Heterogeneous phased array antenna

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of antennas, and discloses a heterogeneous phased array antenna. The antenna comprises at least two heterogeneous beam array elements; if the number of array elements is even, at least one first heterogeneous beam array element and second heterogeneous beam array element in the antenna are arranged along a preset straight line; if the number of array elements is odd, at least one first heterogeneous beam array element, second heterogeneous beam array element, and third heterogeneous beam array element in the antenna are arranged along a preset straight line; the maximum direction of a first heterogeneous beam array element radiation pattern deviates from the normal direction of the preset straight line, and the deflection angle range is from 0° to 90°; the maximum direction of a second heterogeneous beam array element radiation pattern deviates from the normal direction of the preset straight line, the deviation direction of the second heterogeneous beam array element radiation pattern is opposite to the deviation direction of the first heterogeneous beam array element radiation pattern, and the deflection angle range is from 0° to 90°; and the maximum direction of a third heterogeneous beam array element radiation pattern points toward the normal direction of the preset straight line. Without increasing the size of the antenna, and without requiring array elements to have wide beams, it is possible to achieve broadband wide-angle scanning by a phased-array antenna.

Description

A heterogeneous phased array antenna Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular to a heterogeneous phased array antenna. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of modern wireless electronics, phased array antennas have been widely used in various fields, which has also placed higher demands on the beam coverage of phased array antennas. A wider beam scanning range means that phased array antennas have a larger functional coverage area, which is of great significance for improving the performance and enhancing the functions of wireless electronic systems. However, existing phased array antennas (such as planar aperture phased array antennas) still have problems such as limited scanning range and narrow operating bandwidth. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The main purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a heterogeneous phased array antenna to expand the scanning range of the phased array antenna and improve the operating bandwidth of the phased array antenna.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, an embodiment of the present application provides a heterogeneous phased array antenna, wherein the antenna includes at least two heterogeneous beam array elements, and the types of the heterogeneous beam array elements include a first heterogeneous beam array element, a second heterogeneous beam array element, and a third heterogeneous beam array element;

[0005] The antenna includes a plurality of different layouts formed in the first heterogeneous beam array element and the second heterogeneous beam array element;

[0006] Alternatively, the antenna includes a plurality of different layouts of the first heterogeneous beam array element, the second heterogeneous beam array element, and the third heterogeneous beam array element;

[0007] If the number of the heterogeneous beam array elements is even, at least one of the first heterogeneous beam array elements and at least one of the second heterogeneous beam array elements in the antenna are arranged along a preset straight line;

[0008] If the number of the heterogeneous beam array elements is an odd number, then at least one of the first heterogeneous beam array elements, at least one of the second heterogeneous beam array elements, and at least one of the third heterogeneous beam array elements in the antenna are arranged along the preset straight line;

[0009] The maximum direction of the radiation pattern of the first heterogeneous beam array element deviates from the normal direction of the preset straight line, and the deflection angle range is between 0° and 90°, including 90°;

[0010] The maximum direction of the second heterogeneous beam element radiation pattern deviates from the normal direction of the preset straight line, and is opposite to the deviation direction of the first heterogeneous beam element radiation pattern, and the deflection angle ranges from 0° to 90°, including 90°.

[0011] The maximum direction of the third heterogeneous beam element radiation pattern points to the normal direction of the preset straight line.

[0012] In some embodiments, the deflection angle of the first heterogeneous beam element is equal in value to the deflection angle of the second heterogeneous beam element.

[0013] In some embodiments, the first heterogeneous beam element and the second heterogeneous beam element are arranged in pairs and symmetrically arranged about the geometric center of the antenna.

[0014] In some embodiments, if the antenna includes two or more third heterogeneous beam elements, each of the third heterogeneous beam elements is symmetrically arranged about the geometric center of the antenna.

[0015] If the antenna includes one third heterogeneous beam element, the third heterogeneous beam element is arranged at the geometric center of the array.

[0016] In some embodiments, if the antenna includes two or more first heterogeneous beam elements arranged along the preset straight line, the deflection angles of each of the first heterogeneous beam elements arranged on the preset straight line are equal.

[0017] Alternatively, if the array includes two or more first heterogeneous beam elements arranged along the preset straight line, the deflection angles of each of the first heterogeneous beam elements arranged on the preset straight line are not equal.

[0018] In some embodiments, the number of the heterogeneous beam elements is a multiple of four.

