pattern and the received pattern. The refraction information may be specific to the liquid crystal layer in the unit cell. In order to change the electrical length of the signal and adjust the characteristics (e.g., phase, gain) of the reflected signal, the degree of refraction in the liquid crystal layer may be determined. The electronic device may determine the refraction information of each unit cell to reduce the effects caused by spatial constraints such as obstacles.

[0088] According to an embodiment, the electronic device may determine the refraction information based on the size of the liquid crystal layer. For example, the electronic device may determine the refraction information based on the area of ​​the liquid crystal layer. This is because the change in dielectric constant relative to the change in applied voltage may vary depending on the area of ​​the liquid crystal layer. For example, the electronic device may determine the refraction information based on the thickness of the liquid crystal layer. Depending on the thickness of the liquid crystal layer, the degree of attenuation may vary. The degree of attenuation may affect the gain.

[0089] According to an embodiment, the electronic device may determine the refraction information based on the scale of FSS230. For example, the electronic device may determine the refraction information based on the number of unit cells of FSS230. According to the number of unit cells, the granularity for controlling the reflected signal may vary compared to the incident signal. As the number of unit cells increases, the electronic device may control the characteristics (e.g., phase, gain) of the reflected signal in more detail. According to an embodiment, FSS230 may independently control the dielectric constants of multiple unit cells by applying separate voltages. Therefore, the electronic device may determine the refraction information based on the number of unit cells of FSS230 using a one-to-one mapping or a many-to-one mapping.

[0090] The electronic device may determine the refraction information of each of the unit cells. In some other embodiments, the electronic device may determine the refraction information based on the position of at least one unit cell corresponding to the blocking pattern 700. For example, the electronic device does not need to change the dielectric constant of each of the unit cells, but may specifically change the dielectric constant of at least one unit cell identified by the blocking pattern 700. In order to improve the efficiency of controlling the FSS 230, the electronic device may identify at least one unit cell to be changed based on the blocking pattern 700. Thereafter, the electronic device may determine the refraction information about the at least one unit cell.

[0091] In operation 1007 , the electronic device may perform FSS reconfiguration.

[0092] The electronic device may determine the voltage information of the FSS 230 based on the refraction information of each unit cell of the FSS 230. For example, the electronic device may determine the voltage information of the first unit cell based on the refraction information of the first unit cell. The electronic device may determine the voltage information of the second unit cell based on the refraction information on the second unit cell. For example, the electronic device may determine the voltage information of each unit cell of the FSS 230 based on the entire refraction pattern of the FSS 230.

[0093] The voltage information may be a voltage value to be applied to the unit cell. By reversely applying a blocking pattern associated with the obstacle, the influence of the obstacle can be reduced when receiving a signal. In order to apply the refraction information, the electronic device may identify a voltage value for changing the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer. The electronic device may reset the voltage value of each of the unit cells of the FSS230. The dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer of the unit cell may be changed by the reset voltage of the unit cell. Not all unit cells of the FSS must be changed, and the voltage of at least a portion of the unit cells of the FSS may need to be changed. Not all unit cells of the FSS need to be different from each other or need to have a unique reset voltage. The signal incident on the FSS230 may be reflected. Since the dielectric constant of at least a portion of the unit cell changes, the characteristics of the reflected signal may also change.

[0094] The electronic device may control the phase and / or amplitude of the reflection signal of the FSS230 by the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer of the FSS230. According to an embodiment, the electronic device may control the amplitude of the reflection signal based on the voltage information of the liquid crystal layer of the FSS230. According to an embodiment, the electronic device may control the phase of the reflection signal based on the voltage information of the liquid crystal layer of the FSS230. According to an embodiment, the electronic device may control the phase and amplitude of the reflection signal based on the voltage information of the liquid crystal layer of the FSS230.

[0095] In operation 1009, the electronic device may obtain a reconstructed signal based on the reconfigured FSS 230. Here, the reconstructed signal is a signal that is reflected from a signal incident on the reconfigured FSS 230. The electronic device may receive a signal that is damaged due to spatial constraints (e.g., obstacles 220, obstacles 901, and obstacles 951). The damaged signal may be input to the reconfigured FSS 230. The reconfigured FSS 230 may reflect the input signal. Based on the reconfigured FSS 230, the electronic device may obtain a signal (i.e., a reconstructed signal) that is restored to be closer to the signal of the signal source 210. Fig.9A The curve graph 920 or Fig. 9B As shown in graph 970 , even if obstacles are set in the wireless communication environment, the reconfigured FSS can provide high gain in the direction of 0 degrees.

