Electric control reconfigurable phase shifter with direct current isolation at control end

Abstract

The invention discloses an electrically-controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with direct current isolation at a control end. The electrically-controlled reconfigurable phase shifter comprises a coupling line directional coupler assembly, a reflective phase shifter assembly and a direct current bias assembly. Wherein the coupling line directional coupler assembly is formed by connecting a microwave transmission line and a microwave coupling line and comprises two ports, and direct current isolation is kept between the two ports and the direct current bias assembly and between the two ports and the reflection type phase shifter assembly. The reflection type phase shifter assembly comprises a terminal open circuit branch knot, an electric control element and a grounding point, and the reflection phase of the reflection type phase shifter assembly is regulated and controlled by controlling the loading state of the electric control element. The direct current bias assembly comprises a choke inductor, a direct current bias line and a direct current power supply. The direct current bias assembly is used for providing direct current bias voltage for an electric control element in the reflective phase shifter assembly. According to the reconfigurable phase shifter, direct current isolation between a radio frequency path and a direct current bias path is achieved, an additional blocking circuit can be omitted, and the reconfigurable phase shifter can be conveniently integrated with other radio frequency microwave active devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless communication device, in particular to an electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter. Background Art

[0002] With the advancement of modern communication technologies, phased array antennas and smart electromagnetic metasurfaces, with their flexible beam steering capabilities, have become effective means of improving the coverage and quality of wireless communication systems. Electronically controlled reconfigurable phase shifters are key modules commonly used in these technologies, enabling transmission phase control and thus achieving this beam steering capability.

[0003] An electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter requires a DC bias voltage to control its phase reconfiguration state. Since multiple active devices in communication equipment typically require a DC bias voltage, to avoid affecting other devices in the communication equipment, the DC path of the electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter should be DC-isolated from the DC paths of other components in the communication equipment. Currently, most existing methods use DC-blocking capacitors at the input and output ends of the reconfigurable phase shifter to isolate the DC path. However, this introduces additional losses and increases the overall cost and size of the electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter. Therefore, it is necessary to design an electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with a simple and compact structure and DC isolation characteristics at the control end. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Purpose of the invention: In response to the above-mentioned existing technologies, an electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end is proposed. The RF input and output ports of the phase shifter are DC isolated from the DC control end, and the phase reconstruction function can be achieved through electrical control.

[0005] Technical solution: An electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end, comprising: a coupled line directional coupler component, a reflective phase shifter component, and a DC bias component; The coupled-line directional coupler assembly includes two ports, and the two ports maintain DC isolation from the DC bias assembly and the reflective phase shifter assembly; The reflective phase shifter component is connected to the coupled line directional coupler component, and the reflective phase shifter component adjusts the reflection phase by means of electrical control to achieve reflection phase reconstruction; The DC bias component is connected to the coupled-line directional coupler component and is used to provide a DC bias voltage for the reflective phase shifter component to control the phase reconstruction state of the reflective phase shifter component.

[0006] Furthermore, the coupled-line directional coupler assembly further includes: two symmetrically arranged microwave transmission lines, and two microwave coupling lines arranged between the two microwave transmission lines, the two microwave coupling lines being respectively connected to the two microwave transmission lines, the microwave coupling lines dividing the two microwave transmission lines into two parts that are DC-isolated from each other, one part being connected to the two ports, and the other part being connected to the reflective phase shifter assembly and the DC bias assembly.

[0007] Furthermore, the reflective phase shifter assembly includes: an open-circuit terminal branch, an electrically controlled element, and a grounding point; the open-circuit terminal branch is connected to one of the microwave transmission lines, and the electrically controlled element is connected between the grounding point and the microwave transmission line.

[0008] Furthermore, the reflection phase of the reflection-type phase shifter assembly is regulated by controlling the loading state of the electric control element.

[0009] Furthermore, the phase shift range of the reflective phase shifter assembly is adjusted by changing the length and impedance of the terminal open-circuit branch.

[0010] Furthermore, the microwave transmission line and the microwave coupling line adopt a structure selected from the group consisting of a microstrip line, a stripline, and a substrate-integrated coaxial line.

[0011] Furthermore, the electronically controlled element is one of a PIN diode, a varactor diode, a MEMS chip, and a microwave switch.

[0012] Furthermore, the DC bias component includes a choke inductor, a DC bias line, and a DC power supply connected in sequence, and the choke inductor is connected to the microwave transmission line in the coupled-line directional coupler component.

