Phase shifter and antenna

Abstract

The invention discloses a phase shifter and an antenna, and the phase shifter comprises a transmission line layer which is provided with at least one dual-resonance transmission unit; the double-resonance transmission unit comprises a central ring and at least two resonance rings, the at least two resonance rings are symmetrically arranged relative to the central ring, and the at least two resonance rings are connected with the central ring; the resonant ring comprises an inner ring and an outer ring which are concentrically arranged, and at least one connecting part, the inner ring and the outer ring are provided with openings with the same number, and the connecting part is connected to non-opening positions of the inner ring and the outer ring.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of microwave radio frequency technology, and more particularly to a phase shifter and antenna. Background Technology

[0002] Phase shifters are key components in phased array radar and communication systems, hence the high demand for tunable phase shifters. Furthermore, with the rapid development of the communication industry, the requirements for tunable phase shifters are becoming increasingly stringent, especially since the power capacity of the phase shifter directly affects the stability of the antenna.

[0003] Therefore, how to improve the power capacity of phase shifters has become an urgent technical problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides a phase shifter and antenna to solve the technical problem of low power capacity of phase shifters in the prior art.

[0005] In a first aspect, to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a phase shifter, comprising:

[0006] The transmission line layer has at least one dual resonant transmission unit;

[0007] The dual-resonance transmission unit includes a central ring and at least two resonant rings, the at least two resonant rings being symmetrically arranged about the central ring and connected to the central ring; each resonant ring includes an inner ring and an outer ring arranged concentrically, and at least one connecting portion, the inner ring and the outer ring having the same number of openings, and the connecting portion connecting to the non-opening positions of the inner ring and the outer ring.

[0008] In one possible implementation, both the inner ring and the outer ring have an opening, and the opening directions of the inner ring and the outer ring are different;

[0009] The resonant ring is divided into two parts by an extension line connecting the opening of the inner ring and the opening of the outer ring, and at least one of the two parts is provided with at least one of the connecting portions.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the opening direction of the inner ring is opposite to that of the outer ring, and the extension line passes through the center of the resonant ring.

[0011] In one possible implementation, both the inner ring and the outer ring have multiple openings; the multiple openings divide the inner ring or the outer ring into multiple line segments;

[0012] The connecting part connects two adjacent line segments of the inner ring and the outer ring.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the number of the plurality of openings is even;

[0014] The pair of openings on the inner ring are located on a first straight line, and the pair of openings on the outer ring are located on a second straight line; the first straight line intersects the second straight line.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the number of the plurality of openings is 2;

[0016] The inner ring and the outer ring are circular in shape, and the first straight line coincides with the second straight line.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the inner ring and the outer ring are polygons of the same shape; the opening is disposed on the side of the polygon;

[0018] The connecting part is connected between a pair of adjacent parallel sides of the inner ring and the outer ring, and there are no openings on either of the pair of parallel sides;

[0019] Alternatively, the connecting portion is connected between a pair of adjacent vertices of the inner ring and the outer ring.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the dual-resonant transmission unit further includes a first connecting line and a second connecting line. The first connecting line is connected between the outer ring and another dual-resonant transmission unit, and the second connecting line is connected between the outer ring and the central ring. The straight line formed by the intersections of the first connecting line and the second connecting line with the outer ring passes through the center of the resonant ring.

[0021] An opening in the outer ring is provided at at least one of the two intersection points of the first connecting line and the second connecting line with the outer ring;

[0022] Alternatively, the intersections of the first connecting line and the second connecting line with the outer ring and the intersection of the connecting portion with the outer ring coincide.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the shape of the central ring is the same as the shapes of the inner ring and the outer ring.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the spacing between two adjacent dual resonant transmission units is 1 / 2 of the dielectric wavelength;

[0025] The center distance between the central ring and the double-opening resonant ring ranges from 1 / 5 to 1 / 4 of the dielectric wavelength.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the opening widths of the inner ring and the outer ring range from 1 / 60 to 1 / 50 of the dielectric wavelength;

[0027] The spacing between the inner ring and the outer ring is 1 / 40 to 1 / 30 of the dielectric wavelength;

[0028] The linewidth of the inner ring and the linewidth of the outer ring are both in the range of 1 / 60 to 1 / 50 of the dielectric wavelength.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the transmission line layer and the common electrode layer are made of a metal material with a resistance less than a preset resistance value and a loss less than a preset loss.

