Beam steering and direction finding for differential segmented aperture antennas.

Abstract

Providing a beam steering system for a differential segmented aperture antenna. [Solution] A beam steering system includes a differential segmented array (DSA) antenna including a plurality of pyramidal structures and elements arranged in an array including first and second sets of directional elements, each element being defined between opposing faces of two adjacent pyramidal structures and the position of each element being spaced a distance from a common origin of the elements of the array, a phase gradient determination circuit for determining first and second phase gradients for the directional elements, the phase gradient being based on first and second angles of a target relative to the DSA antenna and an operating frequency of the DSA antenna, and a phase shift determination circuit for determining first and second phase shifts for each of the elements and determining a composite phase shift by summing the respective first and second phase shifts for each element.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing dates of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 273,344, filed October 29, 2021, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 273,352, filed October 29, 2021, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 273,434, filed October 29, 2021. The entire teachings of these applications are incorporated by reference herein.

[0002] Technical Field FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] This disclosure relates to beam steering and direction finding for differential segmented array (DSA) antennas. [Background technology]

[0003] background

[0003] Beamforming is the application of multiple radiating elements transmitting the same signal at the same wavelength and phase, effectively creating a single antenna with a longer, more targeted stream. Beamsteering takes the beamforming concept one step further by changing the phase of the input signal on all radiating elements. This allows the signal to be targeted to a specific receiver. An antenna can employ radiating elements with a common frequency to steer a single beam in a specific direction, or beams of different frequencies can be steered in different directions to serve different users. Beamsteering plays an important role in 5G communications due to the range limitations coupled with the high usage of 5G networks.

[0004] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Reference should be made to the following detailed description which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts and in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0005] [Figure 1A]

[0005] FIG. 1A illustrates various views of a differentially segmented array (DSA) antenna according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 1B]

[0005] FIG. 1B illustrates various views of a differentially segmented array (DSA) antenna according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 1C]

[0005] FIG. 1C illustrates various views of a differentially segmented array (DSA) antenna according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2]

[0006] FIG. 2 illustrates a beam steering circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A]

[0007] FIG. 3A illustrates a beam pattern for the DSA antenna of FIG. 1A according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B illustrates a beam pattern for the DSA antenna of FIG. 1B in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3C] FIG. 3C illustrates a beam pattern for the DSA antenna of FIG. 1C according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4]

[0008] FIG. 4 illustrates a beam steering circuit according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5]

[0009] FIG. 5 illustrates a phase shift and time delay decision circuit according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6]

[0010] FIG. 6 illustrates a time delay circuit according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7]

[0011] FIG. 7 illustrates an example signal chain according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8]

[0012] FIG. 8 illustrates a beam steering circuit according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9]

[0013] FIG. 9 illustrates a beam steering presentation system for a DSA antenna according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Detailed Description

[0014] The present disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The examples described herein may be susceptible to other embodiments and to being practiced or performed in various ways. It will also be understood that the terminology and terminology used herein, as understood by those skilled in the art, is for purposes of description and should not be considered limiting. Throughout this description, like reference numerals may refer to like structures throughout the several views, and such structures may not be separately described. Furthermore, any particular feature of a particular exemplary embodiment may be equally applicable, as appropriate, to any other exemplary embodiment herein. In other words, features among the various exemplary embodiments described herein are interchangeable and not exclusive.

[0007]

[0015] Disclosed herein are DSA-based beam steering systems and beam steering presentation systems.

[0008]

[0016] 1A, 1B, and 1C show various views of a DSA antenna 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 1A shows a top-down view of the exemplary DSA antenna 100. The antenna 100 includes a plurality of protrusions, which in the example herein are generally pyramidal structures, arranged in an array, with one exemplary pyramidal structure labeled 102. In the example of FIG. 1A, the antenna 100 has five rows and five columns (5×5) of pyramidal structures. At least one face of each pyramidal structure faces an adjacent pyramidal structure, as shown. Opposite faces of two adjacent pyramidal structures form antenna elements 104, 106. Element 104 is designated the horizontal element, and element 106 is designated the vertical element. Given that there are five rows and five columns (5×5) of pyramidal structures in this example, there are five rows of horizontal elements 104, with each row including four columns of horizontal elements 104. Therefore, the horizontal elements 104 form a (5×4) array, totaling 20 horizontal elements. Also, given that there are five rows and five columns (5×5) of pyramidal structures in this example, there are five columns of vertical elements 106, with each row containing four rows of vertical elements 106. Therefore, the vertical and horizontal elements 104, 106 are arranged in an (m×n) array, having m rows and n columns of elements. In the example of FIG. 1A, the vertical elements 106 are formed in columns along the X-axis, and the horizontal elements 104 are formed in rows along the Y-axis. In some embodiments, the pyramidal structures are generally identical to one another and generally equidistant from one another, e.g., each element is 1" from an adjacent element. The electromagnetic location of an element 104, 106 is the phase center for that element. Each phase center represents the transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) point for signals transmitted by or received by the element.

