Folding reflection type high-power electromagnetic metasurface system
By designing a folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system, the problems of high profile, low power capacity, and difficult phase control of microwave and millimeter-wave antennas were solved, achieving the effects of low profile, high power capacity, and real-time phase control, and simplifying the design and manufacturing process.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SOUTHEAST UNIV
- Filing Date
- 2026-03-09
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-08
AI Technical Summary
Existing microwave and millimeter-wave antennas suffer from problems such as high profile, low power capacity, and difficulty in phase modulation, and their performance is particularly poor when faced with high-power feeds.
A folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system is adopted, including an ultra-Gaussian feed, a transmission metasurface, and a reflection metasurface. The transmission metasurface is used for phase compensation and polarization selection, while the reflection metasurface is used for polarization conversion and phase modulation. Real-time phase modulation is achieved through controllable switching devices.
It achieves low profile, high power capacity, and real-time phase control capability, reduces antenna height, simplifies design and manufacturing process, and improves electromagnetic wave control capability.
Smart Images
Figure CN122000698A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention belongs to the field of microwave and millimeter-wave antenna technology, specifically relating to a high-power electromagnetic metasurface system based on a folded reflective array. Background Technology
[0002] With the rapid development of microwave wireless communication and microwave radar technologies, transmission array antennas have been widely used in wireless communication, satellite communication and tracking, automotive radar, and imaging. Over the past two decades, metamaterials and metasurfaces, as artificial periodic structures, have been widely applied to design wave propagation characteristics by enabling flexible control of electromagnetic wave propagation characteristics through the rational design of the geometric parameters of the unit structures.
[0003] However, due to the significant space between the feed and the array antenna, achieving a very low profile remains difficult for the array antenna. To address this issue, a folded transmission array antenna was designed, which reduces the overall antenna height by two-thirds, while a folded reflective array antenna can only reduce the height by half. Therefore, the folded transmission array antenna can more effectively reduce the overall antenna height, thus achieving a very low profile. Currently available transmission arrays are designed for low-power feeds; their effectiveness is significantly reduced when facing high-power feeds, which is a problem that urgently needs to be solved.
[0004] There are various methods to achieve amplitude and phase modulation, such as adding resistors / lumped elements at the cell locations or adding multilayer resonant structures. However, adding resistors / lumped elements and using multilayer resonant structures both complicate the metasurface structure, making design and fabrication difficult. Furthermore, resistors / lumped elements have a fixed size compared to cell units, making them difficult to adjust. Multilayer resonant structures generally have a narrow operating bandwidth, making it difficult to achieve broadband modulation of electromagnetic waves.
[0005] Therefore, developing a folded reflective electromagnetic metasurface system with low profile, high power capacity, and real-time phase control capability is of great significance for promoting the development of microwave and millimeter-wave antenna technology. Summary of the Invention
[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a high-power electromagnetic metasurface system based on a folded reflective array, so as to solve the technical problems of high antenna profile, low power capacity and difficult phase control in the prior art.
[0007] To solve the above technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:
[0008] This invention proposes a folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system, comprising: a super-Gaussian feed source for providing high-power electromagnetic wave signals; a transmissive metasurface, which is a passive metasurface transmission array comprising multiple periodically arranged transmission elements, the spacing between the transmission elements being 0.4 to 0.6 times the operating wavelength, the transmissive metasurface being used for phase compensation and polarization selection of incident electromagnetic waves in a first polarization direction, and for high-transmittance transmission of incident electromagnetic waves in a second polarization direction; and a reflective metasurface, which is an tunable metasurface reflection array comprising multiple periodically arranged reflection elements, the spacing between the reflection elements being 0.4 to 0.6 times the operating wavelength, the reflective metasurface being used to convert electromagnetic waves in the first polarization direction to the second polarization direction and perform phase modulation; wherein, the super-Gaussian feed source is embedded in the central region of the reflective metasurface, the transmissive metasurface and the reflective metasurface are arranged parallel to each other to form a folded optical path, and the first polarization direction and the second polarization direction are orthogonal to each other.
[0009] Preferably, the transmission unit of the transmissive metasurface includes a multilayer metal pattern layer and a dielectric substrate layer. The metal pattern layer includes at least one of a Jerusalem cross structure, a square ring structure, or an I-type structure. Phase modulation from 0° to 360° can be achieved by changing the geometric dimensions of the metal pattern layer.
[0010] Preferably, the transmission unit achieves phase coverage of 180° to 360° through a structural mirroring method, wherein the mirroring method is to flip the original structure 180° along the central axis.
[0011] Preferably, the reflective unit of the reflective metasurface includes a metal patch layer, a dielectric substrate layer, and a metal ground layer. The metal patch layer and the metal ground layer are connected by a controllable switching device, and 1-bit phase modulation is achieved by controlling the on / off state of the controllable switching device.
[0012] Preferably, the controllable switching device is a PIN diode or a MEMS switch, and the power handling capacity of the controllable switching device is not less than 100 W.
[0013] Preferably, the metal patch layer adopts a symmetrical open ring structure or a rotationally symmetrical structure to achieve a 90° polarization conversion function.