[0030] The thickness of the metallic material is greater than the skin depth.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the phase shifter further includes:

[0032] First substrate;

[0033] The common electrode is located on one side of the first substrate.

[0034] An adjustable dielectric layer is located on the side of the common electrode layer away from the first substrate. The adjustable dielectric layer is configured to change its dielectric constant according to a change in the voltage difference applied to it. The transmission line layer is located on the side of the adjustable dielectric layer away from the first substrate. The voltage difference is the DC voltage difference between the dual-opening resonant ring and the common electrode.

[0035] The second substrate is located on the side of the transmission line layer away from the first substrate.

[0036] Secondly, embodiments of the present invention provide an antenna, comprising:

[0037] Antenna unit;

[0038] A feed network, which includes a phase shifter as described in the first aspect, provides a feed signal to the antenna element. Attached Figure Description

[0039] Figure 1 and Figure 2 A top view of a phase shifter provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 3 and Figure 4 A top view of a transmission line provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 5 A top view of another transmission line provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figures 6-8 A schematic diagram of a resonant ring structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 9 and Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another resonant ring structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 11 A top view of another dual-resonant transmission unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 12 A top view of another dual-resonant transmission unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 13 A top view of another dual-resonant transmission unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 14 A cross-sectional view of a phase shifter provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 15 A reflection coefficient diagram provided for an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 16 A phase shift diagram provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] Figure 17 A transmission coefficient diagram provided for an embodiment of the present invention;

[0051] Figure 18 This is a schematic diagram of an antenna structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0052] Figure label:

[0053] First substrate 1, common electrode 2, adjustable dielectric layer 3, second substrate 5, transmission line layer 4, dual resonant transmission unit 41, central ring 411, resonant ring 412, inner ring 412a, outer ring 412b, connecting part 412c, opening K, first connecting line 413, and second connecting line 414. Detailed Implementation

[0054] This invention provides a phase shifter and antenna to solve the technical problem of low power capacity of phase shifters in the prior art.

[0055] It should be understood that the specific structural and functional details disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention are merely representative and are intended to describe exemplary embodiments of this application. However, this application can be implemented in many alternative or combined forms and should not be construed as being limited solely to the embodiments set forth herein.

[0056] In the description of this application, it should be understood that 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 technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more. Furthermore, the term "comprising" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0057] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0058] In this invention, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three cases: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following associated objects have an "or" relationship.

[0059] It should be noted that specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a full understanding of the invention. However, the invention can be practiced in many ways other than those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar extensions and combinations without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below. The following description is a preferred embodiment for carrying out this application; however, the description is for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the application and is not intended to limit the scope of the application. The scope of protection of this application shall be determined by the appended claims.

[0060] The phase shifter and antenna provided in the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0061] Please see Figure 1 and Figure 2 This is a top view of a phase shifter provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The phase shifter includes:

[0062] Transmission line layer 4 has at least one dual resonant transmission unit 41;

[0063] The dual-resonance transmission unit 41 includes a central ring 411 and at least two resonant rings 412. The at least two resonant rings 412 are symmetrically arranged about the central ring 411 and are connected to the central ring 411. The resonant rings 412 include an inner ring 412a and an outer ring 412b arranged concentrically, and at least one connecting portion 412c. The inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b have the same number of openings K. The connecting portion 412c is connected to the non-opening K positions of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b.

[0064] like Figure 1 The dual-resonant transmission unit 41 shown can be composed of a central ring 411 and two resonant rings 412 corresponding to the central ring 411; as shown Figure 2 The dual-resonant transmission unit 41 shown can also be composed of a central ring 411 and four resonant rings 412 corresponding to the central ring 411, with two resonant rings 412 on each side of the central ring 411. Of course, the number of resonant rings 412 included in the dual-resonant transmission unit 41 can also be other even numbers. The number of resonant rings 412 located on the two layers of the central ring 411 in the dual-resonant transmission unit 41 is the same, which facilitates at least two resonant rings 412 to be symmetrically arranged about the central ring 411.

