Electrowetting-based Beam Steering Device and Manufacturing Method Thereof

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a beam control device capable of controlling the propagation path of a beam with low power and low cost, comprising at least one beam reflector cell, a lower electrode panel having a lower electrode formed thereon, an upper electrode spaced apart in the upper direction of the lower electrode panel, and conductive water disposed on the lower electrode panel that changes shape by an electrowetting phenomenon when voltage is applied to the upper electrode and the lower electrode.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a beam control device and a method for manufacturing the same, and more specifically, to an electro-wetting based beam control device and a method for manufacturing the same. Background Technology

[0002] Information transmission using millimeter waves is expected to be primarily used in next-generation 6G communication due to its high data transmission rate, but information loss may occur due to its high directivity. In particular, implementing UM-MIMO (Ultra Massive Multi-Input Multi-Output) in millimeter wave communication using existing antenna technology requires a large number of antennas, which is expected to result in design complexity and high power consumption.

[0003] To address this, research on reflective beam modulators capable of controlling the propagation path of millimeter-wave beams while reducing the number of antennas, such as reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), has recently been actively conducted. Reflective beam modulators like RIS can be utilized to enable communication between communication devices or to improve communication efficiency in NLOS situations where radio signals cannot be directly transmitted due to obstacles. Conventional reflective beam modulators are configured with a structure similar to an array antenna in which multiple radiators are arranged in an array. The problem to be solved

[0004] The object of the present disclosure is to provide a beam control device capable of controlling the propagation path of a beam with low power using an electrowetting phenomenon, and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0005] The object of the present disclosure is to provide a beam control device capable of controlling the reflection path of a beam at low cost and a method for manufacturing the same. means of solving the problem

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a beam control device comprises at least one beam reflector cell and a lower electrode panel having a lower electrode formed thereon; an upper electrode spaced apart in the upper direction of the lower electrode panel; and a conductive water disposed on the lower electrode panel, the shape of which is deformed by an electrowetting phenomenon when a voltage is applied to the upper electrode and the lower electrode.

[0007] The lower electrode panel may include an insulating film formed on the lower electrode and a hydrophobic film formed on the insulating film.

[0008] The lower electrode panel may further include a substrate on which the lower electrode is formed on an upper surface.

[0009] When no voltage is applied to the lower electrode and the upper electrode, the conductive water may clump together to form a water droplet shape due to surface tension with the hydrophobic film formed on the upper surface of the lower electrode panel.

[0010] The conductive water can change the reflection angle of the incident beam that spreads widely on the upper surface of the lower electrode panel by the electro-wetting phenomenon according to the voltage difference between the voltage applied to the lower electrode and the upper electrode.

[0011] The upper electrode can be formed as a transparent electrode deposited on a transparent substrate.

[0012] A method for manufacturing a beam control device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is performed by a processor to manufacture a beam control device comprising at least one beam reflector cell, comprising the steps of: manufacturing a lower electrode panel including a lower electrode; placing conductive water on the lower electrode panel; and placing an upper electrode spaced apart in the upper direction of the lower electrode panel such that the shape of the conductive water changes by an electrowetting phenomenon according to a voltage applied together with the lower electrode. Effects of the invention

[0013] The beam control device and the method for manufacturing the same disclosed in the present disclosure can control the propagation path of an incident beam at low power and low cost by utilizing the electrowetting phenomenon. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0014] FIGS. 1 and 2 are drawings for explaining the beam reflection cell structure and operation of a beam control device according to one embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a method for manufacturing a beam control device according to one embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a computing environment including a computing device according to one embodiment. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0015] Hereinafter, specific embodiments according to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The following detailed description is provided to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatus, and / or systems described herein. However, this is merely illustrative and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0016] In describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of known technology related to the present invention are omitted if it is determined that such detailed descriptions would unnecessarily obscure the essence of the embodiments. Furthermore, terms described below are defined with consideration of their functions in the present invention, and these may vary depending on the intentions or practices of the user or operator. Therefore, such definitions should be based on the content throughout this specification. Terms used in the detailed description are intended merely to describe specific embodiments and should not be limiting. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, expressions in the singular form include the meaning of the plural form. In this description, expressions such as “include” or “compose” are intended to refer to certain characteristics, numbers, steps, actions, elements, parts thereof, or combinations thereof, and should not be interpreted to exclude the existence or possibility of one or more other characteristics, numbers, steps, actions, elements, parts thereof, or combinations thereof other than those described. Additionally, terms such as “...part,” “...unit,” “module,” and “block” described in the specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and this may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0017] FIGS. 1 and 2 are drawings for explaining the beam reflection cell structure and operation of a beam control device according to one embodiment.

[0018] A beam control device according to one embodiment comprises at least one beam reflector cell, and when a plurality of beam reflectors are provided, the plurality of beam reflectors may be arranged in a matrix form. FIGS. 1 and FIGS. 2 show a side cross-sectional view of a beam reflector cell.

[0019] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a beam reflector cell provided in a beam control device according to one embodiment includes a lower electrode panel (10), an upper electrode (20), and a conductive water (30).