[0019] In some embodiments, the antenna includes four heterogeneous beam elements, and each of the heterogeneous beam elements adopts four-element equidistant linear arrangement.

[0020] Alternatively, the antenna includes eight heterogeneous beam elements, and every four of the heterogeneous beam elements adopts four-element equidistant linear arrangement.

[0021] In some embodiments, the layout includes a regular layout and a heterogeneous layout.

[0022] The regular layout is four identical heterogeneous beam elements arranged equidistantly and linearly.

[0023] The isomerism layout is that four isomerism beam elements are linearly arranged at equal intervals; at least two different isomerism beam elements exist in the four isomerism beam elements.

[0024] In some embodiments, the conventional layout is arranged as four third isomerism beam elements linearly arranged at equal intervals;

[0025] The isomerism layout at least includes one of the following:

[0026] The first isomerism beam element, the third isomerism beam element, the third isomerism beam element, and the second isomerism beam element;

[0027] The second isomerism beam element, the third isomerism beam element, the third isomerism beam element, and the first isomerism beam element;

[0028] The third isomerism beam element, the first isomerism beam element, the second isomerism beam element, and the third isomerism beam element;

[0029] The third isomerism beam element, the second isomerism beam element, the first isomerism beam element, and the third isomerism beam element;

[0030] The first isomerism beam element, the first isomerism beam element, the second isomerism beam element, and the second isomerism beam element;

[0031] The second isomerism beam element, the second isomerism beam element, the first isomerism beam element, and the first isomerism beam element;

[0032] The second isomerism beam element, the first isomerism beam element, the second isomerism beam element, and the first isomerism beam element;

[0033] The first isomerism beam element, the second isomerism beam element, the first isomerism beam element, and the second isomerism beam element.

[0034] In some embodiments, the isomerism phased array antenna includes four layouts, and the four layouts are arranged along two orthogonal directions of a plane.

[0035] The embodiments of the present application at least have the following beneficial effects:

[0036] The heterogeneous phased array antenna of the present application can be composed of various heterogeneous beam elements with different radiation patterns and deflection angles, and then the efficient average active element pattern can be constructed by using the heterogeneous beam elements. According to the generalized pattern multiplication principle, the efficient average active element pattern can effectively expand the scanning range of the heterogeneous phased array antenna, and can solve the problem of limited scanning range of the planar aperture phased array antenna. Moreover, according to the constructed average active element pattern, each heterogeneous beam element itself does not need to have a wide beam characteristic, thereby reducing the frequency dependence of each heterogeneous beam element to a certain extent, and then making the heterogeneous phased array antenna have a wideband characteristic, thereby avoiding the problem of narrow operating bandwidth of the traditional wide beam element. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0037] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed in the embodiment description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0038] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the first, second and third heterogeneous beam elements in the embodiment 1 of the present application.

[0039] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the conventional layout and eight heterogeneous layouts of the four-element linear heterogeneous phased array antenna in the embodiment 1 of the present application.

[0040] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the scanning performance parameters of the phased array antenna of the nine layouts in the embodiment 1 of the present application.

[0041] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the average active element pattern and array factor of the nine layouts in the embodiment 1 of the present application.

[0042] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the conventional planar phased array in the embodiment 2 of the present application.

[0043] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of the planar one-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antenna in the embodiment 2 of the present application.

[0044] Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the planar two-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antenna in the embodiment 2 of the present application.

[0045] Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of the scanning performance parameters of the planar one-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antenna in the embodiment 2 of the present application.

[0046] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the scanning performance parameters of the planar two-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antenna in the embodiment 2 of the present application.

[0047] Fig. 10 is a top view of three heterogeneous beam element structures in the embodiment 3 of the present application.

[0048] Fig. 11 is a 3D diagram of a first heterogeneous beam element structure in Embodiment 3 of the present application.

[0049] Fig. 12 is a radiation pattern of three heterogeneous beam elements in Embodiment 3 of the present application.

[0050] Fig. 13 is a reflection coefficient of three heterogeneous beam elements in Embodiment 3 of the present application.

[0051] Fig. 14 is a structure diagram of four linear phased array antennas in Embodiment 4 of the present application.

[0052] Fig. 15 is a scanning pattern of four-element conventional linear phased array antennas in Embodiment 4 of the present application.

[0053] Fig. 16 is a scanning pattern of four-element heterogeneous linear phased array antennas in Embodiment 4 of the present application.

[0054] Fig. 17 is a scanning pattern of eight-element conventional linear phased array antennas in Embodiment 4 of the present application.