[0096] exist Figures 2 to 10 In the embodiment, an operation of an electronic device including an FSS receiving a signal at a receiving end is described, but the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. The FSS for mapping refraction information according to the embodiment can be set in the transmitting end. According to the embodiment, by receiving feedback about an obstacle, the transmitting device can perform FSS reconfiguration before transmitting a signal so that the obstacle is electrically transparent.

[0097] In an embodiment, an electronic device may include a memory, a frequency selective surface (FSS) including a plurality of cells, and at least one processor. Each of the plurality of cells may include a liquid crystal layer. The at least one processor may be configured to receive a signal from another electronic device based on the FSS. The at least one processor may be configured to determine the refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS based on the difference between the first pattern information of the other electronic device and the second pattern information of the received signal. The at least one processor may be configured to perform reconfiguration of the FSS based on the refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS. The at least one processor may be configured to obtain a reconstructed signal from another electronic device based on the reconfigured FSS.

[0098] According to an embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to: identify first pattern information of another electronic device in order to determine the refraction information. The at least one processor may be configured to: identify second pattern information of the received signal in order to determine the refraction information. The at least one processor may be configured to: identify blocking pattern information corresponding to the difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information in order to determine the refraction information.

[0099] According to an embodiment, the first pattern information may include a first signal gain value obtained for another electronic device before receiving the signal. The second pattern information may include a second signal gain value obtained by the signal being incident on the area of ​​the FSS.

[0100] According to an embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to determine the refraction information by determining the refractive index of each cell based on the blocking pattern information corresponding to the difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information. The refraction information may include the refractive index of each cell.

[0101] According to an embodiment, each of the plurality of cells may include a first metal layer, a second metal layer disposed on one surface of a printed circuit board (PCB), a third metal layer disposed on another surface of the PCB, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first metal layer and the second metal layer. The dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer of each of the plurality of cells may be adjustably set by applying a voltage between the first metal layer and the third metal layer.

[0102] According to an embodiment, at least one processor may be configured to perform reconfiguration of the FSS by determining, for each of a plurality of cells of the FSS, a voltage based on refraction information of the cell, and applying the determined voltage to the cell, thereby changing a dielectric constant of a liquid crystal layer of the cell.

[0103] According to an embodiment, the plurality of cells may include a first cell associated with a first bias line and a second cell associated with a second bias line different from the first bias line. The first bias line may be configured to change a dielectric constant of a liquid crystal layer of the first cell by applying a first voltage to the first cell, and the second bias line may be configured to change a dielectric constant of a liquid crystal layer of the second cell by applying a second voltage to the second cell.

[0104] According to an embodiment, the FSS may further include a ground plane. Gaps between adjacent cells in the plurality of cells may be provided in the ground plane.

[0105] According to an embodiment, each of the plurality of units may include a plurality of dipole antennas having different lengths.

[0106] According to an embodiment, the FSS may be provided in a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS).

[0107] In an embodiment, a method performed by an electronic device may include receiving a signal from another electronic device based on a frequency selective surface (FSS) including a plurality of cells. Each of the plurality of cells may include a liquid crystal layer. The method may include determining refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS based on a difference between first pattern information of the other electronic device and second pattern information of the received signal. The method may include performing reconfiguration of the FSS based on the refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS. The method may include obtaining a reconstructed signal from another electronic device based on the reconfigured FSS.

[0108] According to an embodiment, the determination of the refraction information may include identifying first pattern information of another electronic device. The determination of the refraction information may include identifying second pattern information of the received signal. The determination of the refraction information may include identifying blocking pattern information corresponding to a difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information.

[0109] According to an embodiment, the first pattern information may include a first signal gain value obtained for another electronic device before receiving the signal. The second pattern information may include a second signal gain value obtained by the signal being incident on the area of ​​the FSS.

[0110] According to an embodiment, determining the refraction information may include determining a refractive index of each cell based on blocking pattern information corresponding to a difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information. The refraction information may include the refractive index of each cell.