[0009]

[0018] FIG. 1B shows a cross-sectional view of the array 100, showing the pyramidal structures 102 formed on the base dielectric layer 108. FIG. 1B also shows the DSA antenna array 100 in position for communication (RX and / or TX) with a target 110. The target 100 is positioned at an elevation angle ("El. Ang.") and an azimuth angle ("Az. Ang.") relative to the XY plane of the array 100. In this example, Az. Ang. is the angle of the target 110 relative to an axis 112 perpendicular to the front of the array in the X direction. FIG. 1C also shows a cross-sectional view of the array 100 in position for communication (RX and / or TX) with the target 110. In this example, El. Ang. is the angle of the target 110 relative to an axis 114 perpendicular to the front of the array in the Y direction. As described in more detail below, the elements 104, 106 of the array 100 can be controlled to provide a phase shift for Rx and / or Tx communication with the target 110 to optimize signal gain between the array 100 and the target 110.

[0010] 2 illustrates a beam steering circuit 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As a general matter, and with continued reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, the azimuth and / or elevation angles of the target 110 relative to the orientation of the array 100 generally serve to affect the gain of signals in both Rx and Tx operations in the direction of the target 110. For example, the peak gain of the array generally resides in the beam pattern of the array 100, specifically, where the main lobe of the beam pattern is aimed at the target 110. Thus, the beam steering circuit 200 is generally configured to provide a phase angle on each of the elements (104, 106) such that the array points substantially directly at the target 110 (and without physical movement of the array 110) to maximize communication gain between the array 100 and the target 110.

[0011]

[0019] The beam steering circuit 200 generally includes a phase gradient determination circuit 202 configured to determine a phase gradient across the array (in both the X and Y dimensions) to maximize signal strength between the array and the target. The phase gradient is based on the azimuth and elevation angles of the target relative to the array, the operating frequency (f), and the orientation of the DSA array relative to the target. The phase gradient in the X direction across the array (PGx) can be determined using equation (1): PGx=cos(Az.Ang.)*-cos(El.Ang.)*(360 / (wavelength(f))) (1)

[0012]

[0020] In equation (1), wavelength (f) can be determined as c / f, expressed in distance units (e.g., inches, mm, etc.), where c is the speed of light, as modified by a given medium. Therefore, the units of PGx are expressed as (degrees / distance). PGx is applied to each row of horizontal elements shown in FIG. 1A, as described below.

[0013]

[0021] Similarly, the phase gradient in the Y direction across the array (PGy) can be determined using equation (2). PGy=sin(Az.Ang.)*-cos(El.Ang.)*(360 / (wavelength(f))) (2)

[0014]

[0022] In equation (2), the wavelength (f) can be determined as c / f, expressed in distance units (e.g., inches, mm, etc.), where c is the speed of light, as modified by a given medium. Therefore, the units of PGy are expressed as (degrees / distance). PGy is applied to each column of vertical elements shown in FIG. 1A, as described below.

[0015]

[0023] The phase shift determination circuit 204 is configured to determine a phase shift to apply to each respective element 104, 106 in the array 100 based on the phase gradients PGx and PGy, and also based on the element's position relative to a common origin of the elements of the array. The common origin can be any location relative to the array 100 that is common to all of the elements. That is, each element (m,n) has a specified distance from the common origin. For example, the common origin may be selected as the center of the array 100, the lower left corner of the array 100, etc. For each horizontal element, the phase shift determination circuit 204 is configured to determine the phase shift for a given phase center by multiplying the PGx phase gradient by the element's position relative to the common origin of the elements of the array, thus yielding a value θ(m,n)x expressed in degrees. Similarly, for each vertical element, the phase shift determination circuit 204 is configured to determine the phase shift for a given element by multiplying the PGy phase gradient by the element's position relative to a common origin for the elements of the array, thus resulting in a value θ(m,n)y expressed in degrees. The phase shift determination circuit 204 is also configured to combine (sum) the corresponding x and y phase shift values ​​(θ(m,n)x+θ(m,n)y) for each element, thus forming a matrix of combined phase shift values ​​for each element, i.e., θ(m,n).