[0020] A lower electrode panel (10) forming the lower surface of a pixel may include a lower electrode (11), an insulating film (dielectric) (13) formed on the lower electrode (11), and a hydrophobic film (hydrophobicity layer) (15) formed on the insulating film (13).

[0021] Voltage is applied to the lower electrode (11) together with the upper electrode (20), and an electric field is formed according to the voltage difference between the voltage applied to the lower electrode (11) and the upper electrode (20), thereby causing the shape of the conductive material (30) placed on the lower electrode panel (10) to be deformed by the electrowetting phenomenon. The lower electrode (11) may be formed on a substrate (not shown), although it is not shown, and as an example, it may be formed by depositing a thin film of tungsten (e.g., 100 nm) on the substrate.

[0022] An insulating film (13) is formed on the upper surface of the lower electrode (11). The insulating film (13) serves to prevent the lower electrode (11) from coming into direct contact with the conductive material (30). For example, silicon dioxide (SiO2) can be deposited as a thin film (e.g., 100 nm) to form it.

[0023] The hydrophobic film (15) is formed on the insulating film (13) so that the conductive water (30) is maintained in a droplet shape as shown in FIG. 1 when no voltage is applied to the lower electrode (11) and the upper electrode (20). That is, when no voltage is applied to the lower electrode (11) and the upper electrode (20), the hydrophobic film (15) causes the conductive water (30) to form an obtuse angle at the edge of the contact surface with the hydrophobic film (15), so that it is clustered in a small area. The hydrophobic film (15) can be formed by coating a hydrophobic material on the insulating film (13).

[0024] The upper electrode (20) is spaced apart by a certain distance in the direction of the upper surface of the lower electrode panel (10). The upper electrode (20) forms an electric field between the upper electrode (20) and the lower electrode panel (10) according to the voltage applied together with the lower electrode (11), thereby causing an electro-wetting phenomenon to be induced in the conductive material (30) placed on the lower electrode panel (10). The upper electrode (20) may be configured by forming a transparent electrode, such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), on a transparent substrate. The upper electrode (20) can perform the role of protecting the lower electrode panel (10) and the conductive material (30) from external impact, as well as the role of sealing so that the conductive material (30) does not evaporate and disappear.

[0025] In the beam reflection cell of the beam control device configured in this way, when no voltage is applied to the upper electrode (20) and the lower electrode (11) or when the same voltage is applied, the conductive water (30) placed on the hydrophobic film (15) is maintained in the form of a water droplet by surface tension, as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the incident beam is reflected at a symmetric angle.

[0026] However, when there is a voltage difference (e.g., 30V) between the voltage applied to the upper electrode (20) and the lower electrode (11), the surface tension of the conductive material (30) placed on the hydrophobic film (15) changes due to the electrowetting phenomenon, and the conductive material (30) with the changed surface tension takes on a shape that spreads widely on the hydrophobic film (15). And as the shape of the conductive material (30) changes, the reflection angle of the incident beam can be adjusted in various ways. That is, depending on the voltage difference applied to the upper electrode (20) and the lower electrode (11), even beams incident at the same angle of incidence can propagate at different angles of reflection, thereby allowing the angle of the beam to be adjusted. For example, each beam reflection cell can adjust the angle of the reflected beam in the range of 45 to 60 degrees as shown in FIG. 2, but is not limited thereto.

[0027] Additionally, although not illustrated, the beam control device may include a plurality of arranged beam reflector cells, so that by adjusting the voltage difference between the upper electrode (20) and the lower electrode (11) of each of the plurality of beam reflector cells differently, it may not only simply reflect the incident beam but also perform beam forming similar to a conventional RIS or array antenna. Here, the beam may be a radio signal in the millimeter wave band.

[0028] In the illustrated embodiments, each component may have different functions and capabilities in addition to those described above and may include additional components not described. Additionally, in one embodiment, each component may be implemented using one or more physically separated devices, or by one or more processors or a combination of one or more processors and software, and may not be clearly distinguished in specific operation as in the illustrated examples.

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a method for manufacturing a beam control device according to one embodiment.

[0030] Referring to FIG. 3, a method for manufacturing a beam control device according to one embodiment first manufactures a lower electrode panel (10) (70). When manufacturing the lower electrode panel (10), a lower electrode (11) is first formed (71). The lower electrode (11) may be formed by depositing on a substrate (not shown), but is not limited thereto.

[0031] Then, an insulating film (13) is formed on the lower electrode (11) (72). The insulating film (13) can also be formed by a deposition method, just like the lower electrode (11). Once the insulating film (13) is formed, a hydrophobic film (15) is formed again on the insulating film (13) (73). The hydrophobic film (15) can be formed by coating a hydrophobic material on the insulating film (13).

[0032] When the hydrophobic film (15) is formed and the lower electrode panel (10) is manufactured, a spacer (not shown) can be formed so that the regions of each beam reflection cell are separated from each other (74).

