Array antenna and communication device

Abstract

Provided in the present disclosure are an array antenna and a communication device. The array antenna comprises: a reflective floor, antenna units and a cladding structure, wherein the plurality of antenna units are arranged in an array on the reflective floor; the cladding structure is located on the side of the antenna units that faces away from the reflective floor; and the orthographic projection of the cladding structure on the reflective floor covers at least some of the antenna units. The cladding structure comprises a dielectric plate, and a first patch and a second patch which are located on at least one side of the dielectric plate, wherein the pattern of the first patch is designed in such a way that the reflection coefficient of the first patch increases as an incident electromagnetic wave frequency increases; and the pattern of the second patch is designed in such a way that the reflection coefficient of the second patch decreases as the incident electromagnetic wave frequency increases, thus helping to improve the gain of the array antenna.

Description

Array antennas and communication equipment Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to array antennas and communication equipment. Background Art

[0002] Fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) is a new generation of broadband mobile communication technology characterized by high speed, low latency, and a large number of connections. 5G communication requires a high density of base stations, necessitating the miniaturization of base station antennas to meet these requirements. Therefore, small, high-gain antennas are currently a hot topic of research.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides an array antenna and a communication device for improving antenna gain.

[0005] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, an array antenna is provided, comprising:

[0006] reflective flooring;

[0007] Multiple antenna units arranged in an array are located on a reflective floor;

[0008] The cladding structure is located on a side of the antenna unit facing away from the reflective floor; the orthographic projection of the cladding structure on the reflective floor covers at least a portion of the antenna unit; the cladding structure includes a dielectric plate and a first patch and a second patch located on at least one side of the dielectric plate; wherein the pattern of the first patch satisfies the requirement that the reflection coefficient of the first patch increases with the increase of the frequency of the incident electromagnetic wave; and the pattern of the second patch satisfies the requirement that the reflection coefficient of the second patch decreases with the increase of the frequency of the incident electromagnetic wave.

[0009] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, the cladding structure includes a plurality of cladding units; one cladding unit includes at least one first patch and at least one second patch.

[0010] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, for any cladding unit, the first patch and the second patch are respectively located on two sides of the dielectric plate.

[0011] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, the first patch is a symmetrical structure; the second patch is a symmetrical structure;

[0012] A cladding unit includes a first patch and a second patch; the orthographic projection of the geometric center of the first patch on the dielectric plate coincides with the orthographic projection of the geometric center of the second patch on the dielectric plate.

[0013] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, the first patch is a rectangular patch, and the second patch is an "X"-shaped patch.

[0014] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, the second patch includes a first portion and a second portion that intersect each other;

[0015] Along the row direction of the array of antenna elements, the first portions of the second patches located in the same row extend on the same straight line; along the column direction of the array of antenna elements, the second portions of the second patches located in the same column extend on the same straight line;

[0016] Two adjacent sides of the first patch are parallel to the row direction and the column direction respectively.

[0017] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, the side length a of any side of the first patch satisfies: 0.17λ≤a≤0.35λ; the width w of the first part and the second part of the second patch satisfies: 0.03λ≤w≤0.05λ; λ is the wavelength corresponding to the median frequency of the slope increasing segment of the reflection phase frequency response curve of the cladding unit.

[0018] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, the first patch is located on the side of the dielectric plate facing away from the antenna unit; the second patch is located on the side of the dielectric plate facing the antenna unit.

[0019] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, the sizes of the first patches of the cladding units are not completely the same.

[0020] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, the covering structure includes at least one first repeating unit; a first repeating unit includes multiple rows and columns of covering units; in a first repeating unit, the sizes of the first patches of the covering units located in the same row are different, and the sizes of the first patches of the covering units located in the same column are different.

[0021] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, the cladding structure includes a plurality of second repeating units; the plurality of second repeating units are arranged in an array along the row direction and the column direction of the array of antenna units;

[0022] A second repeating unit includes multiple covering units arranged in an array; in the same second repeating unit, the first patches of each covering unit have the same size; along the row direction of the array of antenna units, the first patches of different second repeating units in the same row have different sizes; and along the column direction of the array of antenna units, the first patches of different second repeating units in the same column have different sizes.

[0023] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, the first patch and the second patch are located on the same side of the dielectric plate.

[0024] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, for any cladding unit, the second patch includes a third portion and a fourth portion that intersect with each other; the third portion and the fourth portion intersect with each other to form a plurality of first patch setting areas;

[0025] A covering unit includes a plurality of first patches; the first patches are arranged within a first patch arrangement area.

[0026] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, for any covering unit, the size of the first patch is not completely the same.

[0027] In the array antenna provided by the present disclosure, the number of cladding units is the same as the number of antenna units; one cladding unit corresponds to one antenna unit and is located on the side of the corresponding antenna unit facing away from the reflective floor.

[0028] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, comprising any of the above array antennas.