[0016]

[0024] A phase shift value θ(m,n) may be applied to each corresponding element during Tx and / or Rx operations, which may provide a phase shift / time delay for each element's phase center. Although not shown in the drawings, it is understood that each element is associated with corresponding Tx and Rx circuitry to enable communication between the array 100 and the target 110. For transmit operations, the beam steering circuit 200 may also generally include a phase shift application circuit 206 associated with each element configured to apply the determined phase shift value to a transmit signal operating at frequency (f). The phase shift signal, for each element, may be expressed as ((real, imaginary) e -jθ(m,n)) Note that although each element may be transmitting a signal with a phase shift, all of the transmitted signals will combine in the far-field free space. For receive operations, the Rx circuit of each element may apply a corresponding phase shift value. Because phase-shifted signals are received from each antenna element, the beam steering circuitry may also generally include a phase alignment circuit 208 configured to remove any phase shift imparted on the Rx circuit of each element, i.e., to ensure that the signals received at each element are in phase with each other. The beam steering circuitry 200 may also generally include a signal combining circuit 210 configured to combine (sum) the set of in-phase signals from each element, thus forming a combined signal with a gain increase based on the number of in-phase signals summed.

[0017]

[0025] The DSA array 100 shown in Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C is generally a two-dimensional array. In other embodiments, the DSA array may be implemented as a three-dimensional array, for example, by arranging the pyramidal structures 102 on the surface of a three-dimensional shape (e.g., a sphere, a cone, a cube, etc.). In such embodiments, the teachings of the present disclosure for determining phase gradients and phase shifts may be extended to the third dimension (z dimension). Thus, for example, the phase gradient determination circuit 202 may also be configured to determine the z-direction phase gradient as a function of the z-direction offset angle, which may be expressed as PGz = -sin(Z angle) × (360 / (wavelength (f))). In addition, the composite phase shift value may be expressed as θ(m, n, z), where z represents the number of z-direction elements.

[0018]

[0026] The DSA array 100 may be used for terrestrial applications, such as mounting the DSA array 100 on a truck, a fixed structure, etc. The DSA array 100 may also be used for satellite-to-terrestrial and / or satellite-to-satellite communications, etc., where the array 100 may be pointed generally upward. In some applications, the DSA antenna 100 and / or the target 110 may be in motion, such that the elevation and / or azimuth angles change over time. Thus, in some embodiments, the phase gradient determining circuit 202 and / or the phase shift determining circuit 204 are configured to determine the phase gradient and / or phase shift based on changes in the angle of the DSA array 100 relative to the target 110.

[0019]

[0027] The beam steering circuit 200 described above can also be used for direction finding to "steer" the array to determine the elevation and / or azimuth angles of known signals of interest. Thus, the phase gradient determination circuit 202 can also be configured to increase / decrease the frequency and increase / decrease the phase gradient (and thus increase / decrease the phase shift of each element) across a selected frequency band, "scanning" for a selected signal of interest and determining the phase shift that produces the greatest gain for the selected frequency. Since the phase gradient is defined in terms of angles relative to the array, the location in space of the target can therefore be obtained.

[0020]

[0028] As described above, the beam steering circuit 200 enables increased gain in signal communication between the array and the target. In some embodiments, far-field targets, such as radio jammers, may be present that interfere with communication. Therefore, the beam steering circuit 200 may also be used to steer unwanted targets into null positions in the antenna array, thus reducing the gain of the source signal. FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate beam patterns for the DSA antenna of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3A shows a three-dimensional graph of the beam pattern of the DSA antenna for a given frequency. As shown, the beam pattern includes a main lobe 302 directly in front of the DSA antenna and several side lobes, one labeled 304. The gain profile is maximized for Tx and Rx occurring within the main lobe 302 (e.g., when the DSA antenna is steered so that the main lobe 302 faces the target (as described above)) and results in reduced gain when the Tx and Rx occur within the side lobes 304. Between the main lobe 302 and the side lobes 304 is a null location 306. The null location 306 corresponds to an azimuth angle and an elevation angle (referred to herein as "Null-Az.Ang" and "Null-El.Ang"). The gain profile is minimized for Tx and Rx occurring within the main lobe (e.g., when the DSA antenna is steered so that the null location 306 faces the target (as described above)). A power scale 308 shows color-coded relative gain profiles for the main lobe 302, side lobes 304, and null location 306. Here, light indicates an increased gain characteristic (power gain in dB) and dark indicates a null gain characteristic (e.g., a gain reduced by more than -30 dB). As shown, there are typically multiple side lobes 304 and multiple null locations 306. As discussed above, the beam pattern is generally based on the design (e.g., number of elements (m x n)) and operating frequency of the DSA antenna. The beam pattern shown in Figure 3A assumes a beam pattern for a DSA antenna having 4 x 4 elements and operating at 8,000 GHz.Figure 3B shows an azimuth beam pattern 310, illustrating azimuth angles at which null locations may occur, e.g., between 60 and 90 degrees. Figure 3C shows an elevation beam pattern 312, illustrating elevation angles at which null locations may occur, e.g., null 306 occurs at approximately 45 degrees between main lobe 302 and side lobe 304.

