Planar surface-mounted waveguide, microwave integrated system, and communication apparatus

Abstract

A planar surface-mounted waveguide, a microwave integrated system, and a communication apparatus. The waveguide comprises a first substrate, a second substrate, and at least two rows of conductor arrays are spaced apart. A first conductive surface is provided at the end of the first substrate facing the second substrate, a second conductive surface is provided at the end of the second substrate facing the first substrate, and a gap is formed between the first conductive surface and the second conductive surface. The conductor arrays are arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate and are respectively electrically connected to the first conductive surface and the second conductive surface, and the at least two rows of conductor arrays, the first substrate, and the second substrate define an energy transmission channel. The waveguide provided by the present application has low loss when transmitting electromagnetic waves of a high frequency band, has the structural reliability improved by means of surface mount technology to avoid electromagnetic leakage, has a simple structure, and facilitates miniaturization design.

Description

Planar surface mount waveguide, microwave integrated system and communication device

[0001] This invention claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on October 30, 2023, with application number 202311429530.3 and application name “Planar surface-mount waveguide, microwave integrated system and communication device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a planar surface-mount waveguide, a microwave integrated system, and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] To develop and utilize the electromagnetic spectrum in the millimeter-wave and terahertz frequency bands, it is necessary to develop a variety of functional circuits and radiating antennas. These circuits rely on transmission lines that can guide the propagation of electromagnetic waves. Commonly used planar transmission lines such as microstrip, stripline, and coplanar waveguides have good transmission performance in the microwave frequency band, but they have significant transmission losses in the high-frequency band, including conductor loss, dielectric loss, and radiation loss.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a planar surface-mount waveguide, a microwave integrated system, and a communication device to reduce energy transmission losses in high-frequency bands.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a planar surface-mount waveguide, comprising: a first substrate, a second substrate, and at least two rows of spaced-apart conductor arrays. A first conductive surface is provided at one end of the first substrate facing the second substrate, and a second conductive surface is provided at one end of the second substrate facing the first substrate, with a gap between the first conductive surface and the second conductive surface. The conductor array is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate and is electrically connected to the first conductive surface and the second conductive surface, respectively. An energy transmission channel is formed between the at least two rows of the conductor arrays, the first substrate, and the second substrate.

[0007] In a possible implementation, each row of the conductor array includes a plurality of first conductors, and the plurality of first conductors are spaced apart and distributed in a first direction; the first direction is a transmission direction of energy in the transmission channel.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the first conductor has a width dimension d1 in the first direction. In each of the conductor arrays, there is a first spacing p between two adjacent first conductors, 1.5d1≤p≤3d1, and p≤λ / 4, where λ is the operating wavelength.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the width dimension d1 is between 0.05 mm and 5 mm.

[0010] In a possible implementation, there is a second spacing a between two adjacent rows of the conductor arrays, where a=c / (2×fc), c is the speed of light propagation in a vacuum, and fc is the cutoff frequency of the planar surface-mounted waveguide.

[0011] In a possible implementation, a third distance h is defined between the first substrate and the second substrate, where h≤d1.

[0012] In a possible implementation, a plurality of first pads are provided on the first substrate and / or the second substrate, and the first pads correspond one-to-one to the first conductors.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the diameter of the first pad is d2, where 0.6d1≤d2≤1.2d1.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the planar surface-mount waveguide further includes a second conductor, which is used to connect to a feed source, wherein a first end of the second conductor is electrically connected to the first conductive surface, and a second end of the second conductor is electrically connected to the second conductive surface.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the planar surface-mount waveguide further includes a matching microstrip line, one end of the matching microstrip line is connected to the second conductor, the other end of the matching microstrip line is used to connect to an input microstrip line, and the end of the input microstrip line away from the matching microstrip line is used to feed a radio frequency signal.

[0016] In a possible implementation, a metallized via is provided on the second substrate, and the second substrate is grounded through the metallized via.

[0017] In a possible implementation, an insulating region is provided on a side of the second substrate facing the first substrate, and the matching microstrip line is provided in the insulating region.

[0018] In a possible implementation, a second pad is provided on the second conductive surface, a third pad is provided on the first conductive surface, two ends of the second conductor are connected to the second pad and the third pad respectively, and the matching microstrip line is connected to the second pad.

[0019] In a possible implementation, a slot is provided on the first substrate, the slot is connected to the transmission channel, and the planar surface-mounted waveguide is coupled to the radiation unit through the slot.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the transmission channel is a hollow channel.