[0014] Preferably, the distance between the transmissive metasurface and the reflective metasurface is 0.3 to 1.0 times the operating wavelength.
[0015] Preferably, the power capacity of the super-Gaussian feed is not less than 1 kW, and the illumination angle range of the super-Gaussian feed is 0° to 60°.
[0016] Preferably, the operating frequency bands of the transmissive metasurface and the reflective metasurface are X-band, Ku-band, or K-band.
[0017] Preferably, the transmission coefficient of the transmissive metasurface is not less than 0.8, and the reflection coefficient of the reflective metasurface is not less than 0.9.
[0018] Preferably, the number of units in both the transmissive metasurface and the reflective metasurface is between 16×16 and 64×64.
[0019] Preferably, the system further includes a control module electrically connected to the reflective metasurface, used to send control signals to the reflective metasurface to achieve an electrical scanning function of the beam, wherein the electrical scanning angle range is ±30°. The present invention, employing the above technical solution, has the following technical advantages compared to the prior art:
[0020] This invention comprises a super-Gaussian feed, a transmissive metasurface array, and a reflective metasurface array, employing a spatial feeding method to avoid complex feed network design. The transmissive metasurface exhibits high-angle robustness of the transmitted beam, polarization selectivity, and phase modulation capabilities, achieving 360° phase coverage; amplitude modulation is achieved by altering the structural parameters of the transmissive metasurface units. The reflective metasurface possesses high-power tolerance, polarization transformation, and phase modulation capabilities, enabling real-time phase modulation; real-time phase modulation is achieved through a modulation circuit on the back of the reflective metasurface.
[0021] This invention achieves independent control of the electromagnetic wave radiation phase of each unit by changing the geometric dimensions of the unit structure, while simultaneously reducing sidelobes. Compared to traditional transmission array antennas, the folded transmission metasurface system not only reduces the profile by 2 / 3 but also has advantages such as a compact planar structure. The folded transmission metasurface system of this invention features real-time phase control, high power tolerance, low sidelobes, low profile, ease of manufacturing, and simple design. Attached Figure Description
[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the high-power electromagnetic metasurface system based on a folded reflective array according to the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0023] To better understand the purpose, structure, and function of this invention, the following detailed description of a high-power electromagnetic metasurface system based on a folded reflective array is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0024] This invention discloses a high-power electromagnetic metasurface system based on a folded reflective array, comprising a super-Gaussian feed, a transmission metasurface, and a reflection metasurface. For example... Figure 1As shown, in this invention, a high-power electromagnetic metasurface system based on a folded reflective array is provided, in which a transmitting metasurface and a reflecting metasurface are fixed parallel to each other at a certain height, forming a folded optical path. The super-Gaussian feed is embedded in the central region of the reflecting metasurface, employing a corrugated horn antenna structure, operating in the 8-12 GHz frequency band, with a power capacity of 2 kW and an illumination angle range of 0° to 45°.
[0025] The transmissive metasurface is a passive metasurface transmission array, comprising 32×32 periodically arranged transmission units. The spacing between each transmission metasurface unit is λ / 2, and the spacing between each reflection metasurface unit is λ / 2, where λ is its operating wavelength. The λ / 2 spacing is set to reduce coupling between units and avoid grating lobes at large angles. By rationally designing the configuration and size of the transmission metasurface units, independent amplitude and phase control, as well as polarization selection, can be achieved. In this embodiment, each transmission unit includes three metal pattern layers and two dielectric substrate layers. The metal pattern layers adopt a Jerusalem cross structure, and the dielectric substrate layers use Rogers RO4350B material with a dielectric constant of 3.66, a loss tangent of 0.0037, and a single-layer thickness of 1.524 mm. By changing the geometric dimensions (arm length and arm width) of the Jerusalem cross structure, phase control from 0° to 180° can be achieved. To achieve full phase coverage from 0° to 360°, this embodiment employs a structural mirroring method: by flipping the original structure 180° along the central axis, phase coverage from 180° to 360° can be achieved within the same range of dimensional changes. Test results show that at a frequency of 10 GHz, the transmission coefficient amplitude of the transmission unit is not less than 0.85, and the phase modulation range covers 0° to 360°.
[0026] The reflective metasurface is an adjustable metasurface reflective array. By rationally designing the configuration and size of the reflective metasurface unit and its back-side control circuit, 1-bit phase real-time control and 90° polarization conversion can be achieved. In this embodiment, the reflective metasurface includes 32×32 periodically arranged reflective units, with a spacing of 15mm between the reflective units. Each reflective unit includes a metal patch layer, a dielectric substrate layer, and a metal ground layer. The metal patch layer adopts a symmetrical open-ring structure, which can realize the 90° polarization conversion function (converting x-polarization to y-polarization). The metal patch layer and the metal ground layer are connected by a PIN diode. By controlling the on / off state (conducting or cutting off) of the PIN diode, the switching between 0° and 180° phase states can be achieved, i.e., 1-bit phase control. The PIN diode is a high-power type with a power rating of not less than 150 W.
