Phase shifting unit, phase shifting device, and antenna device

Abstract

A phase shifting unit, a phase shifting device, and an antenna device, relating to the technical field of antennas. The phase shifting unit comprises: two substrates arranged opposite to each other, the substrates each comprising a base, and an electrode and a transmission structure which are located on one side of the base, the transmission structure comprising a transmission line connected to the electrode, and on the two substrates, the orthographic projections of the electrodes on the bases overlapping each other; and a dielectric layer, located between the two substrates, the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer being adjustable; wherein the transmission structure further comprises a branch structure electrically connected to the transmission line, and the branch structure is at least used for assisting the electrodes in forming an electric field within the dielectric layer; and / or, at least one of the substrates further comprises an auxiliary structure, the orthographic projection of the auxiliary structure on the base is located around the orthographic projection of the electrode on the base, and the vertical distance between the base and the surface of the side of the auxiliary structure distant from the base is greater than or equal to the vertical distance between the base and the surface of the side of the electrode distant from the base.

Description

Phase shifting unit, phase shifting device and antenna device Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of antenna technology, and in particular to a phase shifting unit, a phase shifting device, and an antenna device. Background Technology

[0002] Antennas are the primary receivers and radiators in wireless communication systems. Radiators are generally the radiating elements of an antenna. The direction of the beam pattern can be altered by changing the feed phase of the radiating element, thereby achieving spatial beam scanning. In related technologies, the feed phase of the radiating element can be changed using a phase shifter.

[0003] Overview

[0004] In a first aspect, this disclosure provides a phase-shifting unit, comprising:

[0005] Two substrates are arranged opposite each other. Each substrate includes a substrate, an electrode located on one side of the substrate, and a transmission structure. The transmission structure includes a transmission line connected to the electrode. The orthographic projections of the electrodes on the two substrates onto the substrate overlap.

[0006] A dielectric layer is located between the two substrates, and the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer is adjustable.

[0007] The transmission structure further includes a branch structure electrically connected to the transmission line, the branch structure being at least used to assist the electrodes in forming an electric field in the dielectric layer; and / or,

[0008] At least one of the substrates further includes an auxiliary structure, the orthographic projection of the auxiliary structure onto the substrate being located around the orthographic projection of the electrode onto the substrate, and the vertical distance between the surface of the auxiliary structure facing away from the substrate and the substrate being greater than or equal to the vertical distance between the surface of the electrode facing away from the substrate and the substrate.

[0009] For example, the branching structure includes a first type of branching structure and a second type of branching structure, which are connected at different locations on the transmission line;

[0010] The first type of branch structure assists the electrode in forming an electric field in the dielectric layer, and the second type of branch structure assists in electrical and optical detection. The electrical detection is used to detect the voltage characteristics of the electric field, and the optical detection is used to detect the thickness and polarization characteristics of the dielectric layer.

[0011] For example, the first type of branch structure includes at least one of a first substructure, a second substructure, and a third substructure;

[0012] Wherein, the orthographic projection of the first substructure on the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate, and the first substructure is configured to assist the signal transmission of the transmission line;

[0013] The second substructures on the two substrates have their orthographic projections on the substrates overlapping, and are configured to form an auxiliary electric field around the electrodes;

[0014] A capacitor structure is formed between the third substructures on the two substrates.

[0015] For example, the first substructure includes a linear stub, and the transmission line includes a first connection point connected to the linear stub and a second connection point connected to the electrode;

[0016] The length of the linear branch is equal to the length of the first wiring portion between the first connection point and the second connection point.

[0017] For example, the orthographic projection of the linear branch onto the substrate includes at least one bend.

[0018] For example, the electrode is located on the side of the second substructure facing away from the substrate, and the orthographic projections of the second substructures on the substrates on both substrates overlap with the orthographic projections of the electrode on the substrate.

[0019] For example, the orthographic projection of the second substructure onto the substrate overlaps the orthographic projection of the electrode onto the substrate;

[0020] Wherein, on the same substrate, the area of ​​the orthographic projection of the second substructure onto the substrate is 101% to 105% of the area of ​​the orthographic projection of the electrode onto the substrate; and / or, the minimum distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second substructure onto the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the electrode onto the substrate is less than or equal to 5 μm.