[0033] Conductive water (30) is placed on the lower electrode panel (10) of each manufactured beam reflection cell (81). At this time, the conductive water (30) placed on the hydrophobic film (15) of the lower electrode panel (10) comes into contact in the form of water droplets.

[0034] Subsequently, an upper electrode (20) is placed on top of the manufactured lower electrode panel (10) at a certain distance (82). Here, the upper electrode (20) can be formed by depositing a transparent electrode, such as indium tin oxide (ITO), on a transparent substrate.

[0035] Although FIG. 3 describes each process as being executed sequentially, this is merely an illustrative description, and a person skilled in the art can apply various modifications and variations by changing the order described in FIG. 3, executing one or more processes in parallel, or adding other processes, within the scope of not departing from the essential characteristics of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a computing environment including a computing device according to one embodiment.

[0037] In the illustrated embodiments, each component may have different functions and capabilities in addition to those described below, and may include additional components in addition to those described below. The illustrated computing environment (90) may include a computing device (91) to perform the manufacturing method of the beam control device illustrated in FIG. 3. In one embodiment, the computing device (91) may be one or more components included in a manufacturing device for manufacturing the beam control device illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

[0038] A computing device (91) includes at least one processor (92), a computer-readable storage medium (93), and a communication bus (95). The processor (92) may enable the computing device (91) to operate according to the exemplary embodiment described above. For example, the processor (92) may execute one or more programs (94) stored in the computer-readable storage medium (93). The one or more programs (94) may include one or more computer-executable instructions, and the computer-executable instructions may be configured to enable the computing device (91) to perform operations according to the exemplary embodiment when executed by the processor (92).

[0039] The communication bus (95) interconnects various other components of the computing device (91), including the processor (92) and the computer-readable storage medium (93).

[0040] The computing device (91) may also include one or more input / output interfaces (96) and one or more communication interfaces (97) that provide an interface for one or more input / output devices (98). The input / output interfaces (96) and communication interfaces (97) are connected to a communication bus (95). The input / output devices (98) may be connected to other components of the computing device (91) through the input / output interfaces (96). An exemplary input / output device (98) may include an input device such as a pointing device (such as a mouse or trackpad), a keyboard, a touch input device (such as a touchpad or touchscreen), a voice or sound input device, various types of sensor devices and / or imaging devices, and / or an output device such as a display device, a printer, a speaker and / or a network card. An exemplary input / output device (98) may be included inside the computing device (91) as a component constituting the computing device (91), or it may be connected to the computing device (91) as a separate device distinct from the computing device (91).

[0041] Although the present invention has been described in detail above through representative embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent alternative embodiments are possible therefrom. Accordingly, the true technical scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims

Claim 1 A beam control device comprising: a lower electrode panel having at least one beam reflecting cell and a lower electrode formed therein; an upper electrode spaced apart in the upper direction of the lower electrode panel; and conductive water disposed on the lower electrode panel and deformed by an electrowetting phenomenon when voltage is applied to the upper electrode and the lower electrode, wherein the lower electrode panel comprises a lower electrode made of tungsten (W) material formed with a thickness of 100 nm on a substrate and an insulating film made of silicon dioxide (SiO2) material formed with a thickness of 100 nm on the lower electrode, and the conductive water maintains a droplet shape forming an obtuse angle with the upper surface of the lower electrode panel when no voltage is applied to the lower electrode and the upper electrode, and the contact area on the lower electrode panel is varied by an electrowetting phenomenon according to the applied voltage difference, thereby controlling the reflection angle for a millimeter wave band beam. Claim 2 In claim 1, the lower electrode panel comprises an insulating film formed on the lower electrode and a hydrophobic film formed on the insulating film, forming a beam control device. Claim 3 delete Claim 4 delete Claim 5 delete Claim 6 A beam control device according to claim 1, wherein the upper electrode is formed as a transparent electrode deposited on a transparent substrate. Claim 7 A method for manufacturing a beam control device comprising at least one beam reflection cell, performed by a processor, comprising the steps of: manufacturing a lower electrode panel by forming a tungsten (W) lower electrode with a thickness of 100 nm on a substrate and forming a silicon dioxide (SiO2) insulating film with a thickness of 100 nm on the lower electrode; placing conductive water on the lower electrode panel such that the conductive water maintains a droplet shape forming an obtuse angle with the upper surface of the lower electrode panel when no voltage is applied; and placing an upper electrode spaced apart in the upper direction of the lower electrode panel such that the contact area of ​​the conductive water varies according to the voltage applied together with the lower electrode, thereby adjusting the reflection angle for a millimeter wave band beam. Claim 8 In claim 7, the step of manufacturing the lower electrode panel comprises forming the lower electrode, forming an insulating film on the lower electrode, and forming a hydrophobic film on the insulating film. Claim 9 delete Claim 10 A method for manufacturing a beam control device according to claim 7, wherein the step of placing the upper electrode is to form a transparent electrode on a transparent substrate, and the transparent substrate on which the transparent electrode is formed is placed spaced apart from the lower electrode panel. Claim 11 delete Claim 12 delete

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