Lens antenna

Abstract

The invention discloses a lens antenna, and relates to the technical field of communication antennae, and the lens antenna comprises a feed source and a lens. The feed source is used for receiving the electromagnetic waves converged by the lens or radiating the electromagnetic waves to the lens; the lens comprises a plurality of layers of lens circuit boards which are mutually spaced, and a plurality of different spacing distances between adjacent lens circuit boards are arranged among the plurality of layers of lens circuit boards. The invention aims to reduce the thickness of the lens profile of the lens antenna, improve the bandwidth of the antenna and improve the gain at the same time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication antenna technology, and in particular to a lens antenna. Background Technology

[0002] Lens antennas compensate for the propagation phase of refracted electromagnetic waves through a shape design with a specific profile or an equivalent dielectric constant with a gradient distribution, thereby achieving beam focusing. This improves the gain of the spherical wave radiated from the feed source to the level of the antenna array, thus eliminating the losses caused by complex feed networks and making it a green antenna technology.

[0003] Among related technologies, the development of electromagnetic metamaterials and metasurface technologies has provided flexible and low-cost technical solutions for lens antennas. However, current high-gain lens antennas generally face technical bottlenecks such as large size, especially large lens profile thickness, making it difficult to meet the technical requirements of thinner and lighter base station antenna products and installation space-constrained scenarios. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art, and to provide a lens antenna that aims to reduce the thickness of the lens profile, increase the antenna bandwidth and improve the gain.

[0005] This application provides a lens antenna, including a feed source and a lens; The feed source is used to receive electromagnetic waves focused by the lens or to radiate electromagnetic waves to the lens. The lens comprises multiple layers of spaced-apart lens circuit boards, with various different spacing distances between adjacent lens circuit boards.

[0006] According to the technical solution of the embodiments of this application, at least the following beneficial effects are achieved: the lens includes multiple layers of lens circuit boards spaced apart from each other, and the multiple layers of lens circuit boards have a variety of different spacing distances between adjacent lens circuit boards. In this way, the multiple circuit boards are arranged with unequal spacing in the vertical stacking direction, which can make the wave impedance change continuously during the refraction of electromagnetic waves on the multilayer metasurface, thereby greatly reducing scattering, improving both bandwidth and gain; and, since the multiple circuit boards are arranged with unequal spacing in the vertical stacking direction, the spacing between some adjacent circuit boards can be set to be relatively small, thereby reducing the lens profile thickness of the lens antenna.

[0007] According to some embodiments of this application, the lens circuit board includes a first circuit board and a multilayer second circuit board symmetrically disposed on both sides of the first circuit board, having multiple different spacing distances on the same side of the first circuit board.

[0008] According to some embodiments of this application, each interval distance on the same side of the first circuit board is different, and the interval distance between the first circuit board and the adjacent second circuit board is smaller than the interval distance between two adjacent second circuit boards.

[0009] According to some embodiments of this application, the lens circuit boards of each lens are identical, and the lens circuit board includes a dielectric plate and a plurality of metal graphic units disposed on one side of the dielectric plate, wherein the metal pattern of each metal graphic unit is identical.

[0010] According to some embodiments of this application, the distance between the center points of two adjacent metal graphic units on the same medium plate is equal.

[0011] According to some embodiments of this application, multiple metal graphic units on the same dielectric substrate include a variety of different size specifications, and each size specification corresponds to multiple metal graphic units.

[0012] According to some embodiments of this application, in the direction from the center point of the dielectric substrate to the edge of the dielectric substrate, the metal graphic units of different sizes are arranged in descending order of size.

[0013] According to some embodiments of this application, the lens antenna further includes a reflector, the feed source is disposed on the reflector, and the feed source is disposed between the reflector and the lens antenna.

[0014] According to some embodiments of this application, the position of the feed source corresponds to the focal point position of the lens, and the lens is fixedly mounted on the reflector by a lens bracket so that the lens and the reflector correspond to each other and are parallel to each other.