[0111] According to an embodiment, each of the plurality of cells may include a first metal layer, a second metal layer disposed on one surface of a printed circuit board (PCB), a third metal layer disposed on another surface of the PCB, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first metal layer and the second metal layer. The dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer of each of the plurality of cells may be adjustably set by applying a voltage between the first metal layer and the third metal layer.

[0112] According to an embodiment, the performing of the reconfiguration of the FSS may include: for each of a plurality of cells of the FSS, determining a voltage based on refraction information of the cell, and applying the determined voltage to the cell, thereby changing a dielectric constant of a liquid crystal layer of the cell.

[0113] According to an embodiment, the plurality of cells may include a first cell associated with a first bias line and a second cell associated with a second bias line different from the first bias line. The first bias line may be configured to change a dielectric constant of a liquid crystal layer of the first cell by applying a first voltage to the first cell, and the second bias line may be configured to change a dielectric constant of a liquid crystal layer of the second cell by applying a second voltage to the second cell.

[0114] According to an embodiment, the FSS may further include a ground plane. Gaps between adjacent cells in the plurality of cells may be provided in the ground plane.

[0115] According to an embodiment, the plurality of units may include a plurality of dipole antennas having different lengths.

[0116] According to an embodiment, the FSS may be provided in a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS).

[0117] In an embodiment, an electronic device includes at least one memory, at least one processor, and a frequency selective surface (FSS) including a plurality of units. Each of the plurality of units includes a liquid crystal layer. The FSS is configured to receive a signal from another electronic device and convert the signal to output to at least one processor. At least one processor is configured to receive a blocked signal of another electronic device from the FSS, determine the refraction information of each of the plurality of units of the FSS based on the difference between the first pattern information of the other electronic device and the second pattern information of the blocked signal, perform reconfiguration of the FSS based on the refraction information of each of the plurality of units of the FSS, and receive a reconstructed signal of another electronic device converted by the reconfigured FSS.

[0118] In an embodiment, a method performed by an electronic device may include: receiving a blocked signal of another electronic device from a frequency selective surface (FSS) including a plurality of cells, determining refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS based on a difference between first pattern information of the other electronic device and second pattern information of the blocked signal, performing reconfiguration of the FSS based on the refraction information of each of the plurality of cells of the FSS, and receiving a reconstructed signal of the other electronic device converted by the reconfigured FSS. The FSS may be configured to receive a signal from the other electronic device and convert the signal for output, and each of the plurality of cells of the FSS may include a liquid crystal layer.

[0119] According to an embodiment, the first pattern information may include a first signal gain value obtained by an unobstructed signal of another electronic device being incident on the area of ​​the FSS, and the second pattern information may include a second signal gain value obtained by an obstructed signal being incident on the area of ​​the FSS.

[0120] According to an embodiment, the first pattern information may include a first signal gain value derived from a signal at another electronic device, and the second pattern information may include a second signal gain value obtained by the blocked signal being incident on the area of ​​the FSS.

[0121] The radio wave reflective surface driven by the liquid crystal layer can be easily mass-produced based on the LCD manufacturing process. In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the FSS 230 can operate efficiently by combining RIS programming with next-generation communication functions such as beam steering, polarization manipulation, and multi-beam.

[0122] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the FSS device 300 can solve the problems caused by complex obstacles in conventional stealth technology or scattering removal, and effectively suppress the scattering effect of obstacles through impedance control of the FSS 230 at the receiving end regardless of the shape of the obstacles.

[0123] Effects that can be obtained from the present disclosure are not limited to those described above, and any other effects not mentioned herein will be clearly understood from the following description by a person skilled in the art having ordinary knowledge in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.

[0124] The methods according to the embodiments described in the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0125] When implemented as software, a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs (software modules) may be provided. One or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium are configured to be executed by one or more processors in an electronic device. One or more programs include instructions that cause the electronic device to perform the method according to the embodiments described in the present disclosure.

[0126] Such a program (software module, software) may be stored in a random access memory, a non-volatile memory including flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk storage device, a compact disk-ROM (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD) or other form of optical storage, a magnetic tape cartridge. Alternatively, it may be stored in a memory configured with some or all combinations thereof. Each configuration memory may include multiple.

