Ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased-array antenna

Abstract

The invention discloses a ferrite-loaded dual-polarization wing conformal Vivaldi ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased-array antenna, which comprises a wing carrier contour, a horizontal polarization Vivaldi conformal linear array, a vertical polarization Vivaldi conformal linear array, a vertical polarization embedded dielectric plate, a horizontal polarization embedded dielectric plate, a decoupling patch, a partitioned ferrite, a micro-strip power divider, a fixed substrate and a metal floor, according to the utility model, a conformal and embedded combined layout is adopted, dual-polarization efficient radiation is realized, and electromagnetic coupling interference between two polarization units is suppressed by slotting above horizontal polarization Vivaldi units at two sides, loading decoupling patches and adopting a cross layout; the block type ferrite is located at a specific position above the metal floor; according to the invention, the layout and the appearance of the dual-polarized Vivaldi antenna are designed to realize complete conformality, the end-on-fire gain of a wing carrier under the constraint of a limited space is remarkably improved by utilizing the characteristics of the Vivaldi antenna, and excellent performances such as ultra wide band, wide-angle scanning and low profile are realized by loading ferrite materials.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the technical field of antenna engineering, and particularly relates to a ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased array antenna. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the rapid development of wireless electronic technology, especially the increasingly stringent requirements for antenna performance in the military field, in the application scene of high-speed moving platforms (such as various aircrafts), the installation of traditional planar antennas faces severe challenges due to key factors such as aerodynamic shape design. At this time, conformal antennas can play the advantages of low profile and easy integration with platforms. Conformal layout can greatly reduce the aerodynamic resistance brought by traditional antenna layout to the platform, improve the installation capacity of the antenna and reduce the burden of the platform, and also can fully utilize the large skin space of the platform for array layout, and improve the aperture utilization efficiency of the skin. Especially, the conformal phased array antenna with excellent aerodynamic performance, ultra-wideband working characteristics and wide-angle scanning capability can achieve the optimal trade-off between the limited resources such as platform aperture size, power consumption and overall weight and the demand for advanced electromagnetic multi-function integration, so it has attracted widespread attention and in-depth research from the academic and industrial circles.

[0003] In the Chinese patent "Ferrite-loaded large-curvature wing conformal strongly coupled ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased array antenna" with the application number CN202411182964.2, by loading ferrite material, a strongly coupled conformal element with extremely low profile is obtained, realizing an ultra-wideband wing conformal antenna array that can work in a 7-octave range, but it only has single-polarized (vertical polarization) radiation capability, the application scene is limited, and the vertical polarization gain still has room for improvement. In the Chinese patent "Thin wing conformal dual-polarized strongly coupled ultra-wideband dipole phased array" with the application number CN202010897195.X, although a dual-polarized wing conformal ultra-wideband phased array is realized, which is suitable for application platforms requiring dual-polarization, ultra-wideband and conformal, but since the conformal element used is a side-shooting strongly coupled element, the maximum gain direction of the conformal antenna array formed thereby deviates from the wing tip, making it difficult to be used in actual airborne platforms.

[0004] The above patents have their own characteristics in wing conformal design, but still cannot meet the all-round challenges of antenna bandwidth, scanning range, gain and other factors in actual engineering applications. Therefore, it is of great engineering significance to research wing conformal antenna arrays to obtain higher performance antenna technical indicators such as high gain, ultra-wideband, dual polarization and large-curvature conformal. SUMMARY

[0005] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased array antenna provided by the application solves the technical bottleneck problems of narrow antenna bandwidth, low end-fire direction gain and support for only a single polarization mode in the existing wing conformal phased array antenna, significantly improves the operating bandwidth and end-fire gain of the antenna system, and realizes dual-polarized efficient radiation.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned application purposes, the technical scheme adopted by the application is as follows: the ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased array antenna comprises a wing carrier contour, a horizontal polarization Vivaldi conformal linear array, a vertical polarization Vivaldi conformal linear array, a vertical polarization embedded dielectric plate, a horizontal polarization embedded dielectric plate, a decoupling patch, a block-type ferrite, a microstrip power divider, a fixed substrate and a metal floor; the wing carrier contour is bent into the shape of a wing by an extremely thin dielectric.