[0015] According to some embodiments of this application, the height of the lens profile is less than or equal to 1 / 3 of the center frequency wavelength of the lens antenna.

[0016] Other features and advantages of this application will be set forth in the description which follows, and will be apparent in part from the description, or may be learned by practicing the application. The objectives and other advantages of this application may be realized and obtained by means of the structures particularly pointed out in the description, claims and drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solutions of this application and constitute a part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of this application to explain the technical solutions of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions of this application.

[0018] The present application will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments; Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a lens antenna provided in one embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a lens provided in one embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a side view schematic diagram of a lens structure provided in one embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a lens circuit board provided in one embodiment of this application; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a lens antenna array provided in one embodiment of this application.

[0019] Figure descriptions: 100, feed source; 200, lens; 300, reflector; 400, lens support; 110, lens circuit board; 1110, first circuit board; 1120, second circuit board; 111, dielectric board; 112, metal graphic unit. Detailed Implementation

[0020] This section will describe in detail the specific embodiments of this application. Preferred embodiments of this application are shown in the accompanying drawings. The purpose of the drawings is to supplement the textual description with graphics, so that people can intuitively and vividly understand each technical feature and the overall technical solution of this application, but they should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this application.

[0021] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the orientation descriptions, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0022] In the description of this application, "several" means one or more, "more than" means two or more, "greater than," "less than," and "exceeding" are understood to exclude the stated number, while "above," "below," and "within" are understood to include the stated number. If the terms "first" and "second" are used, they are merely for distinguishing technical features and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features, or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features. In the description of this application, unless otherwise expressly defined, terms such as "setup," "installation," and "connection" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above terms in this application in conjunction with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0023] The present application will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0024] like Figure 1As shown, Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a lens antenna provided in one embodiment of this application. The lens antenna includes a feed 100 and a lens 200. The feed source 100 is used to receive electromagnetic waves converged by the lens 200 or to radiate electromagnetic waves to the lens 200. The lens 200 includes multiple layers of mutually spaced lens circuit boards 110, with various different spacing distances between adjacent lens circuit boards 110.

[0025] Understandably, the lens antenna, as a key component of high-frequency wireless communication and detection systems, is used to achieve efficient focusing and directional radiation of electromagnetic wave energy. The feed 100, acting as the antenna's energy port and electromagnetic wave converter, converts the high-frequency current from the transmitter into electromagnetic waves radiated into space in transmit mode, and captures the spatial electromagnetic waves focused by the lens 200 in receive mode, converting them back into high-frequency current for transmission to the receiver. The lens 200, acting as the antenna's wavefront shaper, accurately reconstructs the spherical wavefront generated by the feed 100 into a planar wavefront, thereby achieving extremely high directivity and gain, and improving the antenna's transmission distance and signal quality.

[0026] It is understandable that using a solid medium with a uniform dielectric constant to form a curved surface through mechanical processing or employing a spherical structure such as a Luneburg lens 200 to achieve the function of the lens 200 would result in a large size, high weight, complex processing, and limited bandwidth for the lens 200. However, the lens 200 in the lens antenna provided in this application does not rely on the overall thickness change of the medium to generate phase delay. Instead, it uses periodic metal patterns etched on a multilayer planar circuit board to achieve discretization and programmable control of the phase of transmitted or reflected electromagnetic waves by utilizing the resonant response of each unit to the local electromagnetic field. When the metal patterns cover a plane in a specific arrangement, the desired arbitrary wavefront phase distribution can be synthesized on a two-dimensional plane, thereby calibrating the spherical wave into a plane wave.