[0021] In a possible implementation manner, at least a portion of the transmission channel is filled with a dielectric material.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first substrate and the second substrate are made of non-metallic materials, the surface of one side of the first substrate is metallized to form the first conductive surface, and the surface of one side of the second substrate is metallized to form the second conductive surface.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the first substrate and the second substrate are made of metal material, the metal surface on one side of the first substrate is the first conductive surface, and the metal surface on one side of the second substrate is the second conductive surface.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the first conductor is a solder ball or a copper core solder ball.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the planar surface-mount waveguide covers an electromagnetic wave frequency band of 3 GHz to 30 GHz or 30 GHz to 300 GHz.

[0026] In a second aspect, the present application also provides a microwave integrated system, which includes a first device, a second device, an input microstrip line and the planar surface-mount waveguide provided in the first aspect of the present application, one end of the input microstrip line is connected to the matching microstrip line in the waveguide, one end of the input microstrip line away from the matching microstrip line is coupled to the first device, and the waveguide is coupled to the second device.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the microwave integrated system is an electromagnetic wave transmission system, the first component is an amplifier, a power splitter, or a feeding network, and the second component is an antenna.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the microwave integrated system is an electromagnetic wave receiving system, the first component is an antenna, and the second component is a chip.

[0029] In a third aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which includes the microwave integrated system provided in the second aspect of the present application.

[0030] It should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are merely illustrative and are not restrictive of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0032] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a planar surface-mount waveguide provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of a microwave integrated system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG3 is a schematic structural diagram of a microwave integration system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of a microwave integrated system provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG5 is a front view of a planar surface-mount waveguide provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG6 is a simulation diagram of a planar surface-mount waveguide in operation according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG7 is a graph showing the transmission coefficient and return loss of a planar surface-mount waveguide according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a planar surface-mount waveguide provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG9 is a side view of a planar surface-mount waveguide provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG10 is a partial side view of a planar surface-mount waveguide provided in another embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG11 is an enlarged view of point A in FIG2 ;

[0043] FIG12 is a graph showing the transmission coefficient and return loss of the microwave integrated system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0044] Figure 1: 10-waveguide; 20-input microstrip line; 30-first device; 40-second device; 1-first substrate; 11-first conductive surface; 12-slot; 2-second substrate; 21-second conductive surface; 22-insulating region; 23-metallized via; 24-second pad; 3-conductor array; 31-first conductor; 4-transmission channel; 5-second conductor; 6-matching microstrip line; 7-first pad; X-first direction; Y-second direction; Z-thickness direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] In order to better understand the technical solutions of this specification, the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0046] It should be clear that the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this specification, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this specification, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this specification.

[0047] The terms used in the examples of this application are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit this specification. The singular forms "a," "an," "the," and "the" used in the examples of this application and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0048] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified or limited, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance; unless otherwise specified or explained, the term "plurality" refers to two or more; the terms "connected" and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "connected" can mean a fixed connection, a detachable connection, an integral connection, or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0049] Surface-mounted waveguide: A device that uses metal conductors to conduct current and electromagnetic waves on a dielectric plane, enabling high-speed, high-capacity, and low-loss information transmission.

[0050] Cutoff frequency: refers to the boundary frequency at which the output signal energy of a system begins to drop sharply (or rise sharply in a band-stop filter).

[0051] Wavelength: Or operating wavelength, this can be the wavelength corresponding to the center frequency of the resonant frequency or the center frequency of the operating frequency band supported by the antenna. For example, if the center frequency of the B1 uplink frequency band (resonant frequency 1920MHz to 1980MHz) is 1955MHz, the operating wavelength can be the wavelength calculated using 1955MHz. "Operating wavelength" is not limited to the center frequency; it can also refer to the wavelength corresponding to a non-center frequency of the resonant frequency or operating frequency band.

[0052] Coupling: can be understood as direct coupling and / or indirect coupling, and "coupling connection" can be understood as direct coupling connection and / or indirect coupling connection. Direct coupling can also be referred to as "electrical connection", which is understood as the physical contact and electrical conduction between components; it can also be understood as the form in which different components in the circuit structure are connected through physical lines such as printed circuit board (PCB) copper foil or wires that can transmit electrical signals; "indirect coupling" can be understood as two conductors being electrically conductive in an airless / non-contact manner. In one embodiment, indirect coupling can also be referred to as capacitive coupling, for example, signal transmission is achieved by forming an equivalent capacitance through coupling between the gap between two conductive parts.