[0029] The beneficial effects of the present disclosure are as follows:

[0030] The present disclosure provides an array antenna and communication equipment. The array antenna includes: a reflective floor, antenna units, and a cladding structure. A plurality of antenna units are arrayed on the reflective floor. The cladding structure is located on the side of the antenna units facing away from the reflective floor. The orthographic projection of the cladding structure on the reflective floor covers at least a portion of the antenna units. The cladding structure includes a dielectric plate and a first patch and a second patch located on at least one side of the dielectric plate. The pattern of the first patch satisfies the requirement that the reflection coefficient of the first patch increases with the increase of the frequency of the incident electromagnetic wave; the pattern of the second patch satisfies the requirement that the reflection coefficient of the second patch decreases with the increase of the frequency of the incident electromagnetic wave. Within the entire operating frequency band of the array antenna, it is beneficial to generate weak resonance in the FP resonant cavity formed between the cladding structure and the reflective floor, so that the slope of the reflection phase frequency response curve of the cladding structure within this frequency band is positive, thereby improving the directivity coefficient of the array antenna and thus improving the gain of the array antenna. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

[0032] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of an array antenna according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of a cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG3a is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of an array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG3 b is a second schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a top view of a cladding unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a single antenna unit of a loaded cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG6 is a VSWR curve of an antenna unit loaded with a cladding unit provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG7 is one of the gain curves of the antenna unit loaded with the cladding unit provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0040] FIG8 is a gain curve of an antenna unit without a cladding unit provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] FIG9 is a curve showing a reflection phase variation with frequency of a cladding unit with different first patch sizes provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG10 is a curve showing a reflection coefficient variation with frequency for cladding units with different first patch sizes provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0043] FIG11 is a third schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0044] FIG12 is a schematic top view of a cladding structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] FIG13 is a fourth schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0046] FIG14 is a second schematic top view of a cladding structure provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0047] FIG15 is a fifth schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0048] FIG16 is a third schematic top view of a cladding structure provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0049] FIG17 is a second structural diagram of a single antenna unit of a loaded cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0050] FIG18 is a second gain curve of the antenna unit loaded with the cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0051] FIG19 is a third structural diagram of a single antenna unit of a loaded cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0052] FIG20 is a third gain curve of the antenna unit loaded with a cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0053] FIG21 is a fourth structural diagram of a single antenna unit of a loaded cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0054] FIG22 is a second schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of an array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0055] FIG23 is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of a single antenna unit loaded with a cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0056] FIG24a is a schematic diagram of a top view of an antenna unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0057] FIG24 b is a schematic diagram of a dual-polarized magneto-electric dipole 3D structure of an antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0058] FIG24c is a schematic diagram of a top view of a single-polarized magnetoelectric dipole structure of an antenna unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0059] FIG24 d is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of a single-polarized electromagnetic dipole provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0060] FIG24e is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of a feeding structure provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0061] FIG25 is the sixth schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present disclosure more obvious and easy to understand, the present disclosure will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. However, the example embodiments can be implemented in various forms and should not be understood as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; on the contrary, these embodiments are provided to make the present disclosure more comprehensive and complete, and to fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The same figure marks in the figures represent the same or similar structures, and their repeated descriptions will be omitted. The words expressing position and direction described in the present disclosure are all explained using the accompanying drawings as examples, but changes can be made as needed, and all changes are included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. The drawings of the present disclosure are only used to illustrate relative position relationships and do not represent true proportions.

[0063] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an array antenna is provided.

[0064] FIG1 is one of the schematic cross-sectional structural diagrams of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0065] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG1 , the array antenna includes: a reflective floor 1, a plurality of antenna units 2 arranged in an array, and a cladding structure 3. The antenna unit 2 is located on the reflective floor 1, and the cladding structure 3 is located on the side of the antenna unit 2 facing away from the reflective floor 1. The orthographic projection of the cladding structure 3 on the reflective floor 1 covers at least part of the antenna unit 2. Specifically, the orthographic projection of the cladding structure 3 on the reflective floor 1 covers more than two antenna units 2, so that more electromagnetic wave signals can be reflected and transmitted through the cladding structure 3, thereby improving the gain of the antenna. The cladding structure 3 includes a dielectric plate 30 and a first patch 31 and a second patch 32 located on at least one side of the dielectric plate 30. In a specific implementation, the first patch 31 and the second patch 32 can be made of conductive materials such as metal, and the dielectric plate 30 can be made of a dielectric material with low dielectric loss. The cladding structure 3 is spaced a certain distance from the antenna unit 2. The first patch 31 and the second patch 32 partially transmit and partially reflect the electromagnetic wave signals radiated by the antenna unit 2, respectively. This forms a Fabry-Perot (FP) resonant cavity between the cladding structure 3 and the reflective floor 1. After one or more reflections within the FP resonant cavity, some of the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna unit 2 pass through the cladding structure 3 and are then co-integrated with the electromagnetic waves that were directly transmitted through the cladding structure 3, thereby increasing the gain of the array antenna.

[0066] In specific implementations, array antennas are typically used to radiate electromagnetic waves in a set frequency band, that is, array antennas typically operate within a frequency range. In the disclosed embodiment, the first patch 31 and the second patch 32 both have a set pattern, wherein the pattern of the first patch 31 satisfies the requirement that the reflection coefficient of the first patch 31 increases with increasing frequency of the incident electromagnetic wave, and the pattern of the second patch 32 satisfies the requirement that the reflection coefficient of the second patch 32 decreases with increasing frequency of the incident electromagnetic wave. This facilitates the generation of weak resonance within the FP resonant cavity formed between the cladding structure 3 and the reflective floor 1 within the entire operating frequency band of the array antenna, thereby making the slope of the reflection phase frequency response curve of the cladding structure within this frequency band positive, thereby improving the directivity coefficient of the array antenna and thus increasing the gain of the array antenna.

