A dual-frequency dual-polarization co-aperture antenna with integrated calibration network

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the technical field of phased array radar antennas and relates to a co-aperture antenna with a dual-frequency, dual-polarization integrated calibration network. It comprises an L-band antenna unit and a C-band antenna unit. The L-band antenna unit comprises an antenna body comprising a feed probe, two antenna arms, a cavity, and a coaxial line for upward feeding. The C-band antenna unit comprises an integrated calibration network for generating feed signals and calibration network standing waves, an H-shaped slotted surface for signal transmission, an antenna ground, and an antenna radiating surface for radiating signals. The L-band antenna is embedded in the C-band array surface to achieve dual-band signal coverage and meet multi-purpose requirements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of phased array radar antennas, and in particular relates to a co-aperture antenna with a dual-frequency and dual-polarization integrated calibration network. Background Art

[0002] With the development of phased array radars, more and more complex applications, such as tracking, guidance, high-capacity communications (spatial diversity), and high-precision imaging, need to be integrated onto platforms with limited space resources, such as those onboard aircraft and missiles. These applications require the use of multi-band and multi-polarization technologies. Existing phased array antennas are mostly single-frequency and single-polarization designs, without calibration networks integrated into the passive antenna array face. Calibration networks are typically integrated within the T / R module, increasing the number of channels required for multi-band and multi-polarization support and occupying additional space. Furthermore, discrete dual-band antenna designs suffer from large diameters and high weight, making them difficult to meet the requirements of platforms with limited space resources. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is that the existing phased array antenna occupies a large space, has a single function and a complex calibration network.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solutions:

[0005] A co-aperture antenna with a dual-frequency, dual-polarization integrated calibration network, comprising: an L-band antenna unit and a C-band antenna unit; the L-band antenna unit is located within the array plane of the C-band antenna unit, and the L-band antenna unit and the C-band antenna unit have the same aperture; the antenna body of the L-band antenna unit comprises: a feeding probe, two antenna arms, a cavity, and a coaxial line for feeding upward; the coaxial line and the feeding probe are located inside the cavity, and the coaxial line and the feeding probe are conjugately staggered; the feeding end of the coaxial line is located at the top of the cavity, and the inner core of the coaxial line passes through The feeding probe is connected to one of the antenna arms, and the outer conductor of the coaxial line is reversely connected to the other antenna arm; the C-band antenna unit includes: an integrated calibration network for amplitude and phase calibration and generating a feeding signal, an H-shaped slotted surface for coupling signals, an antenna ground, and an antenna radiating surface for radiating signals; the integrated calibration network, the H-shaped slotted surface, the antenna ground, and the antenna radiating surface overlap in sequence from bottom to top; the integrated calibration network includes orthogonally arranged feeding striplines and coupling striplines; the H-shaped slotted surface includes two orthogonally arranged H-shaped slots.

[0006] Furthermore, the antenna arm includes two bending portions with a bending angle of 90°.

[0007] Furthermore, the L-band antenna unit also includes: an antenna arm support frame, a coaxial line support column and a protective cap for protecting the feeding probe, fixing the antenna structure and increasing the antenna isolation; the antenna arm support frame is connected to the antenna arm by screws and nuts; the coaxial line support column is used to fix the feeding probe and the coaxial line, the coaxial line support column is inserted into the cavity from the bottom of the cavity, and the coaxial line support column includes a flow groove; the protective cap covers the top of the antenna body.

[0008] Furthermore, the antenna body is made of metal; the antenna arm support frame, the coaxial line support column, the screw and the nut are all made of non-metallic materials; the antenna arm support frame, the screw and the nut are all hollow structures.

[0009] Furthermore, the integrated calibration network includes: a feeding stripline, a calibration stripline, a T-type probe signal acquisition structure and a serial-parallel stripline structure; the calibration stripline is connected to the feeding stripline through the T-type probe signal acquisition structure, one side of the serial-parallel stripline structure is connected to the outlet of the integrated calibration network, and the other side of the serial-parallel stripline structure is connected to the T-type probe signal acquisition structure.