[0021]

[0029] 3A, 3B, and 3C, and with continued reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, and with reference again to FIG. 2, assuming that target 110 is identified as the source of the jamming signal, beam steering circuit 200 is configured to steer beam pattern 300 so that null location 306 is directed toward the target, thus enabling attenuation (nulling) of the jamming signal. Accordingly, phase shift determination circuit 204 may also be configured to determine a first null phase shift for each of the elements based on the horizontal phase gradient, the element's position relative to a common origin of the array elements, and an azimuth null angle (Null-Az.Ang.). Specifically, the first null phase shift may be determined by multiplying the first phase gradient by the element's position relative to a common origin of the array elements and subtracting or adding a first null angle. Subtracting or adding the first null angle may be based, for example, on the position of the first null angle relative to the main lobe of the beam pattern. The phase shift determination circuit 204 may also be configured to determine a second null phase shift for each phase center based on the second phase gradient, the position of the element relative to the common origin of the elements of the array, and an elevation null angle (Null-El.Ang.). Specifically, the second null phase shift may be determined by multiplying the second phase gradient by the position of the element relative to the common origin of the elements of the array and subtracting or adding a second null angle. Subtracting or adding the second null angle may be based on the position of the second null angle relative to the main lobe of the beam pattern, for example.

[0022]

[0030] The phase shift determination circuit 204 may also be configured to determine a composite null phase shift by summing, element by element, the respective first and second null phase shifts. The composite null phase shift causes the DSA antenna to orient the null position toward the target, thus reducing the signal strength of the signal received from the target. Null angles for a given operating frequency are shown in Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C.

[0023]

[0031] 4 illustrates a beam steering circuit 400 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The beam steering circuit 400 of this embodiment generally includes a phase shift and time delay determination circuit 402 configured to determine a phase shift value θ(m,n) for each respective element of the array, as described above with reference to FIG. 2. The phase shift and time delay determination circuit 402 is also configured to generate a time delay value, td(m,n), for each respective phase shift value θ(m,n). The phase shift and time delay determination circuit 402 is also configured to modulate each respective time delay value using a fixed modulation signal, e.g., a 1 MHz modulation signal (referred to herein as a “fixed frequency phase shift signal”).

[0024]

[0032] The beam steering circuit 400 of this embodiment also generally includes a phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit 404 configured to boost (increase) the frequency of the fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal to generate a boost fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal. The PLL circuit 404 includes a frequency synthesizer circuit 406 for generating an intermediate boost fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal, a bandwidth filter circuit 408 for providing filtering (e.g., notch filtering, low-pass filtering, etc.) of the boost fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal, and a voltage-controlled oscillator circuit 410 for generating a target boost fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal as an output from the PLL circuit 404 and as a reference boost fixed-frequency signal. The reference boost fixed-frequency signal is used as feedback for the frequency synthesizer circuit 406 to compare with the boost fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal to ensure that the boost fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal remains at the target boost frequency.

[0025]

[0033] The beam steering circuit 400 also generally includes a software-defined radio (SDR) circuit 412 configured to generate a radio signal containing data. As a general matter, the operating frequency of the SDR circuit may be in the range of 900 MHz to 3.0 GHz. The beam steering circuit 400 also generally includes a mixer circuit 414 configured to combine a boost fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal (generated by the PLL circuit) with the radio signal (generated by the SDR circuit 412) to generate a combined time-delayed signal 416. The combined time-delayed signal 416 may be applied to a phase center to enable beam steering. The combined time-delayed signal 416 has a frequency value equal to the frequency of the boost fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal plus the frequency of the radio signal and contains data and phase information. For example, assume the target operating frequency of a DSA antenna is 2.4 GHz. To achieve that value, the boost fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal may have a frequency of 1500 MHz, and the radio signal may have a frequency of 900 MHz. As shown, the PLL circuit 404 and mixer circuit 414 may be repeated for each phase / time delay value to independently drive each respective element (pixel) of the antenna array.