[0027] Furthermore, since the impedance matching degree of a wave directly determines the reflection coefficient of the interface when a wave propagates from one medium to another, the air gap or medium thickness between the layers of an equally spaced multilayer metasurface is fixed. This is equivalent to setting up a series of discrete interfaces with fixed impedance steps along the wave propagation path. Every time an electromagnetic wave passes through an interface, it will be partially reflected due to the impedance change. These waves with multiple reflections will form complex interference between layers. Some of the energy will eventually be scattered to unexpected directions to form sidelobes, while the other part will be reflected back to the source 100° direction, causing return loss and reducing the radiation efficiency of the antenna. Moreover, this resonant reflection interference is frequency sensitive, which means that the antenna can only maintain good impedance matching in a very narrow frequency range, thus severely limiting the operating bandwidth.

[0028] The lens antenna provided in this application adopts an unequal spacing arrangement. By optimizing the physical distance between each layer, the effective dielectric environment experienced by electromagnetic waves as they propagate from one metal pattern layer to the next can be changed. In other words, it is equivalent to constructing a transition region with a continuous or quasi-continuous change in wave impedance in the direction perpendicular to the plate surface, rather than several steep steps. When the electromagnetic wave passes through the impedance gradient region, the wave impedance can be smoothly and gradually adapted. Based on this, the continuity of impedance minimizes Fresnel reflections between layers, allowing electromagnetic wave energy to penetrate the entire lens 200 stack more smoothly instead of being repeatedly bounced and consumed between layers, thus achieving lower return loss and less unnecessary energy dissipation. Furthermore, due to the reduced frequency dependence of impedance matching, the antenna can maintain efficient energy transmission over a wider frequency range. The narrowband characteristics that originally caused strong resonance only at specific frequencies due to fixed spacing are replaced by a smooth impedance matching response covering a wider frequency band, thereby enhancing the adaptability to systems supporting multi-band or broadband communications (5G millimeter-wave band, satellite Ka / Ku band). In addition, the reduction in scattered energy allows more energy excited by the feed 100 to be effectively guided and focused in the target direction. Therefore, the antenna's radiation efficiency, aperture efficiency, and final performance gain are substantially improved. At the same time, the cluttered sidelobes formed by multi-layer reflection interference are also suppressed, resulting in a cleaner radiation pattern and improving the antenna's anti-interference capability and spatial resolution.

[0029] It is understandable that equal-spacing designs often require stacking a considerable number of PCB layers to achieve sufficient phase adjustment capability and bandwidth. Furthermore, to ensure interlayer coupling and performance stability, the spacing cannot be infinitely reduced, resulting in a relatively high overall thickness of the lens 200. However, the lens antenna provided in this embodiment employs an unequal-spacing arrangement, strategically setting the spacing between some adjacent circuit boards to be very small, retaining only the minimum clearance required for necessary processes and insulation. By tightly stacking several layers in a multi-layer circuit board, a highly integrated ultra-thin module can be formed locally. Although other layers may still need to maintain a relatively large spacing to meet specific phase adjustment or bandwidth requirements, this optimized layout combining density and sparseness significantly reduces the overall average thickness of the lens 200, thereby achieving a thinner and lighter antenna system. This makes it easier to integrate into modern devices with strict space constraints and reduces the total volume of dielectric material or air layers used to support and separate circuit boards. The tightly stacked portions also form a more robust mechanical whole, improving the antenna's reliability in harsh environments such as vibration and shock.

[0030] In some embodiments, the overall thickness of the lens antenna provided in this application is comparable to that of a plate antenna, and the gain is as high as 16 dBi. Adjacent lens circuit boards 110 can be connected by plastic pillars or pads.

[0031] In one embodiment of the lens antenna provided in this application, the lens circuit board 110 includes a first circuit board 1110 and a multilayer second circuit board 1120 symmetrically disposed on both sides of the first circuit board 1110, with a variety of different spacing distances on the same side of the first circuit board 1110.