[0007] Further, the unit of the vertical polarization Vivaldi conformal linear array is composed of a three-unit vertical polarization Vivaldi subarray, which realizes an ultra-wide operating bandwidth, wherein the two side Vivaldi units are conformally integrated with the wing carrier contour, the three-unit Vivaldi subarray is printed on a vertical polarization embedded dielectric plate, and is inserted into the inside of the wing carrier contour.

[0008] Further, the unit of the horizontal polarization Vivaldi conformal linear array is composed of a three-unit horizontal polarization Vivaldi subarray, which realizes an ultra-wide operating bandwidth, wherein the two side Vivaldi units are conformally printed on the upper surface of a dielectric substrate simulating the shape of the wing carrier, and are etched with slots above to reduce the influence on the vertical polarization Vivaldi conformal unit; the middle Vivaldi unit is printed on the surface of a horizontal polarization embedded dielectric plate, and is then inserted into the inside of the wing carrier contour, and presents a cross layout with the vertical polarization Vivaldi conformal unit, fully utilizes the space of the wing carrier contour, and realizes dual-polarized efficient radiation.

[0009] Further, the decoupling patch is conformally printed on the lower surface of the dielectric substrate simulating the shape of the wing carrier, and suppresses the electromagnetic coupling interference between the vertical polarization and horizontal polarization units.

[0010] Further, the block-type ferrite is composed of four special design and symmetrically distributed ferrite blocks, is located at a specific position above the metal floor, and the combined structure not only avoids the dielectric substrate inserted into the inside of the wing carrier contour, but also greatly reduces the profile height of the Vivaldi antenna and expands the operating bandwidth thereof.

[0011] Further, the metal floor is located at the lowest part of the whole wing carrier profile; the fixed base plate is located above the metal floor and is provided with mounting grooves, and the horizontally polarized embedded dielectric plate and the vertically polarized embedded dielectric plate are fixed in the mounting grooves.

[0012] Further, the microstrip power divider is composed of a one-to-three power divider connected with the vertically polarized units and a one-to-three power divider connected with the horizontally polarized units and printed on the fixed base plate, so that there is only one input port for the horizontally polarized and vertically polarized conformal antenna units, the processing cost is reduced, and the antenna volume is reduced; in addition, the space of the wing carrier is fully utilized through reasonable layout and wiring.

[0013] To sum up, the iron-ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased array antenna provided by the application has the following advantages: first, the Vivaldi antenna itself is used as a coupled feed line wave antenna, that is, the feed part is at the bottom of the antenna with a relatively wide space, which avoids the use of a balun at the wing tip, solves the problem that the space for arranging the units near the front of the wing is extremely compressed, and greatly simplifies the processing complexity; second, the dual-polarized conformal Vivaldi antenna array is realized by combining the layout of conformal and embedded, and the electromagnetic coupling interference between the vertically polarized and horizontally polarized units is suppressed by slotting, loading decoupling patches and adopting a cross layout on the horizontally polarized Vivaldi units on both sides; third, the symmetrically distributed block-type iron-ferrite is loaded at a specific position above the metal floor, which greatly expands the working bandwidth of the conformal antenna unit and reduces its profile height by using the high magnetic permeability and high dielectric constant characteristics of the iron-ferrite; through reasonable layout and wiring, a one-to-three power divider connected with the vertically polarized and horizontally polarized units is designed, so that each polarization unit has only one input port, which reduces the cost and simplifies the antenna structure. The above measures enable the wing conformal antenna to simultaneously realize the requirements of ultra-wideband, dual polarization and wide scanning angle, significantly improve the end-fire gain under the constraint of the limited space of the wing carrier, and have high engineering application value. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 The iron-ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased array antenna provided by the application is shown in the structure diagram.