[0026]

[0034] FIG. 5 illustrates a phase shift and time delay determination circuit 402′ according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The phase shift and time delay determination circuit 402′ of this embodiment includes a processor circuit 502 (e.g., a digital signal processor circuit, a microprocessor circuit, etc.) for determining a phase shift value θ(m,n) for each respective element of the array, as described above with reference to FIG. 2 . The phase shift and time delay determination circuit 402′ also generally includes a phase control circuit 504 configured to determine a time delay value, td(m,n), for each respective phase shift value θ(m,n). The phase control circuit 504 includes a phase shift sequencer circuit 506 configured to sequence the phase shift values ​​θ(m,n) based on a clock value. Because phase values ​​in the frequency domain correspond to time delay values ​​in the time domain, the phase control circuit 504 also includes a time delay circuit 508 that generates a time delay value based on the phase shift value. The time delay value is input to the PLL circuit 404′ (described above) for controlling the corresponding element and applying the time delay. As shown, the phase control circuit 504 may be repeated for each phase / time delay value to independently control each respective element of the antenna array.

[0027]

[0035] FIG. 6 illustrates a time delay circuit 508′ according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The time delay circuit 508′ of this embodiment includes multiple cascaded flip-flop circuits 602. The example shown in FIG. 6 illustrates a 3-bit resolution time delay including a single flip-flop circuit, two flip-flop circuits, and four flip-flop circuits that can be combined (turned on) to generate a selected delay time, which corresponds to a phase delay value. Of course, the time delay circuit 508′ of FIG. 6 can be expanded to provide greater resolution of the time delay value.

[0028]

[0036] 7 shows an example signal chain according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the transmit section 702 is composed of analog components, thus eliminating digital-to-analog circuitry on the transmit side. As described herein, providing an analog solution in the transmit signal chain can enable frequency-independent operation and can also increase the bandwidth performance of the DSA antenna.

[0029]

[0037] Figure 8 illustrates a beam steering circuit 800 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The beam steering circuit 800 of Figure 8 illustrates an extension of the concept described above with reference to Figures 4-7, in which multiple instances of the beam steering circuit 400 may be utilized to enable simultaneous beam steering with unique operating frequencies.

[0030]

[0038] FIG. 9 illustrates a beam steering presentation system 900 for a DSA antenna according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The beam steering presentation system 900 includes a DSA antenna array 902 (shown in cross section). The array 902 generally includes a plurality of pyramidal structures arranged in an array. At least one face of each pyramidal structure faces an adjacent pyramidal structure, as shown. The opposing faces of two adjacent pyramidal structures form an antenna element. In some embodiments, the pyramidal structures are generally identical to one another and are generally equidistant from one another, e.g., each element is 1" from the nearest element. The electromagnetic location of an element is the phase center for that element. Each phase center represents the transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) points for signals transmitted by or received by the element.

[0031]

[0039] System 900 also includes a phase shift circuit 904 for controlling the phase of one or more elements of array 902 to perform beam steering in at least one direction. In one embodiment, array 902 may be mounted to allow physical movement in the elevation direction, and phase shift circuit 904 may control the phase shift in the azimuth direction. Multiple phase shift circuits may be used, for example, to control individual elements and / or groups of elements. System 900 may also include a combiner circuit 906 for receiving phase and data information at a selected operating frequency (from a programmable source, such as a computer system) and controlling each phase shift circuit 904 with the same phase and data information at the selected operating frequency.

[0032]

[0040] The system 900 may also include a spectrum analyzer circuit 908 for receiving phase and data information at a selected operating frequency and generating spectrum and / or audio data. The spectrum analyzer circuit 908 may include a USB-based spectrum analyzer that displays the spectral content of the received signal. For example, in receive (Rx) mode, the spectrum analyzer circuit 908 may provide the user with a visual representation of the amplitude and frequency content of the target signal. When the array 902 is beam steered via the phase shift circuit 904, the spectrum analyzer circuit 908 may provide the user with a visual representation of the direction-dependent amplitude change of the target signal, thus providing a visual indication of the beam steering capabilities of the DSA array 902. The spectrum analyzer circuit 908 may also enable demodulation of radio signals, so that, for example, audio content can be demodulated from radio waves and reproduced much like a standard radio. Therefore, the spectrum analyzer circuit 908 may provide the user with audible information indicating beam steering in receive mode. For example, the spectrum analyzer circuit 908 may allow the audible information to increase and decrease as the beam is steered towards and away from the target.