[0067] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG1 , the cladding structure 3 includes a plurality of cladding units 300. A cladding unit 300 includes at least one first patch 31 and at least one second patch 32. For the entire cladding structure 3, the cladding structure 3 is composed of a plurality of cladding units 300, and the plurality of cladding units 300 work together to achieve a greater antenna gain. In a specific implementation, the number and pattern of the first patch 21 and the second patch 22 can be designed for each cladding unit 300, thereby increasing the degree of freedom of design and achieving a more refined design. In addition, by designing the structures of different cladding units 300, the adjustable electromagnetic wave wavelength range of the cladding structure can be expanded, thereby increasing the gain bandwidth.

[0068] FIG2 is one of the three-dimensional structural schematic diagrams of the cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0069] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG2 , for any cladding unit 300 , the first patch 31 and the second patch 32 are respectively located on opposite sides of the dielectric plate 30. Specifically, the first patch 31 can be located on the side of the dielectric plate 30 facing the antenna unit 2, and the second patch 32 can be located on the side of the dielectric plate 30 facing away from the antenna unit 2; or the first patch 31 can be located on the side of the dielectric plate 30 facing away from the antenna unit 2, and the second patch 32 can be located on the side of the dielectric plate 30 facing the antenna unit 2, without limitation herein.

[0070] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG2 , the first patch 31 and the second patch 32 are both symmetrical structures. Specifically, the first patch 31 and the second patch 32 can each be configured as an axisymmetric structure, a centrally symmetrical structure, or a rotationally symmetrical structure, among other common symmetrical structures. For example, the pattern of the first patch 31 can be configured as a rectangle, a circle, a diamond, a regular hexagon, or the like, without limitation. The pattern of the second patch 32 can be configured as a cross pattern with a symmetrical structure, such as an "X" shape, without limitation.

[0071] Symmetrical structures typically have a geometric center. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 2, a cladding unit 30 includes a first patch 31 and a second patch 32, wherein the orthographic projection of the geometric center of the first patch 31 on the dielectric plate 30 coincides with the orthographic projection of the geometric center of the second patch 31 on the dielectric plate 30. The symmetrical pattern of the first patch 31 and the second patch 32, with their geometric centers coinciding, facilitates relatively uniform radiation of electromagnetic waves toward the front of the array antenna, further improving the radiation performance of the array antenna.

[0072] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG2 , the pattern of the first patch 31 in the cladding unit 30 is rectangular, forming a rectangular patch. The rectangle can be elongated or square, without limitation. The pattern of the second patch 32 is X-shaped, forming an X-shaped patch. The rectangular patch and the X-shaped patch are disposed on opposite sides of the dielectric plate 30, respectively, and the orthographic projections of the geometric centers of the rectangular patch and the X-shaped patch on the dielectric plate 30 coincide with each other.

[0073] FIG3a is one of the three-dimensional structural schematic diagrams of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG3b is a second three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0074] Specifically, as shown in Figures 2, 3a and 3b, the second patch 32 includes a first part 321 and a second part 322 that intersect each other. The first part 321 and the second part 322 are both strip patterns, and the first part 321 and the second part 322 intersect each other to form an "X"-shaped patch.

[0075] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 3a and 3b, the cladding units 300 are arranged in an array along the row and column directions of the array formed by the antenna units 2. Along the row direction x of the array of antenna units, the first portions 321 of the second patches 32 located in the same row extend along the same straight line. Along the column direction y of the array of antenna units, the second portions 322 of the second patches 32 located in the same column extend along the same straight line. In a specific implementation, the row direction x of the array of antenna units and the column direction y of the array of antenna units are perpendicular to each other, so that the first portions 321 and the second portions 322 of the second patches 32 are perpendicular to each other, forming a "+"-shaped pattern, thereby forming the second patches 32 as "+"-shaped patches.

[0076] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG3 a , each cladding unit 300 in the cladding structure 3 can be fabricated separately, and then the multiple cladding units 300 are arranged in an array, and two adjacent cladding units 300 are spliced ​​and fixed to form a whole cladding structure 3. For example, as shown in FIG2 and FIG3 a , the cladding structure 3 includes multiple small-sized square dielectric plates 30, each of which is pre-set with a first patch 31 and a second patch 32 on both sides to form a cladding unit 300. The multiple cladding units 300 are then arranged in an array, and adjacent dielectric plates are fixed with adhesive to form the cladding structure 3.

[0077] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG3b , each cladding unit 300 in the cladding structure 3 can be fabricated simultaneously. For example, as shown in FIG2 and FIG3b , the cladding structure 3 includes a large square dielectric plate 30. The first patch 31 of each cladding unit 300 in the cladding structure 3 is formed simultaneously on one side of the square dielectric plate 30, and the second patch 32 of each cladding unit 300 is formed simultaneously on the other side of the square dielectric plate 30 opposite the first patch 31. During fabrication, a film layer for forming the first patch 31 can be deposited on the entire surface of one side of the square dielectric plate 30. Then, through patterning processes such as exposure, development, and etching, a pattern of multiple first patches 31 arranged in an array can be formed. A film layer for forming the second patch 32 is deposited on the entire surface of the other side of the square dielectric plate 30. Then, through patterning processes such as exposure, development, and etching, a pattern of multiple first patches 31 arranged in an array can be formed. A film layer for forming the second patch 32 is then deposited on the entire surface of the other side of the square dielectric plate 30. Then, through patterning processes, a patterning process is performed to form intersecting first portions 321 and second portions 322, thereby forming a pattern of multiple second portions 32 of the cladding units 300. In a specific implementation, as shown in FIG3b , the first portions 321 of the second patches 32 of the multiple coating units 300 located in the same row can be interconnected to form a continuous and uninterrupted strip pattern, and the second portions 322 of the second patches 32 of the multiple coating units 300 located in the same column can be interconnected to form a continuous and uninterrupted strip pattern, which is not limited here.