[0055] Fig. 18 is a scanning pattern of eight-element heterogeneous linear phased array antennas in Embodiment 4 of the present application.

[0056] Fig. 19 is a structure diagram of three 4x4 planar phased array antennas in Embodiment 5 of the present application.

[0057] Fig. 20 is a scanning pattern of 4x4 conventional planar phased array antennas in Embodiment 5 of the present application.

[0058] Fig. 21 is a scanning pattern of 4x4 planar one-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antennas in Embodiment 5 of the present application.

[0059] Fig. 22 is a scanning pattern of 4x4 planar two-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antennas in Embodiment 5 of the present application.

[0060] Wherein, the reference signs are explained as follows: 1-first heterogeneous beam element, 2-second heterogeneous beam element, 3-third heterogeneous beam element, 4-radiation pattern of the first heterogeneous beam element, 5-radiation pattern of the second heterogeneous beam element, 6-radiation pattern of the third heterogeneous beam element, 7-preset straight line, 8-first dipole arm, 9-second dipole arm, 10-first metallized via, 11-second metallized via, 12-ground metallized via, 13-ground metallized via pad, 14-laminated dielectric board, 15-ground plate, 16-feeding port. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and not intended to limit the present application. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise specified. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with embodiments of the present application. They are only examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of the embodiments of the present application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0062] It can be understood that the terms "first", "second" and the like used in the present application can be used herein to describe various concepts, but unless otherwise specified, these concepts are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one concept from another concept. For example, without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present application, the first information can also be referred to as the second information, and similarly, the second information can also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein can be interpreted as "when" or "when" or "in response to determining".

[0063] The terms "at least one", "multiple", "each", "any" and the like used in the present application include one, two or more than two, multiple includes two or more than two, each refers to each of the corresponding multiple, and any refers to any one of the multiple.

[0064] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present application belongs. The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing the embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application.

[0065] Before the embodiments of the present application are described in detail, first, some related technologies involved in the embodiments of the present application are described as follows:

[0066] To expand the beam scanning range, traditional phased array antennas usually adopt unit wide-beam technology, pattern reconfigurable technology and conformal technology, etc. Y.-F. Cheng et al. in the article "2-D planar wide-angle scanning-phased array based on wide-beam elements, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 2019" realized two-dimensional wide-angle scanning using wide-beam elements, but its working bandwidth is very narrow, almost a point frequency, which is caused by the frequency-dependent characteristics inherent in wide-beam elements. X. Ding et al. in the article "A wide-angle scanning planar phased array with pattern reconfigurable magnetic current element, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 2017" proposed using pattern reconfigurable element technology to expand the scanning range of phased array while reducing gain roll-off. Although the phased array based on reconfigurable elements can cover a larger scanning range with lower gain roll-off, the electronic devices loaded make the phased array structure complex, and cannot realize the instantaneous multi-beam function. The invention patent "Integrated cylindrical conformal phased array antenna" with publication number CN109462039A realizes 360° coverage in azimuth dimension by using integrated cylindrical conformal, the whole array is divided into 4 sectors, and one sector covers a range of 90°. The conformal phased array is bulky, and the applicable scenarios are severely limited. The invention patent "Millimeter wave wide-angle scanning phased array based on unit beam heterogeneity" with publication number CN113506988A proposes to use a combination of non-tilted beam planar aperture array elements and tilted beam planar aperture array elements, which to some extent expands the scanning range. However, the use of non-tilted beam planar aperture array elements and its improper array element layout limit its scanning capability, so that its scanning range is still limited.

[0067] In summary, the existing technical solutions are difficult to cope with the challenges of planar aperture phased array antenna in wide bandwidth and wide-angle scanning, especially in the case of two-dimensional scanning.

[0068] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the embodiment of the present application provides a heterogeneous phased array antenna, which comprises at least two heterogeneous beam elements, the types of the heterogeneous beam elements include first heterogeneous beam elements, second heterogeneous beam elements and third heterogeneous beam elements;

[0069] The antenna comprises a plurality of different layouts constituted by the first heterogeneous beam elements and the second heterogeneous beam elements;

[0070] Alternatively, the antenna comprises a plurality of different layouts of the first, second and third heterogeneous beam elements;

[0071] If the number of the heterogeneous beam elements is even, at least one of the first and second heterogeneous beam elements are arranged along a preset straight line in the antenna;