[0053] High-frequency electromagnetic waves generally include microwaves (3 GHz to 30 GHz), millimeter waves (30 GHz to 300 GHz), or frequencies greater than 300 GHz. The guidance and propagation of high-frequency electromagnetic waves typically rely on transmission lines capable of guiding the propagation of these waves. Commonly used planar transmission lines include microstrip (MS), stripline (SPL), and coplanar waveguide (CPW). These transmission lines exhibit significant transmission losses in high-frequency bands, including conductor loss, dielectric loss, and radiation loss.

[0054] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a planar surface-mount waveguide provided in an embodiment of the present application. With reference to Figure 1, an embodiment of the present application provides a planar surface-mount waveguide (hereinafter referred to as a waveguide). Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a microwave integrated system provided in an embodiment of the present application. With reference to Figure 2, the waveguide 10 can be applied to a microwave integrated system, which is mainly used to transmit electromagnetic waves. The microwave integrated system includes a first device 30, a second device 40, and an input microstrip line 20. The input microstrip line 20 includes an input end and an output end. The input end is coupled to the first device 30 for receiving an energy signal from the first device 30. The output end can be connected to the waveguide through a matching microstrip line 6. The input microstrip line 20 can transmit the energy signal to the waveguide through the matching microstrip line 6. The matching microstrip line 6 can match the impedance of the waveguide and the input microstrip line 20 to enhance the effect of energy transmission and reduce energy reflection loss. The waveguide can be coupled to the second device 40 for transmitting energy to the second device 40.

[0055] In one embodiment, FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a microwave integrated system provided in one embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG3, the microwave integrated system can be an electromagnetic wave receiving system, wherein the first device 30 can be a signal receiving device for receiving an external electromagnetic signal, such as a receiving antenna. The first device 30 can transmit the received electromagnetic signal to the second device 40 through a waveguide. The second device 40 can be a chip or other device for processing the signal. In another embodiment, FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a microwave integrated system provided in another embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG4, the microwave integrated system can also be an electromagnetic wave transmitting system, wherein the first device 30 can be a device for feeding an electromagnetic signal into the waveguide, such as an amplifier, a power divider, a coupler, an antenna feeding network, etc. The second device 40 can be an antenna or other device for transmitting electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic energy fed into the first device 30 can be transmitted to the second device 40 through the waveguide and radiated externally through the second device 40. Among them, the waveguide provided in this embodiment can play the role of transmitting electromagnetic signals in the system. It can be used for both transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals, and can reduce the loss during the propagation of electromagnetic energy and improve the quality of electromagnetic signal transmission and reception. In addition, the waveguide provided in this embodiment can be specifically applied to architectures such as millimeter-wave high-density integrated RF front-end, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) phased array, and 5G / 6G base station RF front-end.

[0056] In one embodiment, the microwave integrated system can be applied to a communication device, which can be a terminal device or a communication base station. In one embodiment, the communication base station can be a 4G base station, a 5G base station, a 6G base station, etc. In one embodiment, the terminal device is also referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), a mobile station, or a mobile terminal. The terminal device can be widely used in various scenarios, such as D2D communication, V2X communication, machine-type communication (MTC), IoT, virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, or smart city. For example, the terminal device can be: a mobile phone, a computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a robotic arm, a camera, a robot, or smart home devices (such as TVs, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, speakers, set-top boxes), relays, customer premise equipment (CPE), etc.

[0057] The various terminal devices introduced above, if located on a vehicle (e.g., placed / installed in a vehicle), can be considered as on-board terminal devices. On-board terminal devices can be on-board modules, on-board modules, on-board components, on-board chips, or on-board units built into a vehicle as one or more components or units. On-board terminal devices can be complete vehicle equipment, on-board modules, vehicles, on-board units (OBUs), roadside units (RSUs), telematics boxes (T-boxes), chips, or system-on-chips (SOCs), etc. The above chips or SOCs can be installed in vehicles, OBUs, RSUs, or T-boxes.

[0058] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing the functions, such as a chip system or a combination of devices or components capable of implementing the functions of the terminal device, which can be installed in the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal device.