[0032] refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 , Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a lens 200 provided in one embodiment of this application. Figure 3 This is a side view structural schematic diagram of a lens 200 provided in one embodiment of this application, wherein d1, d2, and d3 respectively represent the spacing distance between different adjacent lens circuit boards 110. It is understood that the lens circuit board 110 includes a first circuit board 1110 and multi-layer second circuit boards 1120 symmetrically arranged on both sides of the first circuit board 1110. That is, the number of lens circuit boards 110 is odd, the first circuit board 1110 is the middle layer of the multi-layer lens circuit board 110, and the second circuit boards 1120 are the lens circuit boards 110 on both sides of the first circuit board 1110. Furthermore, the multi-layer second circuit boards 1120 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the first circuit board 1110. Therefore, the number of second circuit boards 1120 on both sides of the first circuit board 1110 is equal, and the corresponding two second circuit boards 1120 on both sides of the first circuit board 1110 are symmetrically arranged. For example, if there are 5 lens circuit boards 110, the distance between two corresponding second circuit boards 1120 on both sides of the first circuit board 1110 and the first circuit board 1110 is 5mm, and the distance between the other two corresponding second circuit boards 1120 on both sides of the first circuit board 1110 and the first circuit board 1110 is 15mm.

[0033] Meanwhile, there are multiple different spacing distances on the same side of the first circuit board 1110. Therefore, there are multiple spacing distances between the multiple lens circuit boards 110, including the first circuit board 1110 and the multiple second circuit boards 1120 on the same side of the first circuit board 1110. That is, not every spacing distance is the same. For example, if there are 7 lens circuit boards 110, there are two or three spacing distances between the four lens circuit boards 110, including the first circuit board 1110 and the three second circuit boards 1120 on the same side of the first circuit board 1110. The spacing distance between the first circuit board 1110 and the adjacent second circuit board 1120 is 5mm, and the two spacing distances between the three second circuit boards 1120 are both 15mm. Alternatively, the spacing distance between the first circuit board 1110 and the adjacent second circuit board 1120 is 5mm, and the two spacing distances between the three second circuit boards 1120 are 10mm and 15mm, respectively.

[0034] In one embodiment of the lens antenna provided in this application, the spacing distances on the same side of the first circuit board 1110 are different, and the spacing distance between the first circuit board 1110 and the adjacent second circuit board 1120 is smaller than the spacing distance between two adjacent second circuit boards 1120.

[0035] refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 It is understood that the spacing distance on the same side of the first circuit board 1110 is different. That is, there are N-1 different spacing distances between the multiple lens circuit boards 110, including the first circuit board 1110 and the multiple second circuit boards 1120 on the same side of the first circuit board 1110. Here, N is the number of the first circuit board 1110 and the multiple second circuit boards 1120 on the same side of the first circuit board 1110. For example, if there are 7 lens circuit boards 110, there are three different spacing distances between the four lens circuit boards 110, including the first circuit board 1110 and the three second circuit boards 1120 on the same side of the first circuit board 1110. The spacing distance between the first circuit board 1110 and the adjacent second circuit board 1120 is 5mm, and the two spacing distances between the three second circuit boards 1120 are 10mm and 15mm, respectively.

[0036] Meanwhile, the spacing between the first circuit board 1110 and the adjacent second circuit board 1120 is smaller than the spacing between two adjacent second circuit boards 1120. That is, on the same side of the first circuit board 1110, among the multiple spacing distances from the first circuit board 1110 to the last second circuit board 1120 furthest from the first circuit board 1110, the spacing between the first circuit board 1110 and the nearest adjacent second circuit board 1120 is the smallest. Each of the multiple spacing distances between the second circuit boards 1120 is greater than the spacing between the first circuit board 1110 and the nearest adjacent second circuit board 1120. For example, if there are 7 lens circuit boards 110, including the first circuit board 1110 and the three second circuit boards 1120 on the same side of the first circuit board 1110, there are two spacing distances between the four lens circuit boards 110: the spacing between the first circuit board 1110 and the adjacent second circuit board 1120 is 5mm, and the two spacing distances between the three second circuit boards 1120 are both 15mm.