[0021] For example, the third substructure includes:

[0022] The first reference electrode is connected to the transmission line;

[0023] An insulating layer is filled between the two substrates;

[0024] Wherein, the orthographic projection of the insulating layer on the substrate overlaps with the orthographic projection of the first reference electrode on the substrate on both substrates.

[0025] For example, the second type of branch structure includes:

[0026] The second reference electrode is connected to the transmission line. The orthographic projection of the second reference electrode on the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate, and the orthographic projections of the second reference electrodes on the two substrates overlap.

[0027] Multiple visible objects, the orthographic projections of which are distributed around the orthographic projection of the second reference electrode on the substrate.

[0028] For example, the material of the visible object is the same as the material of the electrode.

[0029] For example, the minimum spacing between the two substrates at the auxiliary structure is less than or equal to the minimum spacing at the electrodes.

[0030] For example, the auxiliary structure includes:

[0031] A padding layer, the orthographic projection of the padding layer on the substrate, is located between the orthographic projections of the plurality of electrodes on the same substrate on the substrate;

[0032] The minimum spacing between the two substrates at the pad layer is less than or equal to the minimum spacing at the electrode.

[0033] For example, the padding layer includes a plurality of padding pads spaced apart from each other, and the orthographic projections of the plurality of padding pads on the substrate do not overlap with the orthographic projections of the electrodes on the substrate;

[0034] The phase-shifting unit further includes:

[0035] A support post is located between the two substrates, with one end of the support post in direct contact with the shim pad.

[0036] For example, the padding layer is disposed in the same layer as the electrode, and the thickness of the padding layer is greater than the thickness of the electrode;

[0037] The padding layer includes multiple openings, and the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate is located within the orthographic projection of the opening on the substrate.

[0038] For example, the padding layer includes a ramp at the opening, and the thickness of the flat layer at the ramp gradually decreases along a first direction, the first direction being the direction of the padding layer toward the electrode.

[0039] For example, the slope angle of the slope is 35°-60°.

[0040] A second aspect of this disclosure provides a phase-shifting device, comprising a plurality of phase-shifting units as described in any of the first aspects.

[0041] Exemplarily, the orthogonal projections of the electrodes on the two substrates of the phase-shifting unit onto the substrate together form an electrode pattern, and the phase-shifting device further includes:

[0042] An isolation dam is located between the two substrates, and the orthographic projection of the isolation dam on the substrate overlaps with the orthographic projection of the auxiliary structure on the substrate;

[0043] The isolation dam has an orthographic projection on the substrate that is ring-shaped and encloses at least one of the electrode patterns.

[0044] Exemplarily, the orthographic projection of the isolation dam onto the substrate encloses one of the electrode patterns;

[0045] The minimum distance between the outer contour of the isolation dam projected onto the substrate and the outer contour of the electrode pattern is uniform.

[0046] For example, the two substrates of the phase shifting unit include a first substrate and a second substrate, the electrode on the first substrate is a first electrode, the electrode on the second substrate is a second electrode, the transmission line connected to the first electrode is a first transmission line, and the transmission line connected to the second electrode is a second transmission line.

[0047] The phase-shifting device includes multiple partitions, and each partition includes at least one phase-shifting unit;

[0048] In the adjacent first and second partitions, multiple first electrodes in the first partition are connected to the same first transmission line, and multiple second electrodes are connected to different second transmission lines; in the second partition, multiple first electrodes are connected to different first transmission lines, and multiple second electrodes are connected to the same second transmission line.

[0049] For example, the orthogonal projections of the electrodes on the two substrates of the phase-shifting unit onto the substrate together form an electrode pattern, and the phase-shifting device includes at least two types of phase-shifting units;

[0050] The morphology of the orthographic projection of the electrode pattern in the phase-shifting unit in different types of phase-shifting units onto the substrate is different.