[0010] Furthermore, the integrated calibration network further includes: isolation holes between the feeding strip lines.

[0011] Furthermore, the C-band antenna unit also includes: a microwave dielectric substrate, an air cavity and a stripline carrier substrate; the microwave dielectric substrate is located between the antenna ground and the antenna radiation surface; the air cavity is located between the H-shaped slot surface and the antenna ground; the stripline carrier substrate is used to carry the feed stripline and the calibration stripline.

[0012] Furthermore, the microwave dielectric substrate and the stripline carrier substrate are both RO4350 plates.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and beneficial effects:

[0014] Through layout optimization, the L-band antenna is embedded within the C-band array, achieving dual-band signal coverage and meeting multi-purpose requirements. The L-band utilizes orthogonal coaxial feeding, while the C-band utilizes orthogonal H-slot coupling. The dual-polarization design enhances signal diversity and reduces multipath interference. The calibration stripline collects signals via a T-type probe, with series-parallel striplines aggregated at the output. A blind slot at the end absorbs the load and optimizes standing waves. Furthermore, the calibration network is integrated within the antenna, freeing up space for the T / R module and improving system reliability. Non-metallic support components (hollow screws and hollow brackets) and a miniaturized structural design reduce overall weight and profile height, making it suitable for airborne and missile-borne platforms. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, constitute a part of this application, and do not constitute a limitation of the embodiments of the present invention. In the drawings:

[0016] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of an L-band antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of a C-band antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Markings and corresponding parts names in the accompanying drawings:

[0019] 11-antenna body, 12-antenna arm support frame, 13-coaxial line support column, 14-protective cap, 21-integrated calibration network, 22-H-type slotted surface, 23-antenna ground, 24-antenna radiation surface, 25-microwave dielectric substrate, 26-air cavity, 27-stripline carrier substrate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the examples. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their description are only used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The embodiments described below are 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 making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0021] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that these specific details are not necessarily required to practice the present invention. In other examples, well-known structures, materials, or methods are not specifically described to avoid obscuring the present invention. The materials, instruments, and reagents used in the following examples, unless otherwise specified, are commercially available. The techniques used in the examples, unless otherwise specified, are conventional techniques well known to those skilled in the art.

[0022] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. Throughout the description of this application, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0023] Embodiment 1: Provide a dual-frequency dual-polarization co-aperture antenna with an integrated calibration network 21, comprising Figure 1 The L-band antenna unit shown and Figure 2 The C-band antenna unit is shown. The L-band antenna unit is located within the array plane of the C-band antenna unit and the L-band antenna unit and the C-band antenna unit share the same aperture.

[0024] Continue to refer Figure 1 The L-band antenna unit consists of an antenna body 11, an antenna arm support frame 12, a coaxial line support column 13 and a protective cap 14. Among them, the antenna body 11 is made of metal, and includes: a feeding probe, two antenna arms, a cavity and two coaxial lines for feeding upward. The feeding end of the coaxial line penetrates from the bottom of the cavity directly to the top of the cavity. The inner core of the coaxial line is connected to one of the antenna arms through the feeding probe, and the outer conductor is connected to the other antenna arm in reverse. The two coaxial lines and the feeding probe can be installed in the cavity through conjugate dislocation, thereby making a dual-polarization dipole antenna. Furthermore, the antenna arm includes two bending portions with a bending angle of 90°. Miniaturization is achieved by bending 90° twice, which is convenient for installation in a cavity with a smaller space capacity, while reducing the impact on the C antenna. Furthermore, since the antenna arm is suspended in the air, it is prone to metal fatigue breakage during vibration, so the antenna arm is reinforced by an antenna arm support frame 12, screws and nuts; and the antenna arm support frame 12, the coaxial line support column 13, the screws and the nuts are all hollow structures made of non-metallic materials, which can reduce the weight of the entire antenna. The coaxial line support column 13 is inserted into the cavity from the bottom of the cavity. It is also made of non-metallic material and is used to fix the feeding probe and the coaxial line to prevent the feeding probe and the coaxial line from falling off due to vibration; the coaxial line support column 13 has a flow groove for matching the feeding to form a dipole antenna. The protective cap 14 covers the top of the antenna body 11 to protect the feeding probe part at the top of the antenna, stabilize the antenna structure, and increase the antenna isolation.