[0037] In some embodiments, on the same side of the first circuit board 1110, the multiple interval distances between the first circuit board 1110 and the last second circuit board 1120 furthest from the first circuit board 1110 gradually increase. That is, the interval distance between the first circuit board 1110 and the nearest adjacent second circuit board 1120 is the smallest, and the interval distance between the multiple second circuit boards 1120 gradually increases as the distance from the first circuit board 1110 increases. For example, if there are 7 lens circuit boards 110, there are three interval distances between the four lens circuit boards 110, including the first circuit board 1110 and the three second circuit boards 1120 on the same side of the first circuit board 1110: the interval distance between the first circuit board 1110 and the adjacent first second circuit board 1120 is 5 mm, the interval distance between the first second circuit board 1120 and the second second circuit board 1120 is 10 mm, and the interval distance between the second second circuit board 1120 and the third second circuit board 1120 is 15 mm.

[0038] It is understandable that by arranging the multilayer lens circuit board 110 with unequal spacing in the vertical stacking direction, with smaller spacing in the middle layer and gradually increasing spacing from the middle to the sides, and symmetrical arrangement from the middle to the top and bottom sides, the wave impedance of electromagnetic waves can be continuously changed during the refraction of the multilayer metasurface, thereby greatly reducing scattering and improving both bandwidth and gain.

[0039] In one embodiment of the lens antenna provided in this application, each lens circuit board 110 of the lens 200 is the same. The lens circuit board 110 includes a dielectric substrate 111 and a plurality of metal pattern units 112 disposed on one side of the dielectric substrate 111. The metal pattern of each metal pattern unit 112 is the same.

[0040] refer to Figure 2 and Figure 4 , Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a lens circuit board 110 provided in one embodiment of this application. Each lens circuit board 110 in the lens antenna adopts the same design and structure. In this way, all circuit boards are made based on a unified template within the entire lens 200 aperture, which greatly simplifies the production process, reduces processing costs, and improves the reliability and maintainability of the overall system.

[0041] The dielectric substrate 111 of the lens circuit board 110 can be made of high-frequency, low-loss materials or similar composite materials, possessing a stable dielectric constant and low-loss tangent in the microwave and millimeter-wave bands to ensure efficient electromagnetic wave transmission without introducing excessive attenuation. The primary function of the dielectric substrate 111 is to provide mechanical support and serve as a carrier for the metasurface metal pattern units 112. Its thickness and dielectric constant are calculated to match the impedance requirements of the operating frequency band. On one side of the dielectric substrate 111, multiple metal pattern units 112 are fabricated using printed circuit board processes (photolithography, etching, or deposition). The metal pattern units 112 are arranged in a periodic array to form a metasurface. Each metal pattern unit 112 has the same metal pattern, and all units share the same basic geometry, such as a square, circle, cross, torus, or a combination of these shapes. Square patterns are commonly used due to their symmetry and ease of fabrication, providing a predictable resonant response; circular patterns can reduce edge diffraction and improve bandwidth; cross-shaped patterns support dual-polarization operation and are suitable for multi-polarization communication systems; and torus patterns can be used to achieve magnetic resonance or more complex phase modulation.

[0042] In one embodiment of the lens antenna provided in this application, the distance between the center points of two adjacent metal pattern units 112 on the same dielectric substrate 111 is equal.

[0043] Understandably, maintaining equal spacing between the center points of two adjacent metallic patterned units 112 on the same dielectric substrate 111, and ensuring the spacing does not exceed one-third of the operating wavelength, ensures effective control of electromagnetic waves and avoids performance degradation. The metallic patterned units 112 are uniformly and periodically distributed on the surface of the dielectric substrate 111, forming a regular lattice structure. When electromagnetic waves are incident on the metasurface, each unit acts as a scatterer, re-radiating the electromagnetic waves. Unequal spacing can lead to aperiodic scattering, generating unpredictable grating lobes and sidelobes, thus degrading the antenna pattern, reducing gain, and increasing interference. Therefore, maintaining equal spacing ensures coherent superposition of scattered waves in the far field, forming the wavefront required for the design and achieving precise beamforming.