[0015] Figure 2 The horizontally polarized three-unit Vivaldi subarray in the embodiment provided by the application is shown in the diagram.

[0016] Figure 3 The vertically polarized three-unit Vivaldi subarray in the embodiment provided by the application is shown in the diagram.

[0017] Figure 4 The embedded dielectric substrate of two polarization units in the embodiment provided by the present application is shown to illustrate the cross layout.

[0018] Figure 5 The schematic diagram of the block type ferrite and the fixed substrate in the embodiment provided by the present application is shown.

[0019] Figure 6 The schematic diagram of the microstrip power divider in the embodiment provided by the present application is shown.

[0020] Figure 7 The voltage standing wave ratio of the full-band dual-polarized port when the unit azimuth plane (XOZ plane) is scanned from 0 to 60 degrees in the embodiment provided by the present application is shown. Figure 1 The main polarization gain and cross-polarization gain when the vertical polarization unit is side-fired are shown.

[0021] Figure 8 The main polarization gain and cross-polarization gain when the horizontal polarization unit is side-fired are shown. Figure 1 The comparison between the main polarization gain and cross-polarization gain when the vertical polarization unit is side-fired and the theoretical gain is shown.

[0022] Figure 9 The comparison between the main polarization gain and cross-polarization gain when the horizontal polarization unit is side-fired and the theoretical gain is shown. Figure 1

[0023] Figure 10 The azimuth plane scanning gain pattern and cross-polarization of the vertical polarization array after the unit is composed into a 1x18 linear array at 0.3 GHz, 1.5 GHz and 3 GHz are shown. Figure 1

[0024] The azimuth plane scanning gain pattern and cross-polarization of the horizontal polarization array after the unit is composed into a 1x18 linear array at 0.3 GHz, 1.5 GHz and 3 GHz are shown. Figure 11 Figure 1

[0025] ​​​Wherein: 1, wing carrier profile; 2, horizontally polarized Vivaldi conformal linear array; 201, horizontally polarized Vivaldi conformal units on both sides; 202, horizontally polarized Vivaldi units in the middle; 203, slots of horizontally polarized Vivaldi conformal units on both sides; 3, vertically polarized Vivaldi conformal linear array; 301, vertically polarized Vivaldi conformal units on both sides; 302, vertically polarized Vivaldi units in the middle; 4, vertically polarized embedded dielectric plate; 401, vertically polarized embedded dielectric plate slot; 5, horizontally polarized embedded dielectric plate; 501, horizontally polarized embedded dielectric plate groove; 6, decoupling patch; 7, block type ferrite; 701-704, ferrite blocks; 8, microstrip power divider; 801, vertical one-to-three power divider; 802, horizontal one-to-three power divider; 9, fixed substrate; 901, mounting groove; 10, metal floor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The specific embodiments of the present application are described below to facilitate the understanding of the present application for those skilled in the art, but it should be clear that the present application is not limited to the scope of the specific embodiments, and for those skilled in the art, it is obvious that various changes are within the spirit and scope of the present application defined and determined by the appended claims, and all the inventions utilizing the concept of the present application are within the scope of protection.

[0027] As shown in Figure 1 A ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased array antenna unit, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a wing carrier profile 1, a horizontally polarized Vivaldi conformal linear array 2, a vertically polarized Vivaldi conformal linear array 3, a vertically polarized embedded dielectric plate 4, a horizontally polarized embedded dielectric plate 5, a decoupling patch 6, a block type ferrite 7, a microstrip power divider 8, a fixed substrate 9, and a metal floor 10; wherein the lower surface of the fixed substrate 9 is electrically connected to the metal floor 10 located at the lowest part of the overall structure of the antenna through a conductive adhesive film; the block type ferrite 7 is located at a specific position above the metal floor 10; the wing carrier profile 1 is formed by bending a Rogers 5880 type substrate material with a thickness of only 0.254 mm and a relative dielectric constant of 2.2, which constitutes a conformal carrier.