[0072] If the number of the heterogeneous beam elements is odd, at least one of the first, second and third heterogeneous beam elements are arranged along the preset straight line in the antenna;

[0073] The maximum direction of the radiation pattern of the first heterogeneous beam element deviates from the normal direction of the preset straight line, with a deflection angle ranging from 0° to 90°, inclusive;

[0074] The maximum direction of the radiation pattern of the second heterogeneous beam element deviates from the normal direction of the preset straight line, and the deviation direction is opposite to that of the first heterogeneous beam element, with a deflection angle ranging from 0° to 90°, inclusive;

[0075] The maximum direction of the radiation pattern of the third heterogeneous beam element points to the normal direction of the preset straight line.

[0076] In some embodiments, the deflection angle of the first heterogeneous beam element is equal in value to that of the second heterogeneous beam element.

[0077] In some embodiments, the first and second heterogeneous beam elements are arranged in pairs and symmetrically about the geometric center of the antenna.

[0078] In some embodiments, if the antenna comprises two or more third heterogeneous beam elements, each of the third heterogeneous beam elements is symmetrically arranged about the geometric center of the antenna.

[0079] If the antenna comprises one third heterogeneous beam element, the third heterogeneous beam element is arranged at the geometric center of the array.

[0080] In some embodiments, if there are two or more first heterogeneous beam elements arranged along the preset straight line in the antenna, the deflection angles of each of the first heterogeneous beam elements arranged on the preset straight line are equal.

[0081] Or, if two or more of the first heterogeneous beam elements are arranged along the preset straight line, the deflection angles of each of the first heterogeneous beam elements arranged on the preset straight line are not equal.

[0082] In some embodiments, the number of the heterogeneous beam elements is a multiple of four.

[0083] In some embodiments, the antenna comprises four of the heterogeneous beam elements, and each of the heterogeneous beam elements adopts a four-element equidistant linear arrangement.

[0084] Or, the antenna comprises eight of the heterogeneous beam elements, and every four of the heterogeneous beam elements adopts a four-element equidistant linear arrangement.

[0085] In some embodiments, the layout comprises a regular layout and a heterogeneous layout.

[0086] The regular layout is that four identical heterogeneous beam elements are arranged in an equidistant linear arrangement.

[0087] The heterogeneous layout is that four of the heterogeneous beam elements are arranged in an equidistant linear arrangement, and there are at least two different types of the heterogeneous beam elements among the four.

[0088] In some embodiments, the regular layout is arranged as four of the third heterogeneous beam elements arranged in an equidistant linear arrangement.

[0089] The heterogeneous layout comprises at least one of the following:

[0090] a first heterogeneous beam element, a third heterogeneous beam element, a third heterogeneous beam element, and a second heterogeneous beam element;

[0091] a second heterogeneous beam element, a third heterogeneous beam element, a third heterogeneous beam element, and a first heterogeneous beam element;

[0092] a third heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, and a third heterogeneous beam element;

[0093] a third heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element, and a third heterogeneous beam element;

[0094] a first heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, and a second heterogeneous beam element;

[0095] a second heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element, and a first heterogeneous beam element;

[0096] a second heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, and a first heterogeneous beam element;

[0097] First heterogeneous beam array element, second heterogeneous beam array element, first heterogeneous beam array element, second heterogeneous beam array element.

[0098] In some embodiments, the heterogeneous phased array antenna includes four of the layouts, and the four layouts are arranged along two orthogonal directions of a plane.

[0099] To further describe the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application will be described with more specific embodiments below.

[0100] Example 1:

[0101] In this embodiment, the construction principle of the average active unit pattern and its scanning performance will be clearly explained. As shown in Figure 1, it is a schematic diagram of the first heterogeneous beam array element, the second heterogeneous beam array element, and the third heterogeneous beam array element. The normalized radiation pattern expression of the three heterogeneous beam array elements is f = [(1 + cosθ) / 2] EF , where EF = 2.2, the corresponding half-power beamwidth of the heterogeneous beam element is 90°, and the deflection angle α of the first heterogeneous beam element and the deflection angle β of the second heterogeneous beam element are both equal to 45°. Consider a four-element linear heterogeneous phased array antenna constructed with heterogeneous beam elements, including a conventional layout and eight heterogeneous layouts, as shown in Figure 2. The element spacing of all nine layouts is 0.4 operating wavelengths. Using the principle of field superposition, the scanning radiation patterns of the phased array antennas in the nine layouts are calculated, and the results are shown in Figure 3. The results show that heterogeneous layouts #1 and #2 have the same scanning performance, heterogeneous layouts #3 and #4 have the same scanning performance, heterogeneous layouts #5 and #6 have the same scanning performance, and heterogeneous layouts #7 and #8 have the same scanning performance. These heterogeneous layouts are also called complementary heterogeneous layouts. Compared to conventional arrays, heterogeneous layouts #1 through #4 offer limited improvement in scanning range and also reduce normal gain. Heterogeneous layouts #5 and #6 also contribute limitedly to scanning range, increasing the scanning angle from 66° to 70° while decreasing normal gain from 11.3 dBi to 9.4 dBi. Heterogeneous layouts #7 and #8 increase the scanning range from 66° to 76° while decreasing normal gain from 11.3 dBi to 9.8 dBi. These results demonstrate that heterogeneous layouts #7 and #8 offer the best wide-angle scanning performance, effectively increasing scanning range while improving scanning gain roll-off.

[0102] To illustrate the scan performance difference of each heterogeneous layout, the concept of average element pattern is introduced in this embodiment. The average element pattern is defined as the array pattern divided by the array factor. By applying the concept of average element pattern, the pattern multiplication principle can be extended to the product of the array factor and the average element pattern, which is referred to as the generalized pattern multiplication principle. This modification makes the principle universally applicable, no longer limited to the conventional layout phased array antennas with the same element pattern. First, the average element pattern and the array factor of the nine layouts are calculated at the maximum scan angle, as shown in FIG. 4. Within the visible region, the average element pattern of the eight heterogeneous layouts exhibits multiple peaks, each of which corresponds to a minimum of the array factor. It is observed that the average element patterns of the complementary heterogeneous layouts are equal in amplitude, thus resulting in the same scan performance. It is noted that the phase patterns of the complementary heterogeneous layouts are not identical. Therefore, if these layouts are considered as subarrays, their phase patterns cannot be ignored.

[0103] According to the generalized pattern multiplication principle, the main beam of the phased array antenna will appear around the main beam of the array factor and follow the shape of the average element pattern. Therefore, first, the pattern multiplication behavior in the range of 45° to 135° is investigated. Within this range, the average element patterns of all the heterogeneous layouts exhibit wider beamwidths compared to the element pattern of the conventional layout array. Among them, the average element patterns of the heterogeneous layouts #7 and #8 exhibit the widest beamwidths, thus achieving the largest scan range. Although the average element patterns of the heterogeneous layouts #5 and #6 have similar beamwidths to the heterogeneous layouts #7 and #8, they have higher side lobes in the opposite direction of the main beam, which limits their scan range and results in severe gain roll-off. These elevated side lobes are mainly attributed to the multiple maxima in the average element pattern. Although these multiple maxima correspond to multiple minima of the array factor, the maxima will cause the gain to rise between them. And these elevated gains correspond to the maxima of the array factor, thus leading to the increase of side lobes. The heterogeneous layouts #1 and #3 also exhibit higher gain roll-off due to the multiple maxima in their respective average element patterns, while their scan range increases are limited due to the presence of the third heterogeneous beam element.

[0104] In summary, the proper layout of the heterogeneous beam elements can construct an efficient average active element pattern, thereby improving the scanning performance of the phased array antenna, which is the core idea of the present application. "Efficient" means that the average active element pattern is more uniform and wider, and how to construct an efficient average active element pattern is the core technical solution of the present application. According to the above analysis results, the construction principles of the efficient average active element pattern can be summarized as follows: 1) There can be at most one third heterogeneous beam element; 2) There are no two or more first or second heterogeneous beam elements arranged in close proximity; 3) Increasing the deflection angle of the first and second heterogeneous beam elements can expand the scanning range of the phased array antenna.