[0025] Continue to refer Figure 2The C-band antenna unit consists of an integrated calibration network 21, an H-slotted surface 22, an antenna ground plane 23, an antenna radiating surface 24, a microwave dielectric substrate 25, an air cavity 26, and a stripline carrier substrate 27. The antenna radiating surface 24 is located at the top of the antenna, and the radiating patch on it radiates signals into space. Below the antenna radiating surface 24 is the microwave dielectric substrate 25. Made of RO4350 material, this substrate supports the radiating patch and adjusts the distance between the radiating surface and the reflective ground. Below the microwave dielectric substrate 25 is the antenna ground plane 23, and below this is the air cavity 26. Air cavity 26 is formed by slotting the dielectric substrate, increasing bandwidth and gain. Below the air cavity 26 is the H-slotted surface 22. The H-slotted surface 22 transfers signal energy from the lower-layer feed stripline to the upper-layer radiating surface through spatial coupling. The two H-slots are arranged orthogonally to achieve dual polarization, reducing mutual interference and improving isolation. Below the H-shaped slotted surface 22 is a stripline carrier substrate 27, which is used to carry the integrated calibration network 21. The stripline carrier substrate 27 is also an RO4350 plate. Furthermore, the integrated calibration network 21 includes: a feeding stripline, a calibration stripline, a T-type probe signal acquisition structure, and a series-parallel stripline structure. The feeding striplines are orthogonally arranged to achieve dual polarization; isolation holes are set between the feeding striplines to improve polarization isolation; the calibration stripline is connected to the feeding stripline through the T-type probe signal acquisition structure, and one side of the series-parallel stripline structure is connected to the outlet of the integrated calibration network 21, and the other side of the series-parallel stripline structure is connected to the T-type probe signal acquisition structure. A blind slot is opened at the end of the entire integrated calibration network 21 and an absorption load is added to adjust the standing wave of the calibration network.

[0026] In summary, this embodiment provides a co-aperture antenna for a dual-band dual-polarization integrated calibration network 21. Through layout optimization, the L-band antenna is embedded in the C-band array to achieve dual-band signal coverage and meet multi-purpose requirements.

[0027] It should be understood that the terms "system," "device," "unit," and / or "module" used in this specification are a method for distinguishing different components, elements, parts, portions, or assemblies at different levels. However, if other terms can achieve the same purpose, the terms may be replaced by other expressions.

[0028] As used in this specification and claims, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the words "a," "an," "an," and / or "the" do not refer to the singular but also include the plural. Generally speaking, the terms "comprises" and "include" only indicate the inclusion of the steps and elements specifically identified, and these steps and elements do not constitute an exclusive list. A method or apparatus may also include other steps or elements.

[0029] The specific implementation methods described above further illustrate the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present invention in detail. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific implementation method of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] It should be noted that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc. illustrated in the drawings of this specification are only used to match the contents disclosed in the specification for understanding and reading by those familiar with this technology, and are not used to limit the conditions for implementation of the present invention. Therefore, they have no substantial technical significance. Any modification of the structure, change in the proportional relationship, or adjustment of the size should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed by the present invention without affecting the efficacy and purpose of the present invention. At the same time, the terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "middle", etc. quoted in this specification are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. Changes or adjustments in their relative relationships should also be regarded as the scope of implementation of the present invention without substantially changing the technical content.