[0033]

[0041] System 900 may also include a programmable source 910 (e.g., a laptop computer) for generating phase and data information to be used for beam steering operation of array 902. In some embodiments, a bus interface circuit 912 (e.g., a universal serial bus interface circuit) for exchanging commands and data between array 902, phase shift circuit 904, and / or spectrum analyzer circuit 908 and programmable source 910. System 900 may also include a power supply circuit 914 for providing power to any or all of the components described above.

[0034]

[0042] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, therefore, there is provided a beam steering system, the system comprising: a differential segmented array (DSA) antenna including a plurality of pyramidal structures arranged in an array; and a plurality of elements formed in the array including a first set of directional elements and a second set of directional elements, each element being defined between opposing faces of two adjacent pyramidal structures, and further wherein the position of each element is spaced a distance from a common origin of the elements of the array; and a phase gradient determination circuit for determining a first phase gradient for the first set of directional elements and a second phase gradient for the second set of directional elements, the first phase gradient being a phase gradient determined by a phase gradient determination circuit. and a phase shift determination circuit for determining, for each of the elements, a first phase shift by multiplying the first phase gradient by a position of the element relative to a common origin of the elements of the array, determining, for each of the elements, a second phase shift by multiplying the second phase gradient by a position of the element relative to a common origin of the elements of the array, and determining, for each element, a composite phase shift by summing the respective first and second phase shifts.

[0035]

[0043] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is therefore provided a beam steering system, the system including: a differential segmented array (DSA) antenna including a plurality of pyramidal structures arranged in an array, and a plurality of elements formed in the array including a first set of directional elements and a second set of directional elements, each element defined between opposing faces of two adjacent pyramidal structures, and further, a position of each element spaced a distance from a common origin of the elements of the array; one or more computer processors; one or more computer readable storage media; and program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more computer processors. The stored program instructions include instructions for determining a first phase gradient for a first set of directional elements and a second phase gradient for a second set of directional elements, the first and second phase gradients being based on a first angle of the target relative to the DSA antenna, a second angle of the target relative to the DSA antenna, and an operating frequency of the DSA antenna; determining a first phase shift for each of the elements by multiplying the first phase gradient by the position of the element relative to a common origin of the elements of the array; determining a second phase shift for each of the elements by multiplying the second phase gradient by the position of the element relative to a common origin of the elements of the array; and determining a composite phase shift for each element by summing the respective first and second phase shifts.

[0036]

[0044] According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, therefore, there is provided a beam steering system, the system comprising: a differential segmented array (DSA) antenna including a plurality of pyramidal structures arranged in an array; and a plurality of elements formed in the array including a first set of directional elements and a second set of directional elements, each element being defined between opposing faces of two adjacent pyramidal structures, and further, a position of each element being spaced a distance from a common origin of the elements of the array; and a phase shift and time delay determination circuit for determining a phase shift value for each element, the phase shift and time delay determination circuit also for determining a time delay value based on the phase shift values, a phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit for increasing the frequency of the fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal to generate a boosted fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal; a software-defined radio (SDR) circuit for generating a radio signal; and a mixer circuit for combining the boosted fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal with the radio signal to generate a combined time-delayed signal, the combined time-delayed signal being for controlling elements to apply a phase shift at a phase center.

[0037]

[0045] As used in this application and claims, a list of items connected by the term "and / or" can mean any combination of the listed items. For example, the phrase "A, B, and / or C" can mean A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; or A, B, and C. As used in this application and claims, a list of items connected by the term "at least one of" can mean any combination of the listed items. For example, the phrase "at least one of A, B, or C" can mean A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; or A, B, and C.

[0038]

[0046] "Circuitry," as used in any embodiment herein, may include, for example, alone or in any combination, hardwired circuitry, programmable circuitry such as one or more computer processors including one or more individual instruction processing cores, state machine circuitry, and / or firmware that stores instructions executed by programmable circuitry, and / or future computing circuitry including, for example, hardware embodiments of accelerators such as massively parallel processing, analog or quantum computing, neural net processors, and non-silicon implementations of the foregoing. Circuits may collectively or individually be embodied as circuits that form part of a larger system, e.g., an integrated circuit (IC), a system on a chip (SoC), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), logic gates, registers, semiconductor devices, chips, microchips, chipsets, etc.