[0013] Beneficial effects: 1. The present invention has a DC isolation characteristic between the control terminal and the radio frequency microwave port, which facilitates the application of a DC bias voltage and avoids conflicts with the bias circuits of other active devices.

[0014] 2. The present invention does not require additional DC blocking capacitors, has low production costs, and is economical.

[0015] 3. The present invention has a compact structure and a small space volume, which is convenient for system integration. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an equivalent circuit of an electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end provided by the present invention; Figure 2 A schematic perspective structural diagram of a microstrip-based electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter provided in Example 1 of the present invention; Figure 3A schematic top view of the electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter based on microstrip lines provided in Example 1 of the present invention; Figure 4 A schematic perspective structural diagram of a miniaturized electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter based on microstrip lines provided in Example 2 of the present invention; Figure 5 A schematic top view of the structure of a miniaturized electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter based on microstrip lines provided in Example 2 of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a diagram showing the reflection coefficient simulation results of Example 1 of the present invention under different varactor diode loading capacitance states; Figure 7 This is a simulation result diagram showing the change of transmission phase with the capacitance of the varactor diode according to Example 1 of the present invention; Figure 8 Graph showing the reflection coefficient simulation results of the microwave switch in different on and off states according to Example 2 of the present invention; Figure 9 This is a diagram showing the transmission phase simulation results of Example 2 of the present invention under different on-off states of the microwave switch. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] In the description of the present invention, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, and may include elements not expressly listed, in addition to the listed elements.

[0019] In the description of the present invention, the terms "connected" and "connection" should be understood broadly. For example, they can refer to mechanical or electrical connection, direct connection, or indirect connection through an intermediary. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on specific circumstances.

[0020] like Figure 1 As shown, an electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end includes: a coupled line directional coupler component 10, a reflective phase shifter component 20, and a DC bias component 30.

[0021] The reflective phase shifter component 20 is connected to the coupled-line directional coupler component 10 . The reflective phase shifter component 20 adjusts its reflection phase by means of electrical control to achieve reflection phase reconstruction.

[0022] The DC bias component 30 is connected to the coupled-line directional coupler component 10 to provide a DC bias voltage to the reflective phase shifter component 20 for controlling the phase reconstruction state of the reflective phase shifter component 20 .

[0023] The coupled-line directional coupler assembly 10 includes an input port 101 and an output port 102 , which are DC-isolated from the reflective phase shifter assembly 20 and the DC bias assembly 30 .

[0024] The coupled line directional coupler component 10, the reflective phase shifter component 20 and the DC bias component 30 are placed on the same dielectric plate or on multiple dielectric plates respectively.

[0025] The coupled-line directional coupler 10 assembly further includes a microwave transmission line 103 and a microwave coupling line 104. The microwave coupling line 104 divides the coupled-line directional coupler 10 into two parts that are DC-isolated from each other. One part is connected to the input port 101 and the output port 102, and the other part is connected to the reflective phase shifter assembly 20 and the DC bias assembly 30.

[0026] The microwave transmission line 103 and the microwave coupling line 104 in the coupled-line directional coupler assembly 10 can be designed using different structures including but not limited to microstrip line, stripline, substrate-integrated coaxial line, and the like.

[0027] The terms “input” and “output” in the input port 101 and the output port 102 included in the coupled-line directional coupler assembly 10 are only for convenience of description. The reconfigurable phase shifter of the present invention is a bidirectional device, and its input port and output port are interchangeable.

[0028] The reflective phase shifter assembly 20 includes an open-ended branch 201 , an electric control element 202 , and a grounding point 203 .

[0029] The phase shift range of the reflective phase shifter assembly 20 can be adjusted by changing the length and impedance of the terminal open-circuit branch 201. Depending on the actual phase shift range required by the reflective phase shifter assembly 20, the length of the terminal open-circuit branch 201 can also be zero, that is, the terminal open-circuit branch is not used.

[0030] One end of the electric control element 202 is connected to the coupled-line directional coupler assembly 10 through the microwave transmission line 103 , and the other end of the electric control element 202 is grounded through the microwave transmission line 103 and the grounding point 203 .

[0031] By controlling the loading state of the electronically controlled element 202 , the reflection phase of the reflective phase shifter assembly 20 can be adjusted.

[0032] The electrically controlled element 202 may be a variety of devices including but not limited to a PIN diode, a varactor diode, a MEMS chip, a microwave switch, etc.; depending on the specific device used in the electrically controlled element 202, the reflective phase shifter assembly 20 may achieve continuous or discrete reflection phase changes.