[0127] The program may be stored in an attachable storage device that can be accessed through a communication network, such as the Internet, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or a storage area network (SAN), or a combination thereof. Such a storage device may be connected to a device that performs an embodiment of the present disclosure through an external port. A separate storage device on a communication network may access a device that performs an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0128] In the above-mentioned specific embodiments of the present disclosure, the components included in the present disclosure are expressed in the singular or plural, depending on the specific embodiment presented. However, for ease of explanation, the singular or plural expression is appropriately selected for the presented situation, and the present disclosure is not limited to singular or plural components, and even if a component is expressed in plural, it can also be configured with a singular, or even if it is expressed in a singular, it can also be configured with a plural.

[0129] In the detailed description of the present disclosure, various specific embodiments have been described, but it should be understood that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: Memory; a frequency selective surface (FSS) comprising a plurality of cells, each of the plurality of cells comprising a liquid crystal layer; as well as at least one processor, Wherein, the at least one processor is configured to: receiving a signal from another electronic device based on the FSS; determining refraction information of each of the plurality of elements of the FSS based on a difference between the first pattern information of the other electronic device and the second pattern information of the received signal; performing reconfiguration of the FSS based on refraction information of each of the plurality of elements of the FSS; and A reconstructed signal is obtained from the other electronic device based on the reconfigured FSS.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: To determine the refraction information, the at least one processor is configured to: identifying the first pattern information of the other electronic device; identifying the second pattern information of the received signal; as well as Blocking pattern information corresponding to a difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information is identified.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, in, The first pattern information includes a first signal gain value obtained for the other electronic device before receiving the signal, and The second pattern information includes a second signal gain value obtained by the signal being incident on the area of ​​the FSS.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one processor is configured to determine the refraction information by: determining a refractive index in each cell based on blocking pattern information corresponding to a difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information, and The refraction information includes the refractive index in each unit.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, in, Each of the plurality of cells includes a first metal layer, a second metal layer disposed on one surface of a printed circuit board (PCB), a third metal layer disposed on another surface of the PCB, and the liquid crystal layer disposed between the first metal layer and the second metal layer, and The dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer of each of the plurality of cells can be adjustably set by applying a voltage between the first metal layer and the third metal layer.

6. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The at least one processor is configured to perform reconfiguration of the FSS by performing the following operations for each of the plurality of units of the FSS: determining a voltage of a cell based on the refraction information; as well as The determined voltage is applied to the cell, thereby changing the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer of the cell.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, in, The plurality of cells include a first cell associated with a first bias line and a second cell associated with a second bias line different from the first bias line, wherein the first bias line is configured to change a dielectric constant of a liquid crystal layer of the first cell by applying a first voltage to the first cell, and The second bias line is configured to change the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer of the second unit by applying a second voltage to the second unit.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1, in, The FSS also includes a ground plane, and Wherein, gaps between adjacent cells in the plurality of cells are arranged in the ground plane.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1 to 8, in, Each of the plurality of units includes a plurality of dipole antennas having different lengths.

10. The electronic device according to claim 1 to 9, in, The FSS is arranged in a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS).

11. A method performed by an electronic device, the method comprising: receiving a signal from another electronic device based on a frequency selective surface (FSS) including a plurality of cells, each of the plurality of cells including a liquid crystal layer; determining refraction information of each of the plurality of elements of the FSS based on a difference between the first pattern information of the other electronic device and the second pattern information of the received signal; performing reconfiguration of the FSS based on refraction information of each of the plurality of elements of the FSS; as well as A reconstructed signal is obtained from the other electronic device based on the reconfigured FSS.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Determining the refraction information includes: identifying the first pattern information of the other electronic device; identifying the second pattern information of the received signal; and Blocking pattern information corresponding to a difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information is identified.

13. The method according to claims 11 to 12, in, The first pattern information includes a first signal gain value obtained for the other electronic device before receiving the signal, and The second pattern information includes a second signal gain value obtained by the signal being incident on the area of ​​the FSS.

14. The method according to claims 11 to 13, wherein: Determining the refraction information includes: determining a refractive index in each cell based on blocking pattern information corresponding to a difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information, and The refraction information includes the refractive index in each unit.

15. The method according to claims 11 to 14, in, Each of the plurality of cells includes a first metal layer, a second metal layer disposed on one surface of a printed circuit board (PCB), a third metal layer disposed on another surface of the PCB, and the liquid crystal layer disposed between the first metal layer and the second metal layer, and The dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer of each of the plurality of cells can be adjustably set by applying a voltage between the first metal layer and the third metal layer.

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