[0059] Terminal devices may also be referred to as terminals, terminal devices, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, drone, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0060] In one embodiment, referring to FIG1 , the waveguide provided in this embodiment includes a first substrate 1 and a second substrate 2. The first substrate 1 is provided with a first conductive surface 11 at one end facing the second substrate 2, and the second substrate 2 is provided with a second conductive surface 21 at one end facing the first substrate 1. A gap is formed between the first conductive surface 11 and the second conductive surface 21. For example, the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 can both be made of metal materials. For example, the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 can both be made of metal plates. The surface of the first substrate 1 facing the second substrate 2 can serve as the first conductive surface 11, and the surface of the second substrate 2 facing the first substrate 1 can serve as the second conductive surface 21. The first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 made of metal plates can have good integrity and good structural reliability. For example, the materials of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 can both be non-metallic materials. The surface of the first substrate 1 facing the first substrate 1 is metallized to form the first conductive surface 11, and the surface of the second substrate 2 facing the first substrate 1 is metallized to form the second conductive surface 21. Compared with the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 made of metal plates, the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 made of non-metallic materials have a relatively light weight, which is conducive to achieving a lightweight design of the entire waveguide.

[0061] 1 , the waveguide further comprises at least two rows of spaced apart conductor arrays 3, which are disposed between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 and are electrically connected to the first conductive surface 11 and the second conductive surface 21, respectively. The at least two rows of conductor arrays 3, the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 enclose a transmission channel 4 for transmitting electromagnetic energy. In one embodiment, the transmission channel 4 can be used to propagate electromagnetic waves. The conductor array 3 is an array structure composed of a plurality of conductors arranged in a specific manner, which is not dependent on dielectric materials and can be independently processed and manufactured. In one embodiment, the conductor array 3 can be arranged in a straight line along a single direction.

[0062] Wherein, for the convenience of explanation, with reference to Figure 1, the propagation direction of the electromagnetic wave can be defined as a first direction X, and the arrangement direction of at least two rows of conductor arrays 3 is a second direction Y, and the first direction X, the second direction Y and the thickness direction Z of the waveguide are perpendicular to each other. In one embodiment, Figure 5 is a front view of a planar surface-mounted waveguide provided in an embodiment of the present application. Referring to Figure 5, the conductor array 3 has two rows, and a transmission channel 4 is formed between the two rows of conductor arrays 3 and the first conductive surface 11 and the second conductive surface 21. The transmission channel 4 can be an approximately rectangular cavity. Wherein, the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 can constitute two side walls with conductive functions of the transmission channel 4 in the thickness direction Z of the waveguide, and the two rows of conductor arrays 3 can constitute the other two side walls with conductive functions of the transmission channel 4 in the second direction Y. The transmission channel 4 is connected on both sides in the first direction X. Thus, the electromagnetic field energy can be confined to the inside of the transmission channel 4 by the first substrate 1, the second substrate 2 and the two rows of conductor arrays 3, thereby ensuring the quality of electromagnetic wave propagation in the first direction X.

[0063] The waveguide provided in this embodiment is not an integrally formed structure, nor is it a waveguide that is physically closed on all sides. Instead, it adopts a structural form in which a first substrate 1, a second substrate 2, and a conductor array 3 are assembled and matched. As described above, the conductor array 3 includes a plurality of independent and conductive conductors arranged in an array. There are certain gaps in space between these conductors, that is, the four sides of the waveguide are not completely closed in physical structure, but the first substrate 1, the second substrate 2, and the conductor array 3 can still be equivalent to a cavity that can confine electromagnetic waves, thereby making the design of the waveguide more flexible and conducive to miniaturization. In addition, the above-mentioned cavity can be a hollow cavity, so that energy is transmitted in the air in the transmission channel 4, thereby avoiding the dielectric loss caused by transmission in the dielectric material. A waveguide with this structure can achieve low loss in high-frequency bands such as microwave bands (3GHz to 30GHz), millimeter wave bands (30GHz to 300GHz), or bands greater than 300GHz, and can obtain good high-frequency transmission characteristics.

[0064] FIG6 is a simulation diagram of a planar surface-mount waveguide provided in an embodiment of the present application during operation, and FIG7 is a transmission coefficient and return loss curve diagram of a planar surface-mount waveguide provided in an embodiment of the present application. The waveguide model corresponding to the curve shown in FIG7 is as follows: the distance between the two rows of conductor arrays 3 is 4 mm, the diameter of each conductor in the conductor array 3 is 0.8 mm, and the spacing between two adjacent conductors in each conductor array 3 is 1.2 mm. The thickness of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 are both 0.254 mm, and the material of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 is MT40 material (dielectric constant 3.38, loss tangent 0.008) substrate. The first conductive surface 11 is formed by metallization on the first substrate 1, and the second conductive surface 21 is formed by metallization on the second substrate 2. Referring to FIG7, curve a is the return loss (S11) curve, and curve b is the transmission coefficient (S21) curve. In the 50 GHz to 100 GHz millimeter wave frequency band, S11 is better than -20 dB, and S21 is better than -0.01 dB. It can be seen from this that the waveguide provided by this embodiment has good high-frequency transmission characteristics.