Claims

1. A dual-frequency dual-polarization co-aperture antenna with an integrated calibration network, characterized in that: include: An L-band antenna unit and a C-band antenna unit; the L-band antenna unit is located within the array plane of the C-band antenna unit, and the L-band antenna unit and the C-band antenna unit share the same aperture; The L-band antenna unit is located at a gap position in the C-band antenna unit array; The antenna body (11) of the L-band antenna unit comprises: a feeding probe, two antenna arms, a cavity and a coaxial line for feeding upward; the coaxial line and the feeding probe are located inside the cavity, two coaxial lines and two feeding probes are located inside the cavity, and the two coaxial lines and their corresponding feeding probes are arranged in a conjugate staggered manner; the feeding end of the coaxial line is located at the top of the cavity, the inner core of the coaxial line is connected to one of the antenna arms through the feeding probe, and the outer conductor of the coaxial line is connected to the other antenna arm in reverse. The C-band antenna unit comprises: an integrated calibration network (21) for amplitude and phase calibration and generating a feed signal, an H-shaped slotted surface (22) for coupling a signal, an antenna ground (23), and an antenna radiating surface (24) for radiating a signal; the integrated calibration network (21), the H-shaped slotted surface (22), the antenna ground (23), and the antenna radiating surface (24) are overlapped in sequence from bottom to top; the integrated calibration network (21) comprises a feed stripline and a coupling stripline arranged orthogonally; and the H-shaped slotted surface (22) comprises two H-shaped slots arranged orthogonally.

2. The dual-frequency dual-polarization co-aperture antenna with integrated calibration network according to claim 1, characterized in that: The antenna arm includes two bending portions with a bending angle of 90°.

3. The co-aperture antenna with a dual-frequency, dual-polarization integrated calibration network according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The L-band antenna unit further comprises: an antenna arm support frame (12), a coaxial line support column (13) and a protective cap (14) for protecting the feeding probe, fixing the antenna structure and increasing antenna isolation; the antenna arm support frame (12) is connected to the antenna arm via screws and nuts; the coaxial line support column (13) is used to fix the feeding probe and the coaxial line, the coaxial line support column (13) is inserted into the cavity from the bottom of the cavity, and the coaxial line support column (13) includes a flow groove; the protective cap (14) covers the top of the antenna body (11).

4. The dual-frequency dual-polarization co-aperture antenna with integrated calibration network according to claim 3, characterized in that: The antenna body (11) is made of metal; the antenna arm support frame (12), the coaxial line support column (13), the screw and the nut are all made of non-metallic materials; the antenna arm support frame (12), the screw and the nut are all hollow structures.

5. The dual-frequency dual-polarization co-aperture antenna with integrated calibration network according to claim 1, characterized in that: The integrated calibration network (21) comprises: a feeding stripline, a calibration stripline, a T-type probe signal acquisition structure, and a serial-parallel stripline structure; the calibration stripline is connected to the feeding stripline via the T-type probe signal acquisition structure, one side of the serial-parallel stripline structure is connected to an outlet of the integrated calibration network (21), and the other side of the serial-parallel stripline structure is connected to the T-type probe signal acquisition structure.

6. The dual-frequency dual-polarization co-aperture antenna with integrated calibration network according to claim 5, characterized in that: The integrated calibration network (21) further includes: isolation holes between the feed strip lines.

7. The co-aperture antenna with dual-frequency dual-polarization integrated calibration network according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The C-band antenna unit further comprises: a microwave dielectric substrate (25), an air cavity (26) and a stripline carrier substrate (27); the microwave dielectric substrate (25) is located between the antenna ground (23) and the antenna radiation surface (24); the air cavity (26) is located between the H-shaped slotted surface (22) and the antenna ground (23); and the stripline carrier substrate (27) is used to carry the feed stripline and the calibration stripline.

8. The dual-frequency dual-polarization co-aperture antenna with integrated calibration network according to claim 7, characterized in that: The microwave dielectric substrate (25) and the stripline carrier substrate (27) are both RO4350 plates.

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