[0065] Since the outer ring 412b and inner ring 412a constituting the resonant ring 412 are concentrically arranged and have the same number of openings K, the inner ring 412a and outer ring 412b can be equivalent to an LC resonant circuit. When a magnetic field perpendicular to the resonant ring 412 acts on the resonant ring 412, the resonant ring 412 exhibits negative magnetic permeability, thereby changing the phase of the high-frequency signal flowing through the resonant ring 412. The inner ring 412a and outer ring 412b are connected by at least one connecting part 412c at the non-opening K position, which reduces the equivalent inductance in the LC equivalent circuit, thereby enhancing the resonance strength of the resonant ring 412, increasing the power capacity of the transmission line layer 4, and further increasing the power capacity of the phase shifter.

[0066] The transmission line layer 4 may include one dual resonant transmission unit 41 or multiple dual resonant transmission units 41. The specific number of dual resonant transmission units 41 is not limited here.

[0067] One possible implementation, such as Figure 1As shown, when the transmission line layer 4 includes multiple dual-resonant transmission units 41, the multiple dual-resonant transmission units 41 are connected in series. This is equivalent to accumulating the phase shift amounts of the multiple dual-resonant transmission units 41, thereby increasing the phase shift range of the phase shifter. The structure and size of each dual-resonant transmission unit 41 can be the same, and the phase shift amount of each dual-resonant transmission unit 41 can be the same; alternatively, the structure and size of each dual-resonant transmission unit 41 can be different, resulting in different phase shift amounts for each dual-resonant transmission unit 41.

[0068] Please continue reading Figure 1 The dual resonant transmission unit 41 also includes a first connecting line 413 and a second connecting line 414. The first connecting line 413 is connected between the outer ring 412b and another dual resonant transmission unit 41, and the second connecting line 414 is connected between the outer ring 412b and the central ring 411. The straight line formed by the intersection of the first connecting line 413, the second connecting line 414 and the outer ring 412b passes through the center of the resonant ring 412.

[0069] An opening K of the outer ring 412b is provided at at least one of the two intersection points of the first connecting line 413 and the second connecting line 414 with the outer ring 412b.

[0070] The widths of the first connecting line 413 and the second connecting line 414 can be determined based on a 50-ohm conductor.

[0071] Please continue reading Figure 1 The side length L1 of the outer ring 412b ranges from 1 / 15 to 1 / 10 of the dielectric wavelength, the line width W1 of the outer ring 412b ranges from 1 / 60 to 1 / 50 of the dielectric wavelength, the opening size g of the outer ring 412b and the inner ring 412a ranges from 1 / 60 to 1 / 50 of the dielectric wavelength, and the spacing d between the outer ring 412b and the inner ring 412a ranges from 1 / 40 to 1 / 30 of the dielectric wavelength.

[0072] The side length L2 of the central ring 411 ranges from 1 / 10 to 1 / 5 of the dielectric wavelength, and the linewidth W2 of the central ring 411 ranges from 1 / 60 to 1 / 50 of the dielectric wavelength. The spacing L3 between the resonant ring 412 and the central ring 411 ranges from 1 / 5 to 1 / 4 of the dielectric wavelength. The periodic spacing P between the dual resonant transmission units 41 ranges from 1 / 2 of the dielectric wavelength.

[0073] The performance of the phase shifter can be optimized by adjusting the size of the center ring 411.

[0074] Please continue reading Figure 1 , and see Figure 3 and Figure 4This is a top view of a transmission line provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b are polygons of the same shape; the opening K is located on the side of the polygon.

[0075] like Figure 1 As shown, the connecting part 412c connects between a pair of adjacent parallel sides of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b, and there is no opening K on either of the pair of parallel sides;

[0076] Or, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 The connecting part 412c shown connects between a pair of adjacent vertices of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b.