[0105] Embodiment 2

[0106] In this embodiment, how to improve the scanning performance of the array by constructing an efficient average active element pattern in a two-dimensional planar aperture phased array antenna will be explained. Three 4x4 planar phased array antennas constructed by heterogeneous beam elements are considered, and their element parameters remain the same as in Embodiment 1; the first 4x4 planar phased array antenna adopts a conventional layout in the first and second heterogeneous directions, which is a conventional planar phased array antenna, as shown in FIG. 5; the second 4x4 planar phased array antenna adopts a heterogeneous layout #8 in the first heterogeneous direction and a conventional layout in the second heterogeneous direction, which is referred to as a "planar one-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antenna", as shown in FIG. 6; the third 4x4 planar phased array antenna adopts a heterogeneous layout #8 in the first and second heterogeneous directions, which is referred to as a "planar two-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antenna", as shown in FIG. 7. The element spacing of the three phased array antennas is 0.4 wavelengths. The scanning radiation patterns of the three phased array antennas are calculated using the field superposition principle, as shown in FIGS. 8-9. For the planar one-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antenna, performance evaluation is carried out on the first heterogeneous direction plane, the second heterogeneous direction plane, and the 45° oblique plane between the first and second heterogeneous directions. Compared with the conventional planar phased array antenna, the one-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antenna expands the scanning range from 66° to 76° on the first heterogeneous direction plane; on the 45° oblique plane between the two heterogeneous directions, the scanning range increases from 68° to 78°; and on the second heterogeneous direction plane, the scanning range is almost unchanged. For the planar two-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antenna, considering the symmetry, performance evaluation is only carried out on the first heterogeneous direction plane and the 45° oblique plane between the first and second heterogeneous directions. Compared with the conventional planar phased array antenna, the two-dimensional heterogeneous phased array antenna expands the scanning range from 66° to 79° on the first heterogeneous direction plane; on the 45° oblique plane between the first and second heterogeneous directions, the scanning range increases from 69° to 81°.

[0107] In summary, the high-efficiency average active unit directional pattern concept and construction technology involved in Example 1 are also applicable to two-dimensional planar phased arrays, and exhibit excellent two-dimensional wide-angle scanning capability. This further verifies that the technical solutions provided by the present application are not only applicable to linear arrays, but also applicable to planar arrays; not only applicable to one-dimensional scanning, but also applicable to two-dimensional scanning.

[0108] Example 3

[0109] As shown in FIGS. 10-11, the present embodiment provides a beam-heterogeneous array element, including a first heterogeneous beam array element, a second heterogeneous beam array element and a third heterogeneous beam array element. The first heterogeneous beam array element includes a first dipole arm 8 and a second dipole arm 9, both of which are asymmetric structures and are fed through a metal feed line passing through a ground plate 15; it also includes a laminated dielectric plate 14, and the dipole arms are located at different layers of the dielectric plate; the metal feed line includes a first metallized via 10 and a second metallized via 11, both of which are connected to the two dipole arms; the first metallized via is connected to a signal source, and the second metallized via is connected to ground. Due to the asymmetric dipole arms and the asymmetric feed structure, the first heterogeneous beam array element will provide a radiation pattern deviating from the normal direction of the aperture plane of the heterogeneous beam array element. By adjusting the length ratio of the two dipole arms and their dielectric layer relationship, the beam deflection angle can be adjusted, while good impedance matching is obtained. The second heterogeneous beam array element provided by the present embodiment is completely symmetrical to the first heterogeneous beam array element, and can obtain a symmetrical radiation pattern deflected in the opposite direction. The third heterogeneous beam array element of the present embodiment is consistent with the structure of the first heterogeneous beam array element, except that the first and second dipole arms are completely symmetrical and are differentially fed through two metallized vias. FIG. 12 shows the radiation patterns of the three beam-heterogeneous array elements, and FIG. 13 shows the reflection coefficient. It can be seen that the beam deflection angles of the first and second heterogeneous beam array elements are about 45°, and at the same time, the impedance bandwidths of the three array elements are all more than 12%.

[0110] Example 4

[0111] The embodiment provides four linear phased array antennas, as shown in FIG. 14. The first linear phased array is composed of four third hetero-beam elements of the embodiment 3, referred to as a four-element conventional linear phased array antenna; the second linear phased array antenna is composed of two first hetero-beam elements of the embodiment 3 and two second hetero-beam elements of the embodiment 3, and the layout mode follows the hetero-layout #8 in the embodiment 1, that is, "first hetero-beam element, second hetero-beam element, first hetero-beam element, second hetero-beam element", referred to as a four-element hetero-linear phased array antenna; the third linear phased array antenna is composed of two four-element conventional linear phased array antennas, referred to as an eight-element conventional linear phased array antenna; and the fourth linear phased array antenna is composed of two four-element hetero-linear phased array antennas, referred to as an eight-element hetero-linear phased array antenna. The element spacing of the four linear phased array antennas is 0.4 wavelengths of the center frequency point. FIGS. 15 to 18 show the scanning performance of the four linear phased array antennas. It can be seen that, compared with the conventional linear phased array antenna, the four-element hetero-linear phased array antenna can increase the scanning range from 60° to 70°; and the eight-element hetero-linear phased array antenna can increase the scanning range from 70° to 80°.