[0033] The DC bias component 30 includes a choke inductor 301 , a DC bias line 302 , and a DC power supply 303 . The DC bias component 30 is used to provide a DC bias voltage for the electronically controlled element 202 in the reflective phase shifter component 20 .

[0034] The DC bias component 30 is connected to the microwave transmission line 103 on the side of the coupled-line directional coupler component 10 close to the reflective phase shifter component 20 .

[0035] The choke inductor 301 is used to prevent the radio frequency microwave energy in the coupled-line directional coupler assembly 10 from entering the DC bias line 302 and the DC power supply 303 .

[0036] To illustrate the structure and operating performance of the electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end of the present invention, two specific embodiments operating in the C-band are described below. The operating frequency bands of these embodiments should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Example

[0037] Reference Figure 2 、 Figure 3 This embodiment provides an electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter based on a microstrip line, including a microwave dielectric board, a circuit layer 40 and a ground plane layer 41 located on the upper and lower surfaces of the microwave dielectric board, respectively.

[0038] The circuit layer 40 includes two ports, two microstrip transmission lines 403 , two coupled microstrip lines 404 , two open-ended stubs 405 , a ground pad 406 , a DC bias line 407 , an electrically controlled element 408 , and a choke inductor 409 .

[0039] Two microstrip transmission lines 403 are arranged in parallel, and two coupled microstrip lines 404 are arranged in parallel between the two microstrip transmission lines 403. The coupled microstrip lines 404 are composed of two parallel microstrip lines close to each other with one end open. The two ends of the two coupled microstrip lines 404 are respectively connected to the two microstrip transmission lines 403.

[0040] The two ports are an input port 401 and an output port 402, and are respectively connected to the two ends of one microstrip transmission line 403. The two open-ended stubs 405 are respectively connected to the two ends of the other microstrip transmission line 403.

[0041] The ground pad 406 is connected to the microstrip transmission line 403 connected to the open-ended branch 405 via an electrically controlled element 408. The ground pad 406 is connected to the ground plane layer 41 via a vertical metalized via.

[0042] One end of the DC bias line 407 is connected to the microstrip transmission line 403 connected to the open-terminal branch 405 through a choke inductor 409 , and the connection point is located in the middle or near the middle of the microstrip transmission line 403 .

[0043] DC bias line 407 is connected to an external DC power supply and is used to provide a DC bias voltage to electronically controlled element 408, thereby controlling the operating state of electronically controlled element 408. The transmission phase between input port 401 and output port 402 changes with the bias voltage applied to DC bias line 407.

[0044] Figure 6 Figure 2 plots the reflection coefficient simulation results for the microstrip-based electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter in Example 1 under different loading capacitance conditions, using a varactor diode as the electrically controlled element. The -10dB reflection coefficient bandwidth of the phase shifter is 4.29 GHz to 4.85 GHz.

[0045] Figure 7 The figure plots the simulation results of Example 1, showing how the transmission phase of a microstrip-based electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter varies with the loading capacitance, using a varactor diode as the electrically controlled element. The phase shifter achieves continuous phase reconfiguration as the loading capacitance varies. The phase shifter's phase shift ranges at 4.4 GHz, 4.6 GHz, and 4.8 GHz are 102 degrees, 86 degrees, and 87 degrees, respectively. Example

[0046] Reference Figure 4 、 Figure 5 This embodiment provides an electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter based on a microstrip line, including a microwave dielectric board, a circuit layer 50 and a ground plane layer 51 located on the upper and lower surfaces of the microwave dielectric board, respectively.

[0047] The circuit layer 50 includes two ports, two microstrip transmission lines 503 , two coupled microstrip lines 504 , two open-ended terminals 505 , a ground pad 506 , a DC bias line 507 , an electrically controlled element 508 , and a choke inductor 509 .

[0048] Two microstrip transmission lines 503 are arranged in parallel, and two coupled microstrip lines 504 are symmetrically arranged between the two microstrip transmission lines 503. The coupled microstrip lines 504 are composed of two parallel, adjacent, and open-ended meandering microstrip lines. This reduces the space occupied by the coupled microstrip lines 504 and achieves miniaturization of the overall phase shifter structure. The two ends of the two coupled microstrip lines 504 are connected to the two microstrip transmission lines 503, respectively.

[0049] The two ports are an input port 501 and an output port 502, and are respectively connected to the two ends of one microstrip transmission line 503. The two open-ended stubs 505 are respectively connected to the two ends of the other microstrip transmission line 503.