[0078] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 2, 3a, and 3b, two adjacent sides of a first patch 31 are parallel to the row and column directions of the antenna element array, respectively. For example, as shown in Figures 3a and 3b, the first patch is a rectangular patch comprising a first side 311 and a second side 312. The first side 311 of the first patch is parallel to the row direction x of the antenna element array, and the second side 312 of the first patch is parallel to the column direction y of the antenna element array. In specific implementations, the sides of the first patch may also be arranged along other directions, which is not limited here.

[0079] Figure 4 is one of the top-view structural schematic diagrams of the cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 5 is one of the structural schematic diagrams of a single antenna unit loaded with a cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 6 is the VSWR curve of the antenna unit loaded with a cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 7 is one of the gain curves of the antenna unit loaded with a cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 8 is the gain curve of the antenna unit not loaded with a cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0080] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG4 , the pattern shape of the first patch 31 of the cladding unit 300 is a rectangle. The rectangle generally includes two opposite long sides and two opposite short sides. When the rectangle is a square, the lengths of the long sides and the short sides are equal. In a specific implementation, the side length a of any side of the first patch 31 satisfies: 0.17λ≤a≤0.35λ. The pattern shape of the second patch 32 of the cladding unit 300 is a “+” shape. The second patch 32 includes a first portion 321 and a second portion 322 that intersect and are perpendicular to each other. The width w of the first portion 321 and the second portion 322 satisfies: 0.03λ≤w≤0.05λ. Wherein λ is the wavelength corresponding to the median frequency of the slope increase segment of the reflection phase frequency response curve of the cladding unit.

[0081] For example, the median frequency of the slope increase section of the reflection phase frequency response curve of a cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure is 2.6 GHZ, and the corresponding wavelength is 115 mm. The first patch of the cladding unit is rectangular, the long side of the first patch is 30 mm long, and the short side of the first patch is 20 mm long. The second patch of the cladding unit is "+" shaped, and the width of the first part and the second part of the second patch are both 5 mm. As shown in FIG5 , the cladding unit is loaded above the antenna unit to test the radiation performance of the antenna unit, wherein the first patch is located on the side of the dielectric plate away from the antenna unit, and the second patch is located on the side of the dielectric plate facing the antenna unit. As shown in FIG6 , after the above-mentioned cladding unit is loaded above the antenna unit, the VSWR value is less than 1.5 in the frequency range of 2.56 GHz to 2.66 GHz, the antenna is well matched, and the signal transmission loss is small. As shown in Figure 7, the two curves are the gain curves of the antenna unit in two different polarization directions at a frequency of 2.6 GHz. After the cladding unit is loaded above the antenna unit, the gain in different polarization directions reaches more than 8.7 dBi. Figure 8 shows the gain curve of the antenna unit without the cladding unit loaded, where the two curves are the gain curves of the antenna unit in two different polarization directions at a frequency of 2.6 GHz. The maximum gain of the antenna unit in two different polarization directions is about 8.51 dBi. After loading the cladding unit, the gain of a single antenna unit is significantly improved, and it has better radiation performance. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, multiple antenna units are arranged in an array to form an antenna array and a cladding structure composed of multiple cladding units is loaded, which can further improve the gain and obtain better radiation performance.

[0082] In some embodiments, the first patches 31 of each cladding unit 300 in the cladding structure have the same size, and the second patches 32 of each cladding unit 300 have the same size. As a result, each cladding unit 300 has the same reflection phase frequency response curve, and the array antenna has excellent radiation performance near the median frequency of the reflection phase frequency response curve. For example, if the median frequency of the reflection phase frequency response curve of each cladding unit 300 is 2.6 GHz, the array antenna, after being loaded with the cladding structure, has excellent radiation performance in the frequency range of 2.56 GHz to 2.66 GHz.

[0083] FIG9 is a curve showing a reflection phase variation with frequency of a cladding unit with different first patch sizes provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG10 is a curve showing a reflection coefficient variation with frequency of a cladding unit with different first patch sizes provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0084] In some embodiments, the size of the first patch of each cladding unit 300 may be adjusted so that the size of the first patch of each cladding unit is not completely the same, thereby improving the gain bandwidth of the antenna array.