[0112] Embodiment 5

[0113] The embodiment provides three 4x4 planar phased array antennas, as shown in FIG. 19, including a conventional planar phased array antenna, a planar one-dimensional hetero-phased array antenna and a planar two-dimensional hetero-phased array antenna. The conventional planar phased array antenna is composed of 16 third hetero-beam elements of the embodiment 3; the planar one-dimensional hetero-phased array antenna is composed of eight first hetero-beam elements of the embodiment 3 and eight second hetero-beam elements of the embodiment 3, and follows the corresponding planar array hetero-layout of the embodiment 2. The planar two-dimensional hetero-phased array antenna is composed of eight first hetero-beam elements of the embodiment 3 and eight second hetero-beam elements of the embodiment 3. In order to make the planar two-dimensional hetero-phased array antenna realize the planar two-dimensional phased array hetero-layout of the embodiment 2, the metal wall outside the array and the central metal wall along the y-axis direction are removed. This modification enables the surface wave to propagate outward, thereby changing the aperture field to obtain a tilted radiation pattern. In addition, the substrate at the edge of the array is also extended to facilitate adjustment of the deflection angle of the element radiation pattern. The element spacing of the three planar phased array antennas is 0.4 wavelengths of the center frequency point. FIGS. 20 to 22 show the scanning performance of the planar phased array antennas. It can be seen that, compared with the conventional planar phased array antenna, the planar one-dimensional phased array antenna can increase the scanning range to 70° in the direction of the hetero-layout; and the planar two-dimensional phased array antenna can expand the scanning range of all faces to more than ±70°, showing superior two-dimensional wide-angle scanning performance.

[0114] The embodiment of the present application has the following beneficial effects relative to the prior art:

[0115] 1. The embodiment of the present application introduces the array element beam design freedom, which can bring new freedom for the optimization design of phased array antennas.

[0116] 2. The embodiment of the present application constructs an efficient average active unit pattern by using each heterogeneous beam array element, and according to the generalized pattern multiplication principle, the efficient average active unit pattern can effectively expand the scanning range of the heterogeneous phased array antenna, thereby solving the problem of limited scanning range of the planar aperture phased array antenna.

[0117] 3. The efficient average active unit pattern constructed by each heterogeneous beam array element in the embodiment of the present application increases the gain coverage of the heterogeneous phased array antenna at a large angle, which helps to avoid the serious gain roll-off of the heterogeneous phased array antenna when scanning at a large angle.

[0118] 4. When constructing the efficient average active unit pattern, the embodiment of the present application does not require each heterogeneous beam array element to have a wide beam characteristic, thereby reducing the frequency dependence of each heterogeneous beam array element to some extent, making the heterogeneous phased array antenna have a wideband characteristic, and avoiding the problem of narrow working bandwidth of the traditional wide beam array element.

[0119] 5. Each heterogeneous beam array element in the embodiment of the present application can construct an efficient average active unit pattern in a two-dimensional planar phased array antenna, thereby improving the scanning performance of the two-dimensional planar phased array antenna, and realizing wideband wide-angle scanning of the two-dimensional scanning planar phased array antenna.

[0120] 6. The embodiment of the present application provides a wideband wide-angle scanning technical solution of the planar aperture phased array antenna without increasing the volume of the phased array antenna and without the need for the heterogeneous beam array element to have a wide beam.

[0121] In summary, the technical solution provided by the present application is not only suitable for linear arrays, but also suitable for planar arrays; not only suitable for one-dimensional scanning, but also suitable for two-dimensional scanning, and can become an effective solution for wideband wide-angle scanning phased array antennas.

[0122] The embodiments described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of technology and the appearance of new application scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0123] The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth" and the like in the description of this application and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the use of these terms herein is to be construed to cover the embodiments of the application whether or not the embodiments are described with the use of these terms. The use of the terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", and the like, if any, are not intended to imply that a particular element must be followed by another element in a particular order. Rather, such terms are used merely as labels to distinguish between two or more elements so that the terms can be understood as referring to the elements distinguished. In addition, the terms "comprising", "having", "including", and the like, as can be recited in the description of this application and the claims, are to be construed to be open-ended and to mean that "at least the recited step or element is included in the process, method, system, product or apparatus being described." Thus, these terms are to be interpreted to cover the process, method, system, product or apparatus that comprises at least the recited step or element, but that can include additional steps or elements not expressly recited.