[0065] Furthermore, in some other embodiments, at least a portion of the space within the transmission channel 4 may be filled with a dielectric material. The dielectric material can constrain electromagnetic waves, facilitating the miniaturization of the waveguide. In some space-constrained scenarios, the size of the waveguide can be reduced by filling the transmission channel 4 with a dielectric, thereby broadening the application scenarios of the waveguide. In one embodiment, the dielectric material can be a semi-cured material such as polyimide (PI) or aromatic benzocyclobutene film (ABF). These materials can facilitate the miniaturization of the waveguide while ensuring normal transmission of electromagnetic waves.

[0066] In one embodiment, FIG8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a planar surface-mounted waveguide provided in an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG8 , each conductor array 3 includes a plurality of first conductors 31, and the plurality of first conductors 31 are spaced apart in the first direction X. Each first conductor 31 is an independent structure and has a conductive function. For example, the first conductor 31 is a sphere or a cylinder made of a metal material. There is a certain interval between two adjacent first conductors 31 along the first direction X. Although this interval exists in the physical structure, the electromagnetic field energy can still be confined within the transmission channel 4, and the problem of electromagnetic field energy leakage will not occur. The waveguide of this structure ensures the transmission quality of the electromagnetic field energy, and also achieves low loss in high-frequency bands such as the millimeter wave band, and can obtain good high-frequency transmission characteristics.

[0067] In one embodiment, the first conductor 31 may be a sphere, an ellipsoid, a trapezoid, or a regular polygon. The structural shape of the first conductor 31 can be determined accordingly in a specific design scenario. This embodiment is merely illustrative of the first conductor 31 being a sphere. The conductor array 3 formed by multiple first conductors 31 in the shape of a sphere is a ball grid array (BGA). In one embodiment, the first conductor 31 may be a solder ball or a copper core solder ball. The first conductor 31 made of solder balls or copper core solder balls facilitates soldering while ensuring reliable soldering between the first conductor 31 and the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2. In one embodiment, the first conductor 31 can be secured to the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 using surface mount technology (SMT), thereby facilitating waveguide assembly and manufacturing while ensuring reliable connections between the first conductor 31, the first substrate 1, and the second substrate 2, and avoiding electromagnetic leakage caused by gaps between the first conductor 31 and the first substrate 1 or between the first conductor 31 and the second substrate 2.

[0068] In one embodiment, FIG9 is a side view of a planar surface-mounted waveguide provided in an embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG9 , the first conductor 31 has a width dimension d1 in the first direction X. In each conductor array 3, there is a first spacing p between two adjacent first conductors 31, 1.5d1≤p≤3d1, and p≤λ / 4, where λ is the operating wavelength. The first spacing p is the distance between the geometric centers of the two adjacent first conductors 31. When the first conductor 31 is a sphere, the width dimension d1 is the diameter of the sphere. When the first conductor 31 is a cube or a cuboid, the width dimension d1 is the side length of the cube or cuboid along the first direction X. By providing a certain spacing between two adjacent first conductors 31 along the first direction X, the connection operation of each first conductor 31 to the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 can be facilitated, the connection quality can be ensured, and the overall weight of the waveguide can be reduced, which is conducive to achieving a lightweight and thin waveguide. In addition, by making the first spacing p between 1.5d1 and 3d1, while facilitating the connection between the first conductor 31 and the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, it is possible to avoid leakage of electromagnetic field energy from the first gap p, thereby ensuring effective transmission of electromagnetic field energy in the transmission channel 4 and ensuring transmission quality.