[0044] In addition, the spacing is no more than one-third of the working wavelength in order to suppress higher-order diffraction modes and retain only the fundamental mode propagation, thereby ensuring that the metasurface can effectively control electromagnetic waves without introducing extra diffraction orders. For example, in the 28 GHz millimeter wave band, the unit spacing is designed to be about 3 mm to ensure that the metasurface has a smooth response in the spatial frequency domain and avoid the generation of grating lobes.

[0045] Furthermore, the metal pattern of the metal pattern unit 112 on the dielectric substrate 111 is subwavelength in size, meaning the physical size of the pattern is much smaller than the operating wavelength, typically on the order of one-tenth or less of the wavelength. This subwavelength design allows each unit to respond to the incident wave in a quasi-static region, meaning the electromagnetic field distribution within the unit changes almost instantaneously with the incident field. This allows for precise control of the unit's equivalent electromagnetic parameters through geometric parameters. The subwavelength metal pattern also avoids strong resonant scattering, reduces energy loss, and provides a smoother phase change range, achieving broadband performance.

[0046] In one embodiment of the lens antenna provided in this application, the multiple metal pattern units 112 on the same dielectric substrate 111 include a variety of different size specifications, and each size specification corresponds to multiple metal pattern units 112.

[0047] Understandably, on the same substrate 111, multiple metal pattern units 112 include various different sizes. The introduction of multiple sizes allows each unit to produce different phase delays for the incident electromagnetic wave according to its geometric parameters, thereby synthesizing arbitrary wavefront phase profiles on a two-dimensional plane. Since each metal pattern unit 112 is regarded as a miniature resonator, the resonant characteristics depend on the physical size of the unit. By systematically changing the size, for example, varying the side length of the square patch from 0.5 mm to 2 mm or adjusting the combination of the inner and outer radii of the ring, the phase shift provided by each unit at a specific frequency can be precisely programmed.

[0048] Each size specification corresponds to multiple metal graphic units 112 and can be distributed on the surface of the lens 200 to form a specific pattern to ensure the continuity and symmetry of phase changes. For example, in a circular lens 200, units of the same size may be distributed on a ring at the same distance from the center to maintain rotational symmetry, thereby supporting axisymmetric beams.

[0049] refer to Figure 4 Taking the metal graphic unit 112 on the central axis of the dielectric substrate 111 as an example, there are 5 metal graphic units 112 from the metal graphic unit 112 at the center of the dielectric substrate 111 to the metal graphic unit 112 at the outermost edge on any side, and there are 3 different size specifications. The metal graphic unit 112 at the center of the dielectric substrate 111, and the two closest metal graphic units 112 on the same side of the metal graphic unit 112 at the center of the dielectric substrate 111 are of the first size specification, and the two subsequent metal graphic units 112 are of the second size specification and the third size specification, respectively.

[0050] In a lens antenna provided in one embodiment of this application, metal pattern units 112 of different sizes are arranged sequentially in descending order of size from the center point of the dielectric substrate 111 to the edge of the dielectric substrate 111.

[0051] It is understandable that, along the direction from the center point of dielectric substrate 111 to its edge, metal pattern units 112 of different sizes are arranged sequentially in descending order of size. This creates a distribution with gradually decreasing phase delay on the lens 200 surface, which corresponds precisely to the spatial phase difference experienced by the spherical wave emitted from the focal point as it reaches different positions of the lens 200. Specifically, the path from the spherical wave emitted from the feed source 100 to the center of the lens 200 is the shortest, while the path to the edge is the longest. To calibrate the wavefronts of all paths to in-phase plane waves, the center of the lens 200 needs to provide the minimum phase compensation, while the edge of the lens 200 needs to provide the maximum phase compensation. By arranging units in descending order of size, larger units provide a smaller phase change at the center, while smaller units provide a larger phase change at the edge, thereby achieving the required phase distribution and a gradient distribution of the equivalent dielectric constant.