[0039]

[0047] Any of the operations described herein may be implemented in a system that includes one or more non-transitory storage devices, including one or more computer-readable storage media, having stored therein instructions that, individually or in combination, when executed by circuitry, perform the operations. Storage devices include any type of tangible medium, such as hard disks, floppy disks, optical disks, any type of disk including compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk rewritable (CD-RW), and magneto-optical disks, read-only memory (ROM), dynamic and static RAM such as random access memory (RAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, semiconductor devices such as solid state disks (SSD), embedded multimedia cards (eMMC), secure digital input / output (SDIO) cards, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. The instructions may be in the form of firmware executable code, software executable code, embedded instruction sets, application software, etc. Other embodiments may be implemented as software executed by a programmable control device. It is also contemplated that the operations described herein may be distributed across multiple physical devices, such as processing structures in more than one different physical location.

[0040]

[0048] The terms and expressions employed herein are used as terms of description, not limitation, and the use of such terms and expressions is in no way intended to exclude equivalents of the features (or portions thereof) shown and described, recognizing that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the claims are intended to cover all such equivalents. Various features, aspects, and embodiments have been described herein. The features, aspects, and embodiments are susceptible to combination with one another, as well as modification and alteration, as would be understood by one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the present disclosure should be considered to encompass all such combinations, modifications, and alterations.

[0041]

[0049] References throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

Claims

1. a differential segmented array (DSA) antenna including a plurality of pyramidal structures arranged in an array, and a plurality of elements formed in the array including a first set of directional elements and a second set of directional elements, each element being defined between opposing faces of two adjacent pyramidal structures, and further, the position of each element being spaced a distance from a common origin of the elements of the differential segmented array (DSA) antenna; a phase gradient determination circuit for determining a first phase gradient for the set of first directional elements and a second phase gradient for the set of second directional elements, the first phase gradient and the second phase gradient being based on a first angle at which a target lies relative to an axis perpendicular to a plane of the DSA antenna, a second angle at which the target lies relative to an axis parallel to the plane of the DSA antenna, and an operating frequency of the DSA antenna; a phase shift and time delay determination circuit for determining a first phase shift for each of the elements by multiplying the first phase gradient by a shortest distance from the common origin to the element of the differential segmented array (DSA) antenna, determining a second phase shift for each of the elements by multiplying the second phase gradient by a shortest distance from the common origin to the element of the differential segmented array (DSA) antenna, determining a composite phase shift by summing the respective first and second phase shifts for each element, and modulating a time delay value with a fixed modulation signal to generate a fixed frequency phase shift signal; a phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit for increasing the frequency of the fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal to generate a boosted fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal; a mixer circuit for combining the boosted fixed frequency phase shifted signal with a radio signal to generate a combined time delay signal, the combined time delay signal controlling the elements to apply a phase shift at a phase center; Equipped with a respective composite phase shift is applied to each element to optimize the signal gain of the DSA antenna relative to the target; Beam steering system.

2. 10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a phase shift application circuit for applying a respective phase shift to each element of the DSA antenna to transmit a plurality of phase-shifted signals to the target.

3. 10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a phase alignment circuit for removing the composite phase shift from the signal received at each element to generate a plurality of in-phase signals.

4. The system of claim 3 further comprising a signal combining circuit for summing the plurality of in-phase signals.

5. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the phase gradient determination circuit determines the location of the signal of interest by increasing and / or decreasing the first phase gradient and / or the second phase gradient for a selected frequency.

6. The first phase gradient is cos(first angle of the target relative to the DSA antenna array)×−cos(second angle of the target relative to the DSA antenna array)×(360 / (wavelength (f ))), where the wavelength (f) is equal to c / f, where c is the speed of light and f is the operating frequency; Furthermore, the second phase gradient is 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the wavelength (f) is determined as sin(first angle of the target relative to the DSA antenna array)×−cos(second angle of the target relative to the DSA antenna array)×(360 / (wavelength (f))), where wavelength (f) is equal to c / f, where c is the speed of light, and f is the operating frequency.