[0085] For example, Figure 9 shows the reflection phase variation with frequency for three cladding units with different first patch sizes, i.e., reflection phase frequency response curves. The dielectric plates of the three cladding units are all made of the same material, shape, and size, the second patches are all made of the same material, shape, and size, and the first patches are all made of the same material and shape, with the difference being the size of the first patches. The first patch of the first cladding unit is a square with a side length of 18.4 mm, the first patch of the second cladding unit is a square with a side length of 18.8 mm, and the first patch of the third cladding unit is a square with a side length of 19.2 mm. As shown in Figure 9, the reflection phase of the three cladding units increases with increasing frequency within a certain frequency range. That is, all three cladding units have a frequency range in which the slope of the frequency response curve is positive. The median values ​​of the slope increasing segments of the reflection phase frequency response curves of the three cladding units are different, and the slope increasing segments of the reflection phase frequency response curves of the three cladding units all overlap to a certain extent. The median value of the slope increase section of the reflection phase frequency response curve of the first cladding unit is approximately 2.44 GHz, and the slope increase section of its reflection phase frequency response curve is approximately 2.20 GHz to 2.60 GHz. The median value of the slope increase section of the reflection phase frequency response curve of the second cladding unit is approximately 2.60 GHz, and the slope increase section of its reflection phase frequency response curve is approximately 2.40 GHz to 2.80 GHz. The median value of the slope increase section of the reflection phase frequency response curve of the third cladding unit is approximately 2.72 GHz, and the slope increase section of its reflection phase frequency response curve is approximately 2.48 GHz to 3.00 GHz. As shown in Figure 10, the reflection coefficients of the three cladding units fluctuate slightly in the slope increase section of the reflection phase frequency response curve, and the reflection coefficients of each cladding unit at the median frequency of the slope increase section of the reflection phase frequency response curve are similar. By applying a cladding structure composed of a plurality of first cladding units, a plurality of second cladding units, and a plurality of third cladding units arranged in an array above an antenna array, a large gain can be achieved within the frequency range of 2.20 GHz to 3.00 GHz, significantly improving the gain bandwidth of the array antenna compared to using cladding units of a single size. In a specific implementation, the medians of the slope increase segments of the reflection phase frequency response curves of the first cladding units, the second cladding units, and the third cladding units can be uniformly distributed within the operating frequency band of the array antenna. For example, if the operating frequency band of the array antenna is 2.00 GHz to 3.00 GHz, the medians of the slope increase segments of the reflection phase frequency response curves of the first cladding units, the second cladding units, and the third cladding units can be set to the two end values ​​and the median value of the antenna's operating frequency band, for example, 2.00 GHz, 2.50 GHz, and 3.00 GHz, respectively, to achieve uniform gain within the operating frequency band of the array antenna.

[0086] In specific implementations, depending on actual circumstances, the first patches of the first cladding unit, the second cladding unit, and the third cladding unit may also be configured to have other sizes, which are not limited herein. In some embodiments, the first patches of the multiple cladding units may also have fewer than three or greater than three different sizes. The sizes of the first patches of the multiple cladding units may be configured to ensure that the median frequencies of the slope-increasing segments of the reflection phase frequency response curves of the respective cladding units are uniformly distributed within the operating frequency range of the array antenna, which is not limited herein.

[0087] FIG11 is a third schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG12 is one of the schematic top views of the cladding structure provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0088] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, where Figure 12 is a top view of Figure 11, the cladding structure 3 includes at least one first repeating unit 3001. A first repeating unit 3001 includes multiple rows and columns of cladding units 300. Within a first repeating unit 3001, the first patches of cladding units 300 in the same row have different sizes, and the first patches of cladding units 300 in the same column have different sizes. For example, as shown in Figure 12, a first repeating unit 3001 includes multiple cladding units 300 in three rows and three columns, wherein the multiple cladding units 300 are multiple first cladding units 301, multiple second cladding units 302, and multiple third cladding units 303. Along the row direction x of the antenna element array, the first patches of the multiple cladding units in the same row within the same first repeating unit have different sizes, and along the column direction of the antenna element array, the first patches of the multiple cladding units in the same column within the same first repeating unit have different sizes. In a specific implementation, a first repeating unit 3001 may include less than three rows and three columns of cladding units, or more than three rows and three columns of cladding units, which is not limited here.

[0089] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 , the array antenna may include a first repeating unit 3001 .

[0090] In some embodiments, the array antenna may include multiple first repeating units 3001. The multiple first repeating units 3001 have the same structure, for example, the number and arrangement of cladding units in the multiple first repeating units 3001 are the same. The multiple first repeating units 3001 may be arranged in an array along the rows and columns of the antenna element array, without limitation herein.

[0091] Figure 13 is the fourth schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 14 is the second schematic diagram of the top view of the cladding structure provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 15 is the fifth schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 16 is the third schematic diagram of the top view of the cladding structure provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0092] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 13 to 16, the cladding structure 3 includes multiple second repeating units 3002. The multiple second repeating units 3002 are arranged in an array along the row and column directions of the antenna unit array. A second repeating unit 3002 includes multiple cladding units arranged in an array. In the same second repeating unit 3002, the first patches of each cladding unit have the same size. Along the row direction x of the antenna unit array, the first patches of different second repeating units 3002 in the same row have different sizes; and along the column direction y of the antenna unit array, the first patches of different second repeating units 3002 in the same column have different sizes.

[0093] For example, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG13 and FIG14 , the cladding structure 3 includes three cladding units having different first patch sizes. Specifically, the three cladding units having different first patch sizes include a first cladding unit 301, a second cladding unit 302, and a third cladding unit 303. One second repeating unit 3002 is composed of three rows and three columns of cladding units arranged in an array along the row direction x and the column direction y of the antenna unit array. Along the row direction x of the antenna unit array, three second repeating units 3002 are arranged in a row, and each second repeating unit 3002 is composed of the first cladding unit 301 arranged in an array, the second cladding unit 302 arranged in an array, and the third cladding unit 303 arranged in an array. Along the column direction y of the antenna element array, three second repeating units 3002 are arranged in a row. Each second repeating unit 3002 is composed of a first cladding unit 301 arranged in an array, a second cladding unit 302 arranged in an array, and a third cladding unit 303 arranged in an array. As shown in Figure 14, the cladding structure as a whole is loaded onto the antenna element array. The radiation performance of the array antenna is tested. The VSWR curve and gain curve of the array antenna loaded with the cladding structure are obtained, as shown in Figures 16 and 17, respectively. As shown in Figure 16, the VSWR values ​​of the array antenna are all less than 1.5 in the range of 2.45 GHz to 2.80 GHz. As shown in Figure 17, the gain of the array antenna reaches 17 dBi, indicating that the array antenna has both low loss and high gain.