[0077] Polygons can be triangles, rectangles, squares, regular pentagons, regular hexagons (e.g.) Figure 4 (as shown), etc., with no specific limitations. By setting the inner ring 412a and outer ring 412b of the resonant ring 412 as regular hexagons, the size of the resonant ring 412 can be reduced, thereby improving the miniaturization of the phase shifter and also increasing the operating bandwidth.

[0078] In the embodiments provided by the present invention, the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b are polygons of the same shape; by setting the opening K on the edge of the polygon and connecting the connecting part 412c between a pair of adjacent vertices of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b, the resonance intensity of the resonant ring 412 can be further improved.

[0079] Please see Figure 5 This is a top view of another transmission line provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b can also be concentric rings, and the connecting part 412c is connected between the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b, and is located at the non-opening K position of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b.

[0080] Please see Figures 6-8 This is a schematic diagram of a resonant ring provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0081] Both the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b have an opening K, and the opening K of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b have different directions;

[0082] The extension line connecting the opening K of the inner ring 412a and the opening K of the outer ring 412b divides the resonant ring 412 into two parts, and at least one of the two parts is provided with at least one connecting part 412c.

[0083] like Figure 6 and Figure 8As shown, both the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b have an opening K. The direction of the opening K of the outer ring 412b is the same as the first direction X, and the direction of the opening K of the inner ring 412a is the same as the second direction Y. The first direction X and the second direction Y intersect. The extension line AB of the straight line connecting the opening K of the inner ring 412a and the opening K of the outer ring 412b divides the resonant ring 412 into a first part and a second part.

[0084] like Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the outer ring 412b and the inner ring 412a can be connected by a connecting part 412c, which connects the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b in the first part of the resonant ring 412.

[0085] like Figure 8 As shown, the outer ring 412b and the inner ring 412a can also be connected by two connecting parts 412c, which connect the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b in the first part and the second part of the resonant ring 412, respectively.

[0086] Of course, more connecting parts 412c can be provided in the resonant ring 412, and the specific number is not limited here.

[0087] When designing the resonant ring 412, the resonant frequency of the resonant ring 412 can be changed by setting the opening K directions of the outer ring 412b and the inner ring 412a to be different. Furthermore, the resonant intensity of the resonant ring 412 can be improved by setting at least one connecting part 412c in at least one of the two parts divided by the extension line AB of the straight line connecting the opening K of the inner ring 412a and the opening K of the outer ring 412b.

[0088] Please see Figure 9 and Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another resonant ring structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The opening direction K of the inner ring 412a is opposite to the opening direction K of the outer ring 412b, and the extension line AB passes through the center of the resonant ring 412.

[0089] like Figure 9 As shown, the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b are squares, and the extension line AB passes through the center of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b.

[0090] like Figure 10 The inner ring 412a and outer ring 412b shown are circular, and the extension line AB passes through the center of the inner ring 412a and outer ring 412b.

[0091] In the embodiments provided by the present invention, by setting the opening direction K of the inner ring 412a and the opening direction K of the outer ring 412b to be opposite, and making the extension line AB of the straight line connecting the opening K of the inner ring 412a and the opening K of the outer ring 412b pass through the center of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b, a complementary open-ring resonant ring 412 can be formed, thereby improving the resonance intensity of the complementary open-ring resonant ring 412.

[0092] Please see Figure 11 This is a top view of another dual-resonant transmission unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0093] Both the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b have multiple openings K; the multiple openings K divide the inner ring 412a or the outer ring 412b into multiple line segments;

[0094] The connecting part 412c connects two adjacent line segments of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b.

[0095] like Figure 11 As shown, two openings K are provided on the inner ring 412a, which divide the inner ring 412a into two line segments (denoted as 412a1 and 412a2); two openings K are also provided on the outer ring 412b, which also divide the outer ring 412b into two line segments (denoted as 412b1 and 412b2); the connecting part 412c connects the two adjacent line segments of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b, and is located in the area where the two line segments are opposite each other. In this way, the connecting part 412c can be set at the non-opening K position of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b.