[0052] refer to Figure 4 Taking the metal graphic unit 112 on the central axis of the dielectric substrate 111 as an example, there are five metal graphic units 112 from the metal graphic unit 112 at the center of the dielectric substrate 111 to the metal graphic unit 112 at the outermost edge on any side, and there are three different size specifications. The metal graphic unit 112 at the center of the dielectric substrate 111, as well as the second and third metal graphic units 112 arranged in sequence, are all of the first size specification. The fourth metal graphic unit 112 is of the second size specification, and the fifth metal graphic unit 112 is of the third size specification. The first size specification is larger than the second size specification, and the second size specification is larger than the third size specification.

[0053] In one embodiment, the dielectric substrate 111 can be made of 0.5 mm thick FR4 substrate with a relative permittivity of 4.4, and the dimensions of the dielectric substrate 111 are 270 mm x 270 mm. The metal pattern units 112 can be formed by etching a single-sided copper-clad laminate. The metal pattern units 112 are arranged periodically in the horizontal and vertical directions, that is, the distance between the center points of two adjacent metal pattern units 112 on the same dielectric substrate 111 is 30 mm, which is 1 / 5 of the wavelength. The metal pattern units 112 can be square, with a side length between 0 and 29 mm.

[0054] In one embodiment of the lens antenna provided in this application, the lens antenna further includes a reflector 300, a feed 100 is disposed on the reflector 300, and the feed 100 is disposed between the reflector 300 and the lens antenna.

[0055] In one embodiment of the lens antenna provided in this application, the position of the feed 100 corresponds to the focal position of the lens 200. The lens 200 is fixedly mounted on the reflector 300 by the lens bracket 400 so that the lens 200 and the reflector 300 correspond to each other and are parallel to each other.

[0056] For example, the lens antenna also includes a reflector 300, with the feed 100 disposed on the reflector 300 and between the reflector 300 and the lens antenna. The reflector 300 can be a metal plate made of conductive materials such as aluminum or copper, used to reflect electromagnetic waves radiated backward by the feed 100, causing them to propagate forward, thereby recovering the energy that would otherwise be wasted and improving the forward gain and overall efficiency of the antenna. The reflector 300 also serves as a grounding plane, providing electrical grounding and mechanical support for the feed 100 and reducing external interference.

[0057] The feed 100 is directly mounted on the reflector 300 and positioned between the reflector 300 and the lens 200. This ensures that the position of the feed 100 precisely corresponds to the focal point of the lens 200. When the feed 100 is at the focal point of the lens 200, the emitted spherical wavefront is refracted or diffracted by the lens 200 and converted into a plane wavefront to form a directional beam. If the feed 100 deviates from the focal point, it will cause wavefront distortion, resulting in aberrations, gain reduction, and beam skew. Therefore, precise alignment is crucial. The feed 100 can be fixed to the center of the reflector 300 by welding or screws. The design of the feed 100 must match the focal length and aperture ratio of the lens 200 to optimize illumination efficiency and reduce spillover loss.

[0058] Lens 200 is fixedly mounted on reflector 300 by lens bracket 400. For example, an aluminum or steel truss structure is used to minimize electromagnetic shielding and reflection. The height of the bracket is calculated to ensure that the distance between lens 200 and reflector 300 is equal to the focal length of lens 200 or optimized to compensate for phase center offset, while keeping them strictly parallel. This ensures that the propagation path of electromagnetic waves from feed 100 to lens 200 is symmetrical, maintaining wavefront quality and polarization purity.

[0059] In one embodiment, the lens holder 400 can be processed from engineering plastics and adopts a hollow structure design to reduce weight; the feed source 100 is located at the focal position of the lens 200 and faces the lens 200. The feed source 100 is mounted and fixed on the metal reflector 300, and the reflector 300 is 120 mm above the center of the lens 200.

[0060] In one embodiment of the lens antenna provided in this application, the profile height of the lens 200 is less than or equal to 1 / 3 of the center frequency wavelength of the lens antenna.