[0094] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG15 and FIG16 , the cladding structure 3 includes four cladding units having different first patch sizes. Specifically, the four cladding units having different first patch sizes include a first cladding unit 301, a second cladding unit 302, a third cladding unit 303, and a fourth cladding unit 304. One second repeating unit 3002 is composed of three rows and three columns of cladding units arranged in an array along the row direction x and the column direction y of the antenna element array. Four second repeating units 3002 are arranged in a row along the row direction x of the antenna element array. Each second repeating unit 3002 is composed of the first cladding unit 301 arranged in an array, the second cladding unit 302 arranged in an array, the third cladding unit 303 arranged in an array, and the fourth cladding unit 304 arranged in an array. Along the column direction y of the array of antenna units, four second repeating units 3002 are arranged in a row, and each second repeating unit 3002 is respectively composed of a first cladding unit 301 arranged in an array, a second cladding unit 302 arranged in an array, a third cladding unit 303 arranged in an array, and a fourth cladding unit 304 arranged in an array.

[0095] The embodiments shown in Figures 13 to 16 list several situations in which the second repeating unit is set in the coating structure, which does not serve as a limitation on the embodiments of the present disclosure. In specific implementations, each second repeating unit 3002 may also include less than three rows and three columns of coating units, or more than three rows and three columns of coating units, which is not limited here. The coating structure may also include less than three or more than four types of coating units with different first patch sizes, for example, including two types of coating units with different first patch sizes or including five or more types of coating units with different first patch sizes, which is not limited here.

[0096] Figure 17 is the second structural schematic diagram of a single antenna unit of a loaded cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 18 is the second gain curve of the antenna unit of a loaded cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 19 is the third structural schematic diagram of a single antenna unit of a loaded cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 20 is the third gain curve of the antenna unit of a loaded cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0097] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 17 and 19 , the first patch 31 and the second patch 32 can be disposed on the same side of the dielectric plate 30. For example, the first patch 31 and the second patch 32 can both be disposed on the side of the dielectric plate 30 facing the antenna unit 2. In some embodiments, the first patch 31 and the second patch 32 can both be disposed on the side of the dielectric plate 30 facing away from the antenna unit 2, which is not limited here.

[0098] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 17 and 19, the first patch 31 and the second patch 32 are arranged on the same side of the dielectric plate 30. For any cladding unit, the second patch 32 includes a third portion 323 and a fourth portion 324 that intersect with each other. The third portion 323 and the fourth portion 324 of the second patch 32 intersect to form multiple first patch placement areas. A cladding unit includes multiple first patches 31, which are dispersed within the first patch placement areas. For example, as shown in Figures 17 and 18, for a cladding unit, the second patch 32 includes a third portion 323 and a fourth portion 324 that intersect to form four first patch placement areas, namely S1, S2, S3, and S4. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 17, a cladding unit can include four first patches 31 of the same shape and size, with the four first patches 31 being arranged within the four first patch placement areas S1, S2, S3, and S4, respectively. In some embodiments, a covering unit may include more than four first patches 31 having the same shape and size. For example, as shown in Figure 19, a covering unit includes 16 first patches 31 having the same shape and size, wherein 4 first patches 31 constitute a group, and each group of 4 first patches 31 is arrayed within a first patch setting area, and the 16 first patches 31 are divided into 4 groups, which are respectively set within 4 first patch setting areas S1, S2, S3 and S4.

[0099] As shown in Figure 17, the radiation performance of a single antenna unit with a single cladding unit was tested, resulting in the gain curve shown in Figure 18, where the two curves are gain curves for the two polarization directions. As can be seen from Figure 18, the gain of the antenna unit with the cladding unit can reach 8.74dBi in both polarization directions, which is significantly higher than the gain of the antenna unit without the cladding unit. Arranging multiple antenna units into an antenna array and adding a cladding structure composed of multiple cladding units can further improve the gain and obtain even better radiation performance.

[0100] As shown in Figure 19, the radiation performance of a single antenna unit with a single cladding unit was tested, resulting in the gain curve shown in Figure 20, where the two curves are gain curves for the two polarization directions. As can be seen from Figure 19, the gain of the antenna unit with the cladding unit can reach 8.64dBi in both polarization directions, which is significantly higher than the gain of the antenna unit without the cladding unit. Arranging multiple antenna units into an antenna array and adding a cladding structure composed of multiple cladding units can further improve the gain and obtain even better radiation performance.

[0101] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 17 and 19, the shape of the first patch 31 can be square. In some embodiments, the shape of the first patch 31 can also be circular, diamond, regular hexagonal, etc., which is not limited here.

[0102] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 17 and 19, the shapes and sizes of the multiple first patches 31 in the same cladding unit can be identical. In some embodiments, the multiple first patches 31 in the same cladding unit can have different shapes and sizes, which is beneficial for improving the gain bandwidth of the array antenna, which is not limited here.

[0103] FIG21 is a fourth schematic diagram of the structure of a single antenna unit of a loaded cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0104] In some embodiments, for each cladding unit, the first patch and the second patch are disposed on the same side of the dielectric plate, and the third and fourth portions of the second patch intersect to form more first patch placement areas. For example, as shown in FIG21 , in a cladding unit, the second patch 32 includes a fourth portion 324 and two mutually parallel third portions 323. The fourth portion 324 intersects with both third portions 323, thereby forming six first patch placement areas. Each cladding unit may include multiple first patches, which are dispersed within the six first patch placement areas, without limitation herein.