[0096] like Figure 11 As shown, the two intersection points of the first connecting line 413 and the second connecting line 414 with the outer ring 412b are located on the two openings K of the outer ring 412b, respectively.

[0097] By providing multiple openings K on both the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b, and dividing the inner ring 412a into multiple segments by the multiple openings K on the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b into multiple segments by the multiple openings K on the outer ring 412b, and connecting the connecting part 412c between two adjacent segments of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b, the resonance intensity of the resonant ring 412 can be changed without changing the size of the resonant ring 412, thereby adapting to different resonance intensity requirements.

[0098] Please see Figure 12 This is a top view of another dual-resonant transmission unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The number of the plurality of openings K is even.

[0099] A pair of openings K on the inner ring 412a are located on the first straight line CC', and a pair of openings K on the outer ring 412b are located on the second straight line DD'; the first straight line CC' intersects the second straight line DD'.

[0100] In some embodiments, the first straight line CC' and the second straight line DD' may intersect perpendicularly.

[0101] Please see Figure 13 This is a top view of another dual-resonant transmission unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0102] Both the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b have two openings K;

[0103] The inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b are circular in shape, and the first straight line coincides with the second straight line.

[0104] In the embodiments provided by the present invention, by having two openings K on both the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b, and by ensuring that all openings K on the inner ring and the outer ring 412a are on the same straight line, the manufacturing difficulty can be reduced while increasing the resonance strength of the cover plate resonant ring 412.

[0105] like Figures 1-4 As shown, the shape of the central ring 411 can be a polygon with the same shape as the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b;

[0106] like Figure 5 As shown, the shape of the central ring 411 can be the same as the shapes of the inner ring 412a and the outer ring 412b, which are circular.

[0107] Of course, the shape of the central ring 411 may also be different from the shape of the outer ring 412b and the inner ring 412a, and there are no specific restrictions.

[0108] like Figure 13 As shown, the intersection of the first connecting line 413 and the second connecting line 414 with the outer ring 412b and the intersection of the connecting part 412c with the outer ring 412b coincide.

[0109] Please see Figure 14 A cross-sectional view of a phase shifter provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The phase shifter further includes:

[0110] First substrate 1;

[0111] The common electrode 2 is located on one side of the first substrate 1;

[0112] The tunable dielectric layer 3 is located on the side of the common electrode 2 layer away from the first substrate 1. The tunable dielectric layer 3 is configured to change the dielectric constant of the tunable dielectric layer 3 according to the change of the voltage difference applied to the tunable dielectric layer 3. The transmission line layer 4 is located on the side of the tunable dielectric layer 3 away from the first substrate 1. The voltage difference is the DC voltage difference between the double-opening resonant ring 412 and the common electrode 2.

[0113] The second substrate 5 is located on the side of the transmission line layer 4 away from the first substrate 1.

[0114] In some embodiments, the tunable dielectric layer 3 can be a liquid crystal layer or a graphene layer. Taking the tunable dielectric layer 3 as a liquid crystal layer as an example, when a low-frequency voltage is applied to the transmission line layer 4 and the common electrode 2, creating a low-frequency voltage difference between them, an electromagnetic field perpendicular to the resonant ring 412 is formed between the resonant ring 412 and the common electrode 2 layer. This causes the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer to deflect, thereby changing the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer. The resonant ring 412, the common electrode 2, and the liquid crystal layer are equivalent to a capacitor connected in parallel with the resonant ring 412. Since the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer changes, the capacitance value of the capacitor formed by the resonant ring 412, the liquid crystal layer, and the common electrode 2 layer also changes. This changes the equivalent capacitance value in the equivalent LC circuit of the resonant ring 412, allowing the phase shift of the resonant ring 412 to be changed by altering the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer, thus making the phase shift range of the phase shifter adjustable.

[0115] In some embodiments, the liquid crystal layer can be made of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), which can improve the response time of the phase shifter.

[0116] In other embodiments, the thickness of the liquid crystal layer can be 8.6 μm, which can improve the coupling strength of the capacitor formed by the resonant ring 412, the liquid crystal layer, and the common electrode 2 layer.