[0061] In some embodiments, the profile height of the lens 200 in the lens antenna provided in this application is less than or equal to 1 / 3 of the center frequency wavelength of the lens antenna, and the overall thickness of the lens antenna is small, which can well meet the needs of base station antenna products for thinness and lightness and installation space-constrained scenarios. Taking the operating frequency of 1.71 GHz to 2.17 GHz as an example, the thickness of the lens 200 in the lens antenna provided in this application does not exceed 52 mm.

[0062] In one embodiment, the lens antenna provided in this application can operate independently or as an antenna element in an antenna array. By periodically arranging these elements to form a lens antenna array, the gain can be further improved. (Reference) Figure 5 , Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a lens antenna array provided in one embodiment of this application. The lens antenna array is a 2 x 2 lens antenna array with an operating frequency of 1.71 GHz to 2.17 GHz. Specifically, the lens antenna array is formed by periodically arranging four individual lens antennas provided in this embodiment of the application on a horizontal plane, with a vertical spacing px of 300 mm and a horizontal spacing py of 300 mm. The embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this application.

[0063] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, instruments, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the instrument embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the shown or discussed mutual couplings, direct couplings, or communication connections may be through some interfaces; indirect couplings or communication connections between instruments or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms. Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, i.e., they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0064] It should also be understood that the various implementation methods provided in this application can be combined arbitrarily to achieve different technical effects.

Claims

1. A lens antenna, characterized by The lens antenna comprises a feed source (100) and a lens (200); The feed source (100) is used for receiving electromagnetic waves converged by the lens (200) or radiating electromagnetic waves to the lens (200); The lens (200) comprises a plurality of layers of mutually spaced lens circuit boards (110), and the plurality of layers of lens circuit boards (110) have a plurality of different spacing distances between adjacent lens circuit boards (110).

2. The lens antenna of claim 1, wherein, The lens circuit board (110) comprises a first circuit board (1110) and a plurality of layers of second circuit boards (1120) symmetrically arranged on both sides of the first circuit board (1110), and the first circuit board (1110) has a plurality of different spacing distances on the same side.

3. The lens antenna of claim 2, wherein, Each spacing distance on the same side of the first circuit board (1110) is different, and the spacing distance between the first circuit board (1110) and the adjacent second circuit board (1120) is smaller than the spacing distance between the adjacent two second circuit boards (1120).

4. The lens antenna of claim 1, wherein, Each lens circuit board (110) of the lens (200) is the same, and the lens circuit board (110) comprises a dielectric board (111) and a plurality of metal pattern units (112) arranged on one side of the dielectric board (111), and each metal pattern unit (112) has the same metal pattern.

5. The lens antenna of claim 4, wherein, The spacing between the center points of the adjacent two metal pattern units (112) on the same dielectric board (111) is equal.

6. The lens antenna of claim 4, wherein, The plurality of metal pattern units (112) on the same dielectric board (111) comprise a plurality of different size specifications, and each size specification corresponds to a plurality of metal pattern units (112).

7. The lens antenna of claim 6, wherein, In the direction from the center point of the dielectric board (111) to the edge of the dielectric board (111), the metal pattern units (112) of different size specifications are arranged in order from large to small in size specification.

8. The lens antenna of claim 1, wherein, The lens antenna further comprises a reflecting plate (300), the feed source (100) is arranged on the reflecting plate (300), and the feed source (100) is arranged between the reflecting plate (300) and the lens antenna.

9. The lens antenna of claim 8, wherein, The position of the feed source (100) corresponds to the focal point position of the lens (200) of the lens (200), the lens (200) is fixedly arranged on the reflecting plate (300) through a lens support (400), so that the lens (200) and the reflecting plate (300) correspond to and are parallel to each other.

10. The lens antenna of claim 1, wherein, The cross-sectional height of the lens (200) is less than or equal to 1 / 3 of the wavelength of the center frequency of the lens antenna.

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