[0105] In some embodiments, the number of cladding units is the same as the number of antenna units. One cladding unit corresponds to one antenna unit and is located on the side of the corresponding antenna unit facing away from the reflective floor. For example, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, the array antenna includes nine antenna units 2 arranged in three rows and three columns, and the cladding structure 3 includes nine cladding units 300 arranged in three rows and three columns. One cladding unit 300 corresponds to one antenna unit 2, and the cladding unit 300 is located on the side of the corresponding antenna unit 2 facing away from the reflective floor 1. Specifically, as shown in Figure 11, since the multiple antenna units in the array antenna are arranged in an array, the spacing between adjacent antenna units 2 is approximately the same, and the shape and area of ​​the area occupied by each antenna unit are approximately the same. For example, the nine antenna units each occupy nine areas of the same shape and size on the reflective floor 1 (the areas indicated by the dashed lines in the figure). The correspondence between one cladding unit and one antenna unit specifically means that the area occupied by the orthographic projection of one cladding unit on the reflective floor completely overlaps with the area occupied by its corresponding antenna unit on the reflective floor. In a specific implementation, the spacing between the centers of the orthographic projections of adjacent cladding units on the reflective floor is the same as the spacing between the centers of the areas occupied by corresponding adjacent antenna units on the reflective floor. The cladding units are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the antenna units, and the spacing between cladding units is determined by the spacing between antenna units. This reduces electromagnetic crosstalk between adjacent cladding units and between cladding units and adjacent antenna units, simplifying the design and testing process of the array antenna and reducing manufacturing difficulty.

[0106] In some embodiments, the various cladding units in the cladding structure are loaded onto the array of antenna units as a whole, and the antenna units and the cladding units do not have a one-to-one correspondence. For example, as shown in Figures 13 and 15, the area occupied by an antenna unit on the reflective floor can overlap with the coverage area of ​​the orthographic projection of at least two cladding units on the reflective floor, or the coverage area of ​​the orthographic projection of a cladding unit on the reflective floor can overlap with the area occupied by at least two antenna units on the reflective floor, which is not limited here. The various cladding units in the cladding structure are loaded onto the array of antenna units as a whole, and the spacing between the cladding units is not necessarily related to the spacing between the antenna units. Therefore, the number of cladding units can be increased by reducing the spacing between the cladding units, which is conducive to achieving greater gain.

[0107] FIG22 is a second schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0108] In some embodiments, the cladding structure can further include a greater number of metamaterial cladding layers. For example, as shown in FIG22 , the cladding structure 3 further includes a third patch 33 , which can be a square patch. The cladding structure 3 includes two stacked dielectric plates 30 , with the first patch 31 , the second patch 32 , and the third patch 33 disposed on opposite surfaces of the two dielectric plates 30 , and between the two dielectric plates 30 , respectively. This is not limited here.

[0109] Figure 23 is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of a single antenna unit of a loaded cladding unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 24a is a schematic diagram of the top-down structure of the antenna unit provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 24b is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a dual-polarized magneto-electric dipole provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 24c is a schematic diagram of the top-down structure of a single-polarized magneto-electric dipole provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 24d is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a single-polarized electromagnetic dipole provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure; and Figure 24e is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a feeding structure provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0110] In the disclosed embodiments, there is no limitation on the type of antenna unit. For example, the antenna unit may be a horn antenna, a slot antenna, a microstrip antenna, a dipole antenna, or a monopole antenna, which will not be described in detail herein. In a specific implementation, the antenna unit may be a dual-polarized antenna, which can be used to transmit and receive signals in two polarization directions, such as signals with two orthogonal polarization directions, thereby improving communication quality.

[0111] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG23 , the antenna unit can be a dual-polarized magneto-electric dipole antenna. The dual-polarized magneto-electric dipole includes an electric dipole 21, a magnetic dipole 22, a floor 23, and a feed structure 24. As shown in FIG24a , the dual-polarized magneto-electric dipole antenna achieves two mutually perpendicular polarization directions by two pairs of magneto-electric dipoles, one in the -45° and the other in the 45° direction. The three-dimensional structure of the magneto-electric dipole is shown in FIG24b . The electric dipole 21 is a square ring parallel to the floor 23, with a cut corner at the center, where it is connected to the magnetic dipole 22 (rectangular patch). The other end of the magnetic dipole is connected to the floor 23, which is parallel to the reflective floor 1. To clearly illustrate the antenna structure, FIG24c and FIG24d respectively show the top view and three-dimensional structure of the magneto-electric dipole with a -45° polarization. The electric dipole 21 is a square ring placed at -45° parallel to the floor 23. As can be seen from Figure 24d, the rectangular patch is placed at an angle on the floor 23, with one end of the rectangular patch connected to the square ring and the other end connected to the floor 23. The two tilted rectangular patches and the floor 23 between them form a triangular structure, which is a -45° polarized magnetic dipole. The total electrical length of the structure is approximately half the wavelength of the resonant frequency. The method of tilting the dipole can reduce the cross-section of the antenna while maintaining the electrical length at half the wavelength of the resonant frequency, thereby miniaturizing the antenna. Figure 24e shows the feeding structure of the dual-polarized magnetoelectric dipole antenna. The feeding structure 24 is a pair of orthogonally placed Γ-shaped probes. A Γ-shaped probe feed includes a first section 241, a second section 242, a third section 243, and a fourth section 244 connected in sequence. The second section 242 and the fourth section 244 are parallel to and spaced apart from the two rectangular patches used to form the magnetic dipole. The first section 241 and the third section 243 are arranged parallel to the floor 23 to prevent the feed structure 24 from contacting the magnetic dipole and the floor. The two orthogonally arranged Γ-shaped probes of the feed structure are arranged at different heights to facilitate installation. As shown in Figure 24e, there is a certain height difference between the third parts of the two orthogonally arranged Γ-shaped probes to avoid interference. The feed structure 24 is connected to the power divider located on the side of the floor 23 away from the magnetoelectric dipole through an opening that penetrates the floor 23 to achieve feeding.