[0117] In some embodiments, the transmission line layer 4 and the common electrode layer 2 may be made of a metal material with a resistance less than a preset resistance value (i.e., low resistance) and a loss less than a preset loss (i.e., low loss); the thickness of the metal material is greater than the skin depth.

[0118]

[0119] Where δ is the skin depth, ω is the angular frequency, μ is the magnetic permeability of the metal, and γ is the electrical conductivity of the metal.

[0120] The transmission line layer 4 and the common electrode layer 2 can be fabricated using methods such as magnetron sputtering, thermal evaporation, and electroplating.

[0121] For example, the metal material is copper, and the thickness of copper is 2 μm. It can be prepared by magnetron sputtering, thermal evaporation, or electroplating.

[0122] In some embodiments, the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 5 can be commonly used printed circuit board (PCB) insulating materials, such as polytetrafluoroethylene glass fiber laminate, phenolic paper laminate, phenolic glass cloth laminate, etc.; they can also be rigid materials with low microwave loss, such as quartz, glass, etc.; or they can be flexible materials.

[0123] When fabricating a phase shifter with the above structure, taking the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 5 as both being glass and the tunable dielectric layer 3 as a liquid crystal layer as an example, the process flow adopted is as follows: glass blanking - glass chemical cleaning - ITO sputtering - glass metal coating (glass layer) - glass metal exposure (glass layer) - metal pattern detection and measurement - glass alignment - glass pressing - liquid crystal filling - cutting - dimensional measurement.

[0124] Assuming that transmission line layer 4 in the liquid crystal phase shifter contains 20 serially connected elements, such as... Figure 2 The dual resonant transmission unit 41 shown is obtained through simulation of this liquid crystal phase shifter. Figure 15 The reflection coefficient diagram shown is as follows: Figure 16 The phase shift diagram shown is as follows: Figure 17 The transmission coefficient diagram is shown below. Among them, Figures 15-17 In the diagram, DK1 represents that no low-frequency voltage (also known as bias voltage) is applied to the transmission line layer 4 and the common electrode 2, so that the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer do not deflect and the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer does not change; DK2 represents that a low-frequency power supply is applied to the transmission line layer 4 and the common electrode 2, so that the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer deflect and the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer changes.

[0125] from Figure 15 As can be seen, within the operating frequency band of 11GHz-13GHz, the reflection coefficient is less than -10dB under different liquid crystal states, which proves that the liquid crystal phase shifter has a good impedance effect in this frequency band.

[0126] from Figure 16 It can be seen that within the above-mentioned operating frequency band, the phase shift of the liquid crystal phase shifter is greater than 360°, thus proving that when multiple dual resonant transmission units 41 are connected in series, the liquid crystal phase shifter has a wide phase shift range.

[0127] The transmission coefficient S21 of the liquid crystal phase shifter under different liquid crystal states is as follows: Figure 17 As shown, from Figure 17 As can be seen, at the center frequency of 12GHz, the maximum transmission coefficient of the liquid crystal phase shifter is -3.5dB. Figure 16The given phase shift of the liquid crystal phase shifter at 12GHz is 410°, from which the quality factor (the ratio of phase shift to transmission coefficient) of the liquid crystal phase shifter can be derived as 110° / dB.

[0128] Therefore, the phase shifter provided in this embodiment of the invention has the advantages of low loss, high miniaturization, and high reliability.

[0129] Based on the same inventive concept, please refer to Figure 18 This is a schematic diagram of an antenna structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The antenna includes:

[0130] Antenna element 100;

[0131] The power supply network 200 includes a phase shifter as described above, and provides a power supply signal to the antenna element 100.

[0132] The antenna may include one antenna element 100 or multiple antenna elements 100 arranged in an array. The number of antenna elements 100 included in the antenna is not limited.

[0133] The antennas described above can be used in mobile phones and base stations.

[0134] Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, those skilled in the art, upon learning the basic inventive concept, can make other changes and modifications to these embodiments. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including both the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications falling within the scope of the invention.