[0069] In one embodiment, referring to FIG10 , the width dimension d1 of the first conductor 31 in the first direction X needs to be controlled within a certain range. If the width dimension d1 is too small, for example, less than 0.05 mm, it is not conducive to the reliable connection of the first conductor 31 to the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2. If the width dimension d1 is too large, for example, greater than 5 mm, the waveguide structure will be required to have a larger structure, which will also result in a lower transmission frequency band and is not conducive to the transmission of electromagnetic waves in the millimeter wave band. To this end, in this embodiment, the width dimension d1 can be between 0.05 mm and 5 mm. This not only facilitates the connection between the first conductor 31 and the corresponding substrate and ensures connection reliability, but also facilitates the high-quality transmission of energy in high-frequency bands such as the millimeter wave band. For example, the width dimension d1 can be 0.05 mm, 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, or 5 mm.

[0070] In one embodiment, referring to FIG6 , a second spacing a is provided between two adjacent conductive arrays 3, where a=c / (2ⅹfc), where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and fc is the cutoff frequency of the waveguide. The value of the second spacing a can be set according to the operating frequency band of the waveguide. For example, when transmitting electromagnetic waves in the millimeter wave band, the value of the second spacing a can be set according to the operating frequency band of 30 GHz to 300 GHz to achieve effective transmission of electromagnetic waves in the millimeter wave band by the waveguide.

[0071] In one embodiment, referring to FIG9 , a third spacing h is defined between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, where h≤d1. The third spacing h is the distance between the first conductive surface 11 and the second conductive surface 21, thereby facilitating miniaturization of the waveguide in the thickness direction Z. Furthermore, by aligning the size of the first conductors 31 and the first gap between two adjacent first conductors 31, high-quality transmission of electromagnetic waves in the millimeter wave band can be achieved, thereby reducing losses.

[0072] In one embodiment, FIG10 is a partial side view of a planar surface-mount waveguide provided in another embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG10 , a plurality of first pads 7 are provided on the first substrate 1 and / or the second substrate 2, and the first pads 7 correspond one to one with the first conductor 31. For ease of explanation, the first pad 7 on the first substrate 1 is taken as an example for explanation. The first pad 7 can be a structure independently processed on the first substrate 1, or it can be a metal conductive part leaked at a preset position on the first substrate 1. The first conductor 31 can be welded to the first pad 7 to achieve the connection and fixation of the first conductor 31 to the first substrate 1. The first pad 7 can ensure the positional accuracy of the first conductor 31 connected to the first substrate 1, and can also ensure the reliability of the connection of the first conductor 31 on the first substrate 1. In addition, the first pad 7 on the second substrate 2 can have the same structure and function as the first pad 7 on the first substrate 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0073] In order to meet the welding effect between the first conductor 31 and the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, the first pad 7 needs to have certain size requirements. If the size of the first pad 7 is too small, problems such as open welding and falling off of the first conductor 31 may easily occur after welding, and the welding reliability between the first conductor 31 and the first substrate 1 or the second substrate 2 cannot be guaranteed. If the size of the first pad 7 is too large, the position accuracy of the welding will be reduced. In one embodiment, referring to Figure 10, the diameter of the first pad 7 is d2, 0.6d1≤d2≤1.2d1. By making the diameter d2 of the first pad 7 and the size d1 of the first conductor 31 meet the above relationship, the size of the first pad 7 can be close to the size of the first conductor 31, which can ensure the reliability of welding and the position accuracy of welding.

[0074] In one embodiment, referring to FIG2 , the waveguide further includes a second conductor 5 , which is used to connect to a feed source. The feed source may be a structure or device that feeds an electromagnetic signal to the second conductor 5 . The second conductor 5 may be directly connected to the feed source or indirectly connected. In this embodiment, the second conductor 5 is indirectly connected to the feed source, specifically, it may be connected to the feed source via an input microstrip line 20 . The first end of the second conductor 5 is electrically connected to the first conductive surface 11 , and the second end of the second conductor 5 is electrically connected to the second conductive surface 21 . The second conductor 5 and the first conductor 31 may have the same structure, and the connection between the second conductor 5 and the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 may be the same as the connection between the first conductor 31 and the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2. Exemplarily, the second conductor 5 may be soldered to the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 using SMT surface mounting technology. The second conductor 5 is used to receive an input signal from the first device 30 , which may be further transmitted to the second device 40 behind it via the waveguide. In one embodiment, the second conductor 5 can be arranged at one end of the waveguide along the first direction X and located at the center of the waveguide in the second direction Y, thereby enabling the signal energy input to the waveguide to be transmitted evenly and stably, thereby ensuring the transmission quality.