[0027] The transmissive and reflective metasurface units of this invention exhibit a 180° phase change through transformation of their dimensional parameters. When mirrored, another 180° phase change is achieved within the same aperture angle variation range. The original and mirrored structures achieve phase modulation of the feed source, achieving 360° phase coverage. During this process, the amplitude value is not significantly affected, and the variation range remains acceptable. In summary, by changing the size of the metasurface unit and the mirroring principle, phase modulation can be achieved without affecting the transmission amplitude.
[0028] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment of the present invention provides a high-power electromagnetic metasurface system based on a folded reflective array. A high-power super-Gaussian feed source is used as the system's feed source. The electromagnetic wave propagation path is as follows: the x-polarized electromagnetic wave radiated by the super-Gaussian feed source propagates upwards and is completely reflected back to the reflective metasurface after reaching it; the reflective metasurface converts the x-polarized electromagnetic wave into y-polarized electromagnetic waves and reflects them back to the transmittance metasurface, while phase modulation is achieved through the control of PIN diodes; the transmittance metasurface achieves high transmittance transmission of the y-polarized electromagnetic wave, ultimately forming a directional radiation beam.
[0029] The passive transmissive metasurface array of the present invention can reflect all x-polarized electromagnetic waves. When the passive metasurface transmissive array reflects x-polarized electromagnetic waves, it compensates for their phase, so that the x-polarized electromagnetic waves are approximately plane waves.
[0030] The tunable reflective metasurface array of the present invention can convert the x-polarized electromagnetic waves reflected by the passive transmission metasurface array into y-polarized waves and reflect them back to the transmission array. Moreover, the polarization conversion and reflection process is accompanied by real-time phase modulation. The real-time phase modulation is controlled by the control circuit on the back of the reflective array, which can realize the beam scanning function with 1-bit phase modulation.
[0031] The passive transmissive metasurface array of the present invention can completely transmit y-polarized electromagnetic waves that are depolarized and reflected by the reflection array, and the beam direction remains unchanged, exhibiting high angular robustness.
[0032] Compared with traditional transmissive metasurface antennas and folded antennas, the high-power electromagnetic metasurface system based on folded reflective array of the present invention has the characteristics of real-time phase control, high power tolerance, low sidelobes, low profile, easy manufacturing, and simple design.
[0033] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "an embodiment," "example," "specific example," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.
[0034] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments and descriptions in the specification are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the claimed invention.
Claims
1. A folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system, characterized in that, include: Super-Gaussian feed source, used to provide high-power electromagnetic wave signals; A transmissive metasurface, wherein the transmissive metasurface is a passive metasurface transmissive array comprising multiple periodically arranged transmissive units, wherein the spacing between the transmissive units is 0.4 to 0.6 times the operating wavelength, the transmissive metasurface is used to perform phase compensation and polarization selection for incident electromagnetic waves in a first polarization direction, and to achieve high transmittance transmission for incident electromagnetic waves in a second polarization direction. A reflective metasurface, wherein the reflective metasurface is an adjustable metasurface reflective array comprising a plurality of periodically arranged reflective elements, wherein the spacing between the reflective elements is 0.4 to 0.6 times the operating wavelength, and the reflective metasurface is used to convert electromagnetic waves in the first polarization direction into the second polarization direction and to perform phase modulation. The super-Gaussian feed is embedded in the central region of the reflective metasurface, and the transmissive metasurface is arranged parallel to and opposite to the reflective metasurface to form a folded optical path. The first polarization direction and the second polarization direction are orthogonal to each other.
2. The folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transmission unit of the transmission metasurface includes a multilayer metal pattern layer and a dielectric substrate layer. The metal pattern layer includes at least one of a Jerusalem cross structure, a square ring structure, or an I-type structure. Phase modulation from 0° to 360° can be achieved by changing the geometric dimensions of the metal pattern layer.
3. The folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The transmission unit achieves phase coverage from 180° to 360° through a structural mirroring method, which involves flipping the original structure 180° along the central axis.
4. The folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The reflective unit of the reflective metasurface includes a metal patch layer, a dielectric substrate layer, and a metal ground layer. The metal patch layer and the metal ground layer are connected by a controllable switching device, and 1-bit phase modulation is achieved by controlling the on / off state of the controllable switching device.
5. The folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The controllable switching device is a PIN diode or a MEMS switch.
6. The folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The metal patch layer adopts a symmetrical open ring structure or a rotationally symmetrical structure to achieve a 90° polarization conversion function.
7. The folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The distance between the transmissive metasurface and the reflective metasurface is 0.3 to 1.0 times the operating wavelength.
8. The folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The operating frequency bands of the transmissive metasurface and the reflective metasurface are X-band, Ku-band, or K-band.
9. The folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of units in both the transmissive metasurface and the reflective metasurface ranges from 16×16 to 64×64.
10. The folded reflective high-power electromagnetic metasurface system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system also includes a control module electrically connected to the reflective metasurface, which sends control signals to the reflective metasurface to achieve the electrical scanning function of the beam, wherein the electrical scanning angle range is ±30°.