[0028] As shown in Figure 2As shown, the unit of the horizontal polarization Vivaldi conformal array 2 is composed of a three-unit Vivaldi subarray, including two horizontal polarization Vivaldi conformal units 201 on both sides and a horizontal polarization Vivaldi unit 202 in the middle, wherein the two horizontal polarization Vivaldi conformal units 201 on both sides are completely conformal printed on the upper surface of the wing carrier profile 1, and are etched with slots 203 above to reduce the shielding interference when radiating the vertical polarization unit, and the horizontal polarization Vivaldi unit 202 in the middle is printed on the surface of the horizontal polarization embedded dielectric plate 5; the horizontal polarization embedded dielectric plate 5 is a Rogers 5880 model substrate material with a relative dielectric constant of 2.2; the decoupling patch 6 is completely conformal printed on the lower surface of the wing carrier profile 1, which reduces the electromagnetic coupling interference between the two polarization units and ensures the normal operation of the unit.

[0029] As shown in Figure 3 , the unit of the vertical polarization Vivaldi conformal array 3 is composed of a three-unit Vivaldi subarray, including two vertical polarization Vivaldi conformal units 301 on both sides and a vertical polarization Vivaldi unit 302 in the middle, which are printed together on the surface of the vertical polarization embedded dielectric plate 4; the vertical polarization embedded dielectric plate 4 is a Rogers 5880 model substrate material with a relative dielectric constant of 2.2.

[0030] As shown in Figure 4 , the vertical polarization embedded dielectric plate 4 is provided with a slot 401, which is inserted into the corresponding groove 501 on the horizontal polarization embedded dielectric plate 5, forming a cross-shaped intersection, so that after the Vivaldi unit is printed, the two polarization units can work normally.

[0031] As shown in Figure 5 , the fixed substrate 9 is a Rogers 5880 model substrate material with a relative dielectric constant of 2.2, which is provided with a mounting groove 901, so that the inserted vertical polarization embedded dielectric plate 4 and the horizontal polarization embedded dielectric plate 5 are accurately positioned and the structure is stable; the block type ferrite 7 is composed of four symmetrically distributed ferrite blocks 701-704, which avoids the mounting groove 901 and ensures that the ferrite blocks do not contact the dielectric plate, thereby greatly reducing the profile height of the Vivaldi unit and expanding its working bandwidth.

[0032] As shown in Figure 6As shown, the microstrip power divider 8 is composed of a vertical one-in-three power divider 801 and a horizontal one-in-three power divider 802, printed on the upper surface of a fixed substrate 9, the input port of the power divider is subsequently welded with a coaxial connector, and the output port is welded with three Vivaldi subarray units of corresponding polarization, so as to realize impedance conversion and equal-amplitude and in-phase energy distribution, and finally, each of the two polarized antenna units has only one input port, thereby reducing the cost and simplifying the antenna structure.

[0033] It should be noted that if the high-frequency element array element spacing is equal to the half wavelength of the highest working frequency, no grating lobes will be generated at any angle (except ±90 degrees) in the entire working frequency band. In order to achieve greater gain as much as possible under the condition of ensuring the performance of the antenna without reducing the antenna radiation aperture, the width of the wing carrier contour in the present application is 0.5 times the wavelength at the highest frequency of the corresponding frequency band.

[0034] Figure 7 The active standing wave characteristics of the vertical polarization port and the horizontal polarization port in the 0-60 degree scanning state in the azimuth plane (XOZ plane) of the present embodiment are given, and it can be seen from the figure that under the condition that the standing wave ratio is required to be less than 3.0, the ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased array antenna unit has an impedance bandwidth of 10:1 for both polarizations within the 60-degree scanning range.

[0035] Figure 8 The main polarization and cross-polarization gain corresponding to all frequencies when the vertical polarization unit works in the broadside state of the present embodiment are given, and the theoretical gain calculated by taking the +Z direction projection area as a reference is given as a comparison, and it can be seen from the figure that the cross-polarization performance is below-25dB within the entire working frequency band, the actual gain value and the theoretical gain value differ by an average of 2dB, and the broadside gain is high.