7. a differential segmented array (DSA) antenna including a plurality of pyramidal structures arranged in an array, and a plurality of elements formed in the array including a first set of directional elements and a second set of directional elements, each element being defined between opposing faces of two adjacent pyramidal structures, and further, the position of each element being spaced a distance from a common origin of the elements of the differential segmented array (DSA) antenna; one or more computer processors; one or more computer-readable storage media; program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more computer processors; 1. A beam steering system comprising: the stored program instructions determining a first phase gradient for the set of first directional elements and a second phase gradient for the set of second directional elements, the first and second phase gradients being based on a first angle at which a target lies relative to an axis perpendicular to a plane of the DSA antenna, a second angle at which the target lies relative to an axis parallel to a plane of the DSA antenna, and an operating frequency of the DSA antenna; determining a first phase shift for each of the elements by multiplying the first phase gradient by the shortest distance from the common origin to the element of the differential segmented array (DSA) antenna, determining a second phase shift for each of the elements by multiplying the second phase gradient by the shortest distance from the common origin to the element of the differential segmented array (DSA) antenna, and determining a composite phase shift by summing the respective first and second phase shifts for each element; modulating the time delay value with a fixed modulation signal to generate a fixed frequency phase shift signal; increasing the frequency of the fixed frequency phase-shifted signal to generate a boosted fixed frequency phase-shifted signal; combining said boosted fixed frequency phase shifted signal with a radio signal to generate a combined time delay signal that controls said elements to apply a phase shift at a phase center; including instructions to: a respective composite phase shift is applied to each element to optimize the signal gain of the DSA antenna relative to the target; Beam steering system.

8. program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable storage media for applying respective composite phase shifts to each element to optimize signal gain of the DSA antenna relative to the target; The system of claim 7 further comprising:

9. program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable storage media for applying a respective phase shift to each element of the DSA antenna to transmit a plurality of phase-shifted signals to the target; The system of claim 7 further comprising:

10. stored on the one or more computer-readable storage media; The first phase gradient is cos(first angle of the target relative to the DSA antenna array)×−cos(second angle of the target relative to the DSA antenna array)×(360 / (wavelength (f))) where wavelength (f) is equal to c / f, where c is the speed of light and f is the operating frequency; The second phase gradient is sin(first angle of the target relative to the DSA antenna array)×−cos(second angle of the target relative to the DSA antenna array)×(360 / (wavelength (f))) where wavelength (f) is equal to c / f, where c is the speed of light and f is the operating frequency; and further comprising one or more of the program instructions for: The system of claim 7.

11. 1. A method for beam steering for an antenna, comprising: determining a first phase gradient for a first set of directional elements of an antenna and a second phase gradient for a second set of directional elements of the antenna, wherein the antenna comprises a differential segmented array (DSA) antenna including a plurality of pyramidal structures arranged in an array and a plurality of elements formed in the array including a first set of directional elements and a second set of directional elements, each element being defined between opposing faces of two adjacent pyramidal structures and a position of each element being spaced a distance from a common origin of the elements of the differential segmented array (DSA) antenna, and the first and second phase gradients are based on a first angle at which a target lies with respect to an axis perpendicular to a plane of the DSA antenna, a second angle at which the target lies with respect to an axis parallel to a plane of the DSA antenna, and an operating frequency of the DSA antenna; determining, for each of the elements, a first phase shift by multiplying the first phase gradient by a shortest distance from the common origin to the element of the differential segmented array (DSA) antenna; determining, for each of the elements, a second phase shift by multiplying the second phase gradient by a shortest distance from the common origin to the element of the differential segmented array (DSA) antenna; determining a composite phase shift by summing, element by element, the respective first and second phase shifts; modulating the time delay value with a fixed modulation signal to generate a fixed frequency phase shift signal; increasing the frequency of the fixed frequency phase-shifted signal to generate a boosted fixed frequency phase-shifted signal; combining said boosted fixed frequency phase shifted signal with a radio signal to generate a combined time delay signal that controls said elements to apply a phase shift at a phase center; Including, a respective composite phase shift is applied to each element to optimize the signal gain of the DSA antenna relative to the target; method.

12. 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising removing the composite phase shift from the signal received at each element to generate a plurality of in-phase signals.

13. 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: a phase gradient determination circuit determining a location of a signal of interest by increasing and / or decreasing the first phase gradient and / or the second phase gradient for a selected frequency.

14. The PLL circuit a frequency synthesizer circuit for applying a selected frequency to generate the boost fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal based on the fixed-frequency phase-shifted signal; a filter circuit for filtering the boosted fixed frequency phase shifted signal; and an oscillator circuit for controlling said frequency synthesizer circuit to generate said selected frequency; The system of claim 1 , comprising:

15. the phase shift and time delay decision circuit a processor circuit for determining phase shift values ​​for the elements of the differential segmented array (DSA) antenna; a phase control circuit for determining a time delay value for the phase shift value; and a phase shift sequencer circuit for sequencing the phase shift values ​​based on a clock value; The system of claim 1 , comprising:

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising a phase control circuit and a time delay circuit for generating the time delay value based on the phase shift value.

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