[0112] FIG25 is the sixth schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0113] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 23 and 25 , the array antenna further includes sidewalls 11 disposed perpendicular to reflective floor 1. Sidewalls 11 are disposed between two adjacent columns of antenna elements along the column direction y of the antenna element array, and are also disposed on both side edges of reflective floor 1 along the column direction y of the antenna element array. Sidewalls 11 can reduce signal crosstalk between adjacent columns of antenna elements and advantageously reflect signals toward the front of the antenna element array, thereby improving gain.

[0114] A second aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a communications device. The communications device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure includes the array antenna described in any of the aforementioned embodiments. In specific implementations, the communications device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure achieves the same or similar technical effects as the aforementioned array antennas and is not further described here. In specific implementations, the communications device may be a base station, a mobile terminal, a satellite, or the like, without limitation.

[0115] Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, those skilled in the art may make additional changes and modifications to these embodiments once they have learned the basic creative concepts. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0116] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present disclosure fall within the scope of the claims of the present disclosure and their equivalents, the present disclosure is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An array antenna, wherein: include: reflective flooring; A plurality of antenna units arranged in an array are located on the reflective floor; a cladding structure located on a side of the antenna unit facing away from the reflective floor; the orthographic projection of the cladding structure on the reflective floor covers at least a portion of the antenna unit; the cladding structure includes a dielectric plate and a first patch and a second patch located on at least one side of the dielectric plate; The pattern of the first patch satisfies that the reflection coefficient of the first patch increases with the increase of the frequency of the incident electromagnetic wave; the pattern of the second patch satisfies that the reflection coefficient of the second patch decreases with the increase of the frequency of the incident electromagnetic wave.

2. The array antenna according to claim 1, wherein: The cladding structure includes a plurality of cladding units; one cladding unit includes at least one first patch and at least one second patch.

3. The array antenna according to claim 2, wherein: For any of the cladding units, the first patch and the second patch are respectively located on two sides of the dielectric plate.

4. The array antenna according to claim 3, wherein: The first patch has a symmetrical structure; the second patch has a symmetrical structure; One of the cladding units includes one of the first patch and one of the second patch; the orthographic projection of the geometric center of the first patch on the dielectric plate coincides with the orthographic projection of the geometric center of the second patch on the dielectric plate.

5. The array antenna according to claim 4, wherein: The first patch is a rectangular patch, and the second patch is an "X"-shaped patch.

6. The array antenna according to claim 5, wherein: The second patch includes a first portion and a second portion that intersect each other; Along a row direction of the array of antenna units, the first portions of the second patches located in the same row extend on the same straight line; Along the column direction of the array of antenna units, the second portions of the second patches in the same column extend on the same straight line; Two adjacent sides of the first patch are parallel to the row direction and the column direction respectively.

7. The array antenna according to claim 5 or 6, wherein: The side length a of any side of the first patch satisfies: 0.17λ≤a≤0.35λ; the width w of the first part and the second part of the second patch satisfies: 0.03λ≤w≤0.05λ; λ is the wavelength corresponding to the median frequency of the slope increase segment of the reflection phase frequency response curve of the cladding unit.

8. The array antenna according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein: The first patch is located on a side of the dielectric plate facing away from the antenna unit; the second patch is located on a side of the dielectric plate facing the antenna unit.

9. The array antenna according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein: The sizes of the first patches of the respective covering units are not completely the same.

10. The array antenna according to claim 9, wherein: The coating structure includes at least one first repeating unit; one first repeating unit includes multiple rows and columns of coating units; in one first repeating unit, the sizes of the first patches of the coating units located in the same row are different, and the sizes of the first patches of the coating units located in the same column are different.

11. The array antenna according to claim 9, wherein: The cladding structure includes a plurality of second repeating units; the plurality of second repeating units are arranged in an array along the row direction and the column direction of the array of the antenna units; A second repeating unit includes multiple covering units arranged in an array; in the same second repeating unit, the first patches of each covering unit have the same size; along the row direction of the array of the antenna units, the sizes of the first patches in different second repeating units in the same row are different; and along the column direction of the array of the antenna units, the sizes of the first patches in different second repeating units in the same column are different.

12. The array antenna according to claim 2, wherein: The first patch and the second patch are located on the same side of the dielectric plate.

13. The array antenna according to claim 12, wherein: For any of the cladding units, the second patch includes a third portion and a fourth portion that intersect each other; the third portion and the fourth portion intersect each other to form a plurality of first patch setting areas; One of the covering units includes a plurality of the first patches; the first patches are arranged within the first patch arrangement area.

14. The array antenna according to claim 13, wherein: For any of the cladding units, the sizes of the first patches are not completely the same.

15. The array antenna according to any one of claims 2 to 14, wherein: The number of the cladding units is the same as the number of the antenna units; one cladding unit corresponds to one antenna unit and is located on a side of the corresponding antenna unit facing away from the reflective floor.

16. A communication device, wherein: It comprises the array antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

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