[0050] The ground pad 506 is connected to the microstrip transmission line 503 connected to the open-ended stub 505 via an electrically controlled element 508. The ground pad 506 is connected to the ground plane layer 51 via a vertical metalized via.

[0051] One end of the DC bias line 507 is connected to the microstrip transmission line 503 connected to the open-terminal branch 505 through a choke inductor 509 , and the connection point is located in the middle or near the middle of the microstrip transmission line 503 .

[0052] DC bias line 507 is connected to an external DC power supply and is used to provide a DC bias voltage to electronically controlled element 508, thereby controlling the operating state of electronically controlled element 508. The transmission phase between input port 501 and output port 502 changes with the bias voltage applied to DC bias line 507.

[0053] Figure 8 Figure 2 plots the reflection coefficient simulation results for Example 2, a miniaturized, electrically controlled, reconfigurable phase shifter based on microstrip lines, under different on- and off-state conditions when the electrically controlled element uses a microwave switch. The -10dB reflection coefficient bandwidth of the phase shifter is 3.91 GHz to 4.62 GHz.

[0054] Figure 9 Figure 2 plots the transmission phase simulation results of a miniaturized, microstrip-based, electrically controlled, reconfigurable phase shifter in different on / off states, using a microwave switch as the electronically controlled element in Example 2. Depending on the on / off state of the microwave switch, the phase shifter can be reconfigured between two phase-shift states. The phase shifter achieves a phase shift of 167 degrees at 4.25 GHz.

[0055] In the description of the present invention, the term "microwave" is only for the convenience of explanation, such as microwave transmission line, microwave coupling line, microwave switch, etc., and does not limit the operating frequency band of the antenna in the present invention. By appropriately enlarging or reducing the size of the wide-coverage electrically controlled two-dimensional multi-beam antenna, the antenna can be made to operate in microwave, millimeter wave and terahertz frequency bands.

[0056] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed above, they are not limited to the applications listed in the description and implementation methods. They can be fully applied to various fields suitable for the present invention. For those familiar with the art, additional modifications can be easily implemented. Therefore, without departing from the general concept defined by the claims and the scope of equivalents, the present invention is not limited to the specific details and illustrations shown and described herein.

Claims

1. An electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end, characterized in that: include: Coupled-line directional coupler components, reflective phase shifter components, and DC bias components; The coupled-line directional coupler assembly includes two ports, and the two ports maintain DC isolation from the DC bias assembly and the reflective phase shifter assembly; The reflective phase shifter component is connected to the coupled line directional coupler component, and the reflective phase shifter component adjusts the reflection phase by means of electrical control to achieve reflection phase reconstruction; The DC bias component is connected to the coupled-line directional coupler component and is used to provide a DC bias voltage for the reflective phase shifter component to control the phase reconstruction state of the reflective phase shifter component.

2. The electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end according to claim 1, characterized in that: The coupled-line directional coupler assembly further includes: two symmetrically arranged microwave transmission lines, and two microwave coupling lines arranged between the two microwave transmission lines, the two microwave coupling lines being respectively connected to the two microwave transmission lines, the microwave coupling lines dividing the two microwave transmission lines into two parts that are DC-isolated from each other, one part being connected to the two ports via another microwave transmission line, and the other part being connected to the reflective phase shifter assembly and the DC bias assembly.

3. The electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end according to claim 2, characterized in that: The reflective phase shifter assembly includes: an open-circuit terminal branch, an electrically controlled element, and a grounding point; the open-circuit terminal branch is connected to one of the microwave transmission lines, and the electrically controlled element is connected between the grounding point and the microwave transmission line.

4. The electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end according to claim 3, characterized in that: The reflection phase of the reflection-type phase shifter assembly is regulated by controlling the loading state of the electric control element.

5. The electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The phase shift range of the reflective phase shifter component is adjusted by changing the length and impedance of the terminal open-circuit branch.

6. The electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: The microwave transmission line and the microwave coupling line adopt a structure selected from the group consisting of a microstrip line, a strip line, and a substrate-integrated coaxial line.

7. The electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The electric control element is one of a PIN diode, a varactor diode, a MEMS chip, and a microwave switch.

8. The electrically controlled reconfigurable phase shifter with DC isolation at the control end according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: The DC bias component includes a choke inductor, a DC bias line, and a DC power supply connected in sequence. The choke inductor is connected to the microwave transmission line in the coupled-line directional coupler component.

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