[0075] In one embodiment, FIG11 is an enlarged view of point A in FIG2 . Referring to FIG11 , the waveguide further comprises a matching microstrip line 6 , one end of which is connected to the second conductor 5 , and the other end of which is connected to the input microstrip line 20 . The end of the input microstrip line 20 away from the matching microstrip line 6 can be connected to the first device 30 to receive the RF signal fed from the first device 30 . The impedance of the input microstrip line 20 and the impedance of the waveguide differ to a certain extent. For example, the input microstrip line 20 transmits the TEM mode, while the waveguide transmits the TE10 mode. If the input microstrip line 20 is directly connected to the waveguide, the impedance mismatch between the two modes will cause some electromagnetic waves to be reflected, preventing effective transmission and resulting in energy loss. By providing the matching microstrip line 6 between the input microstrip line 20 and the second conductor 5 , the impedance between the input microstrip line 20 and the waveguide can be matched by the matching microstrip line 6 , enabling efficient energy transmission between the input microstrip line 20 and the waveguide, reducing losses and improving energy transmission quality.

[0076] FIG12 is a graph showing the transmission coefficient and return loss of a microwave integrated system according to an embodiment of the present application. The curves shown in FIG12 correspond to a model of a microwave integrated system in which the distance between the two rows of conductor arrays 3 in the waveguide is 6 mm, the diameter of each conductor in the conductor array 3 is 0.3 mm, the spacing between two adjacent first conductors 31 in each conductor array 3 is 0.5 mm, the thickness of each first substrate 1 and second substrate 2 is 0.254 mm, and the materials of the first substrate 1 and second substrate 2 are MT40 (dielectric constant 3.38, loss tangent 0.008) substrates. A first conductive surface 11 is formed by metallization on the first substrate 1, and a second conductive surface 21 is formed by metallization on the second substrate 2. Referring to FIG12 , curve c is the return loss (S11) curve, and curve d is the transmission coefficient (S21) curve. In the 40 GHz to 60 GHz frequency band, the S11 of the microwave integrated system is better than -15 dB, and the insertion loss is less than 0.36 dB. It can be seen that the microwave integrated system provided by this embodiment has the characteristics of broadband and low loss. In one embodiment, referring to Figure 11, a metallized via 23 is provided on the second substrate 2, and the second substrate 2 is grounded through the metallized via 23. Among them, the area of ​​the second substrate 2 is larger than the area of ​​the first substrate 1. In the thickness direction Z of the waveguide, the portion of the second substrate 2 that overlaps with the projection of the first substrate 1 can be used as part of the transmission channel 4, and the remaining portion of the second substrate 2 can be used to arrange the input microstrip line 20 and set the metallized via 23. By providing the metallized via 23 on the second substrate 2, it is possible to design a grounding structure without taking up additional space, which is conducive to the miniaturization and lightweight design of the waveguide.

[0077] In one embodiment, referring to FIG2 , an insulating region 22 is provided on the side of the second substrate 2 facing the first substrate 1. The matching microstrip line 6 is disposed in the insulating region 22 to prevent the matching microstrip line 6 from contacting the conductive portion of the second substrate 2 and causing a short circuit. The insulating region 22 can be shaped like a circle, square, ellipse, or trapezoid. Furthermore, the insulating region 22 can surround the periphery of the second conductive body 5 to prevent the second conductive body 5 from contacting and short-circuiting with nearby conductive structures.

[0078] In one embodiment, referring to FIG11 , a second pad 24 is provided on the second conductive surface 21, and a third pad (not shown) is provided on the first conductive surface 11. The two ends of the second conductor 5 are connected to the second pad 24 and the third pad, respectively, and the matching microstrip line 6 is connected to the second pad 24. The second pad 24 and the third pad can have the same structure as the first pad 7 described above. The second pad 24 and the third pad can ensure the reliability of the connection between the second conductor 5 and the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, while also ensuring that the second conductor 5 has a high welding precision.

[0079] As described above, in a microwave integrated system, the waveguide can be used to connect between a first device 30 and a second device 40, and the waveguide can transmit the electromagnetic signal received from the first device 30 to the second device 40. In one embodiment, referring to FIG4 , when the microwave integrated system can also be an electromagnetic wave transmitting system, the first device 30 can be a feeding network, and the second device 40 can be an antenna. The feeding network can feed the antenna through the waveguide so that the antenna can radiate high-frequency electromagnetic waves. A slot 12 can be provided on the first substrate 1 of the waveguide, and the slot 12 is connected to the transmission channel 4. The waveguide is coupled to the antenna through the slot 12 to transmit energy to the antenna by coupling. The waveguide can be integrated as a whole at the bottom of the antenna, thereby improving the compactness of the waveguide and antenna integration and reducing space occupancy.