[0124] It should be understood that, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" is used to describe the relationship between associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, "A and / or B" can represent three cases: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can represent: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0125] The above describes the preferred embodiments of the application with reference to the accompanying drawings, but does not limit the scope of the application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements and improvements made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and essence of the application shall be within the scope of the application.

Claims

1. A heterogeneously phased array antenna, characterized by, The antenna comprises at least two heterogeneous beam elements, and the types of the heterogeneous beam elements include a first heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, and a third heterogeneous beam element. The antenna comprises a plurality of different layouts composed of the first heterogeneous beam element and the second heterogeneous beam element. Alternatively, the antenna comprises a plurality of different layouts composed of the first heterogeneous beam element, the second heterogeneous beam element, and the third heterogeneous beam element. If the number of the heterogeneous beam elements is even, at least one of the first heterogeneous beam elements and at least one of the second heterogeneous beam elements in the antenna are arranged along a preset straight line. If the number of the heterogeneous beam elements is odd, at least one of the first heterogeneous beam elements, at least one of the second heterogeneous beam elements, and at least one of the third heterogeneous beam elements in the antenna are arranged along the preset straight line. The maximum direction of the radiation pattern of the first heterogeneous beam element deviates from the normal direction of the preset straight line, and the deflection angle ranges from 0° to 90°, including 90°. The maximum direction of the radiation pattern of the second heterogeneous beam element deviates from the normal direction of the preset straight line, and the deviated direction is opposite to that of the first heterogeneous beam element, and the deflection angle ranges from 0° to 90°, including 90°. The maximum direction of the radiation pattern of the third heterogeneous beam element points to the normal direction of the preset straight line.

2. A heterogeneously phased array antenna according to claim 1, wherein, The deflection angle of the first heterogeneous beam element is equal to that of the second heterogeneous beam element in value.

3. A heterogeneously phased array antenna according to claim 1, wherein, The first heterogeneous beam element and the second heterogeneous beam element are arranged in pairs and symmetrically about the geometric center of the antenna.

4. A heterogeneously phased array antenna according to claim 1, wherein If the antenna comprises two or more third heterogeneous beam elements, each of the third heterogeneous beam elements is symmetrically arranged about the geometric center of the antenna. If the antenna comprises one third heterogeneous beam element, the third heterogeneous beam element is arranged at the geometric center of the array.

5. A heterogeneously phased array antenna according to claim 1, wherein, If two or more first heterogeneous beam elements are arranged along the preset straight line, the deflection angles of each of the first heterogeneous beam elements arranged on the preset straight line are equal. Alternatively, if two or more first heterogeneous beam elements are arranged along the preset straight line, the deflection angles of each of the first heterogeneous beam elements arranged on the preset straight line are not equal.

6. A heterogeneously phased array antenna according to claim 1, wherein, The number of the heterogeneous beam elements is a multiple of four.

7. A heterogeneously phased array antenna according to claim 1, wherein, The antenna comprises four heterogeneous beam elements, and each of the heterogeneous beam elements adopts a four-element equidistant linear arrangement. Alternatively, the antenna comprises eight heterogeneous beam elements, and every four of the heterogeneous beam elements adopts a four-element equidistant linear arrangement.

8. A heterogeneously phased array antenna according to claim 7, wherein, The layout includes a regular layout and a heterogeneous layout. The regular layout is that four identical heterogeneous beam elements are arranged in an equidistant linear arrangement. The heterogeneous layout is that four heterogeneous beam elements are arranged in an equidistant linear arrangement, and at least two of the four heterogeneous beam elements are different.

9. A heterogeneously phased array antenna according to claim 8, wherein, The regular layout is that four third heterogeneous beam elements are arranged in an equidistant linear arrangement. The heterogeneous layout comprises at least one of: a first heterogeneous beam element, a third heterogeneous beam element, a third heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element; a second heterogeneous beam element, a third heterogeneous beam element, a third heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element; a third heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, a third heterogeneous beam element; a third heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element, a third heterogeneous beam element; a first heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element; a second heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element; a second heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element; a first heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element, a first heterogeneous beam element, a second heterogeneous beam element.

10. A heterogeneously phased array antenna according to claim 8, wherein, The heterogeneous phased array antenna comprises four of the layouts, and the four layouts are arranged along two orthogonal directions of a plane.

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