[0135] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this invention without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, if these modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this invention and their equivalents, this invention also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A phase shifter, characterized in that, include: The transmission line layer has at least one dual resonant transmission unit; The dual-resonance transmission unit includes a central ring and at least two resonant rings, the at least two resonant rings being symmetrically arranged about the central ring and connected to the central ring; each resonant ring includes an inner ring and an outer ring arranged concentrically, and at least one connecting portion, the inner ring and the outer ring having the same number of openings, and the connecting portion connecting to the non-opening positions of the inner ring and the outer ring.

2. The phase shifter as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Both the inner ring and the outer ring have an opening, and the opening directions of the inner ring and the outer ring are different; The resonant ring is divided into two parts by an extension line connecting the opening of the inner ring and the opening of the outer ring, and at least one of the two parts is provided with at least one of the connecting portions.

3. The phase shifter as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The opening direction of the inner ring is opposite to that of the outer ring, and the extension line passes through the center of the resonant ring.

4. The phase shifter as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Both the inner ring and the outer ring have multiple openings; the multiple openings divide the inner ring or the outer ring into multiple line segments; The connecting part connects two adjacent line segments of the inner ring and the outer ring.

5. The phase shifter as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The number of the plurality of openings is even; The pair of openings on the inner ring are located on a first straight line, and the pair of openings on the outer ring are located on a second straight line; the first straight line intersects the second straight line.

6. The phase shifter as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The number of the plurality of openings is 2; The inner ring and the outer ring are circular in shape, and the first straight line coincides with the second straight line.

7. The phase shifter according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The inner ring and the outer ring are polygons of the same shape; the opening is located on the side of the polygon; The connecting part is connected between a pair of adjacent parallel sides of the inner ring and the outer ring, and there are no openings on either of the pair of parallel sides; Alternatively, the connecting portion is connected between a pair of adjacent vertices of the inner ring and the outer ring.

8. The phase shifter according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The dual-resonant transmission unit further includes a first connecting line and a second connecting line. The first connecting line is connected between the outer ring and another dual-resonant transmission unit, and the second connecting line is connected between the outer ring and the central ring. The straight line formed by the intersections of the first connecting line and the second connecting line with the outer ring passes through the center of the resonant ring. An opening in the outer ring is provided at at least one of the two intersection points of the first connecting line and the second connecting line with the outer ring; Alternatively, the intersections of the first connecting line and the second connecting line with the outer ring and the intersection of the connecting portion with the outer ring coincide.

9. The phase shifter according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The shape of the central ring is the same as that of the inner ring and the outer ring.

10. The phase shifter according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The spacing between two adjacent dual-resonant transmission units is 1 / 2 of the dielectric wavelength; The center distance between the central ring and the double-opening resonant ring ranges from 1 / 5 to 1 / 4 of the dielectric wavelength.

11. The phase shifter according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The opening widths of the inner ring and the outer ring range from 1 / 60 to 1 / 50 of the dielectric wavelength; The spacing between the inner ring and the outer ring is 1 / 40 to 1 / 30 of the dielectric wavelength; The linewidth of the inner ring and the linewidth of the outer ring are both in the range of 1 / 60 to 1 / 50 of the dielectric wavelength.

12. The phase shifter according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The transmission line layer and the common electrode layer are made of metal materials with resistance less than a preset resistance value and loss less than a preset loss. The thickness of the metallic material is greater than the skin depth.

13. The phase shifter according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, Also includes: First substrate; The common electrode is located on one side of the first substrate. An adjustable dielectric layer is located on the side of the common electrode layer away from the first substrate. The adjustable dielectric layer is configured to change its dielectric constant according to a change in the voltage difference applied to it. The transmission line layer is located on the side of the adjustable dielectric layer away from the first substrate. The voltage difference is the DC voltage difference between the dual-opening resonant ring and the common electrode. The second substrate is located on the side of the transmission line layer away from the first substrate.

14. An antenna, characterized in that, include: Antenna unit; A feed network, wherein the feed network includes a phase shifter as described in any one of claims 1-13, the feed network providing a feed signal to the antenna element.

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