[0036] Figure 9 The main polarization and cross-polarization gain corresponding to all frequencies when the horizontal polarization unit works in the broadside state of the present embodiment are given, and the theoretical gain calculated by taking the +Z direction projection area as a reference is given as a comparison, and it can be seen from the figure that the cross-polarization performance is below-25dB within the entire working frequency band, the actual gain value and the theoretical gain value differ by an average of 2dB, and the broadside gain is high.

[0037] Figure 10A 1x18 linear array is formed by the ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased array antenna unit provided in the embodiment, and the azimuth plane scanning gain pattern and cross polarization of the vertical polarization array at 0.3 GHz, 1.5 GHz and 3 GHz are given. As can be seen from the figure, the phased array antenna has a cross polarization of more than 20 dB, and the array beam is correctly pointed, and the main-to-side lobe ratio can reach more than 10 dB.

[0038] Figure 11 A 1x18 linear array is formed by the ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultra-wideband one-dimensional phased array antenna unit provided in the embodiment, and the azimuth plane scanning gain pattern and cross polarization of the horizontal polarization array at 0.3 GHz, 1.5 GHz and 3 GHz are given. As can be seen from the figure, the phased array antenna has a cross polarization of more than 20 dB, and the array beam is correctly pointed, and the main-to-side lobe ratio can reach more than 10 dB.

Claims

1. A ferrite-loaded, dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultrawideband one-dimensional phased array antenna, characterized in that, The array includes a wing carrier profile (1), a horizontally polarized Vivaldi conformal linear array (2), a vertically polarized Vivaldi conformal linear array (3), a vertically polarized embedded dielectric plate (4), a horizontally polarized embedded dielectric plate (5), a decoupling patch (6), a segmented ferrite (7), a microstrip power divider (8), a fixed substrate (9), and a metal floor (10). The horizontally polarized Vivaldi conformal linear array (2) is composed of a three-unit horizontally polarized Vivaldi subarray, including two Vivaldi units (201) conformally printed on the upper surface of the dielectric plate shaped like the wing carrier profile (1) and a middle Vivaldi unit (202) printed on the surface of the horizontally polarized embedded dielectric plate (5). The vertically polarized... The unit of the Vivaldi conformal linear array (3) consists of a three-unit vertically polarized Vivaldi subarray printed on the surface of the vertically polarized embedded dielectric plate (4), including two vertically polarized Vivaldi conformal units (301) on both sides and a middle vertically polarized Vivaldi unit (302). The vertically polarized embedded dielectric plate (4) has a slot (401) that is inserted into the corresponding groove (501) on the horizontally polarized embedded dielectric plate (5) in a cross shape. It is located inside the wing carrier outline (1) to ensure that the units of the two polarizations work normally. The fixed substrate (9) has a mounting groove (901) on it, so that the inserted vertically polarized embedded dielectric plate (4) and horizontally polarized embedded dielectric plate (5) are accurately positioned and the structure is stable.

2. The ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultrawideband one-dimensional phased array antenna according to claim 1, further characterized in that, The horizontally polarized Vivaldi conformal linear array (2) has slots (203) etched on the upper sides of the two Vivaldi units (201) to reduce the shading interference when the vertically polarized unit radiates. The decoupling patch (6) is completely conformally printed on the lower surface of the medium plate in the shape of the wing carrier profile (1) to eliminate the coupling interference between the two polarization units.

3. The ferrite-loaded dual-polarized wing conformal Vivaldi ultrawideband one-dimensional phased array antenna according to claim 1, further characterized in that, The segmented ferrite (7) is located at a specific position at the bottom of the horizontally polarized Vivaldi conformal linear array (2) and the vertically polarized Vivaldi conformal linear array (3), and is parallel to the metal floor (10). It consists of four specially designed ferrite blocks (701-704) that are centrally symmetrically distributed, and avoids the vertically polarized embedded dielectric plate (4) and the horizontally polarized embedded dielectric plate (5) in order to expand the antenna operating bandwidth and reduce the profile height.

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