[0080] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications and variations are possible. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A planar surface mounted waveguide, characterized in that: include: A first substrate and a second substrate, wherein the first substrate is provided with a first conductive surface at one end facing the second substrate, and the second substrate is provided with a second conductive surface at one end facing the first substrate, and there is a gap between the first conductive surface and the second conductive surface; At least two rows of conductor arrays are arranged at intervals, and the conductor arrays are arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, and are electrically connected to the first conductive surface and the second conductive surface respectively. At least two rows of conductor arrays, the first substrate and the second substrate form an energy transmission channel.

2. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each row of the conductor array includes a plurality of first conductors, and the plurality of first conductors are spaced apart and distributed in a first direction; the first direction is a transmission direction of energy in the transmission channel.

3. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first conductor has a width dimension d1 in the first direction. In each of the conductor arrays, there is a first spacing p between two adjacent first conductors, 1.5d1≤p≤3d1, and p≤λ / 4, where λ is the operating wavelength.

4. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to claim 3, characterized in that: The width dimension d1 is between 0.05 mm and 5 mm.

5. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: There is a second spacing a between two adjacent rows of the conductor arrays, where a=c / (2xfc), c is the speed of light propagation in a vacuum, and fc is the cutoff frequency of the planar surface-mounted waveguide.

6. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: There is a third distance h between the first substrate and the second substrate, where h≤d1.

7. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: A plurality of first pads are disposed on the first substrate and / or the second substrate, and the first pads correspond to the first conductors one by one.

8. The planar surface mounted waveguide according to claim 7, characterized in that: The diameter of the first pad is d2, 0.6d1≤d2≤1.2d1.

9. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: It also includes a second conductor, which is used to connect to a feed source, wherein a first end of the second conductor is electrically connected to the first conductive surface, and a second end of the second conductor is electrically connected to the second conductive surface.

10. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to claim 9, characterized in that: It also includes a matching microstrip line, one end of which is connected to the second conductor, the other end of which is used to connect to an input microstrip line, and the end of the input microstrip line away from the matching microstrip line is used to feed a radio frequency signal.

11. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to claim 10, characterized in that: The second substrate is provided with a metallized via hole, and the second substrate is grounded through the metallized via hole.

12. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to claim 10, characterized in that: An insulating region is arranged on a side of the second substrate facing the first substrate, and the matching microstrip line is arranged in the insulating region.

13. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: A second pad is disposed on the second conductive surface, a third pad is disposed on the first conductive surface, two ends of the second conductor are respectively connected to the second pad and the third pad, and the matching microstrip line is connected to the second pad.

14. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that: The first substrate is provided with a slot, the slot is communicated with the transmission channel, and the planar surface-mounted waveguide is coupled with the radiation unit through the slot.

15. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that: The transmission channel is a hollow channel.

16. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that: At least a portion of the transmission channel is filled with a dielectric material.

17. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that: The materials of the first substrate and the second substrate are non-metallic materials. The surface of one side of the first substrate is metallized to form the first conductive surface, and the surface of one side of the second substrate is metallized to form the second conductive surface.

18. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that: The materials of the first substrate and the second substrate are metal materials, the metal surface on one side of the first substrate is the first conductive surface, and the metal surface on one side of the second substrate is the second conductive surface.

19. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that: The first conductor is a solder ball or a copper core solder ball.

20. The planar surface-mount waveguide according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that: The electromagnetic wave frequency band covered by the planar surface-mounted waveguide is 3 GHz to 30 GHz or 30 GHz to 300 GHz.

21. A microwave integrated system, characterized in that: It comprises a first device, a second device, an input microstrip line and a planar surface-mount waveguide as described in any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein one end of the input microstrip line is connected to a matching microstrip line in the waveguide, one end of the input microstrip line away from the matching microstrip line is coupled to the first device, and the waveguide is coupled to the second device.

22. The microwave integrated system according to claim 21, characterized in that: The microwave integrated system is an electromagnetic wave transmitting system, the first device is an amplifier, a power divider or a feeding network, and the second device is an antenna.

23. The microwave integrated system according to claim 21, characterized in that: The microwave integrated system is an electromagnetic wave receiving system, the first component is an antenna, and the second component is a chip.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: A microwave integrated system comprising any one of claims 21-23.

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