[0051] A third aspect of this disclosure provides an antenna device, comprising a phase-shifting unit as described in any exemplary embodiment of the first aspect or a phase-shifting device as described in any exemplary embodiment of the second aspect, and...

[0052] The power supply structure is located on one side of the phase-shifting unit;

[0053] The radiating structure is located on the side of the phase-shifting unit away from the feeding structure.

[0054] The above description is merely an overview of the technical solution disclosed herein. In order to better understand the technical means of this disclosure and to implement it in accordance with the contents of the specification, and to make the above and other objects, features and advantages of this disclosure more apparent and understandable, specific embodiments of this disclosure are described below.

[0055] Brief description of the attached diagram

[0056] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments or related technologies of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are some embodiments of this disclosure. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort. It should be noted that the scale in the drawings is for illustration only and does not represent the actual scale.

[0057] Figure 1(1) and (2) show schematic diagrams of the signal transmission method and range of a conventional antenna;

[0058] Figure 1(3) shows a schematic diagram of the signal transmission mode and range of the phased array antenna;

[0059] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of beamforming achieved by the phase shifting unit;

[0060] Figure 3 shows a planar schematic diagram of the phase shifting device;

[0061] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of one section in the phase shifting device;

[0062] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the alignment markings for multiple partitions;

[0063] Figures 6A-6C show planar schematic diagrams of the three phase-shifting units, respectively;

[0064] Figures 7A and 7B show schematic cross-sectional views of the two phase-shifting units, respectively.

[0065] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the film layer layout of the phase-shifting unit;

[0066] Figure 9 shows a planar schematic diagram of a phase-shifting unit;

[0067] Figure 10A shows a planar schematic diagram of a phase-shifting unit in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0068] Figure 10B shows a plan view of yet another phase-shifting unit in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0069] Figure 11 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a phase-shifting unit;

[0070] Figure 12 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of various phase shifting devices at the auxiliary structure;

[0071] Figure 13 shows a planar schematic diagram of the two types of electrodes;

[0072] Figure 14 shows the corresponding planar schematic diagram in Figure 12;

[0073] Figure 15 shows several planar schematic diagrams of the isolation dam;

[0074] Figure 16 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the phase shifting device at the isolation dam;

[0075] Figure 17 shows a schematic diagram of the partitioned layout of the phase shifting device;

[0076] Figure 18 shows a wiring diagram of two adjacent partitions;

[0077] Figure 19 shows an enlarged schematic diagram of the wiring of the phase shifting unit;

[0078] Figure 20 shows a schematic diagram of the packaging structure of the substrate of the phase-shifting unit.

[0079] Figure 21 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the antenna device;

[0080] Figure 22 shows a schematic diagram of the assembly of the feed structure, radiation structure and phase shifting unit in the antenna device.

[0081] Detailed description

[0082] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0083] In this specification, "electrical connection" and "coupling" include situations where components are connected together by elements that have some electrical function. There are no particular limitations on what constitutes an "electrical function," as long as it allows for the transmission and reception of electrical signals between the connected components. Examples of "electrical functions" include not only electrodes and wiring, but also switching elements such as transistors, resistors, inductors, capacitors, and other components with various functions.

[0084] In this specification, "parallel" refers to the state where the angle formed by two straight lines is greater than or equal to -10° and less than 10°, and therefore also includes the state where the angle is greater than or equal to -5° and less than 5°. Similarly, "perpendicular" refers to the state where the angle formed by two straight lines is greater than or equal to 80° and less than 100°, and therefore also includes the state where the angle is greater than or equal to 85° and less than 95°.

[0085] Unless the context otherwise requires, throughout the specification and claims, the term "comprising" is interpreted as open and encompassing, that is, "including, but not limited to".

[0086] In this application, "same layer" refers to the relationship between multiple film layers formed from the same material after undergoing the same step (e.g., a patterning process). "Same layer" here does not always mean that multiple film layers have the same thickness or the same height in a cross-sectional view. The polygons used in this specification are not strictly defined; they can be approximate triangles, parallelograms, trapezoids, pentagons, or hexagons, and may have minor deformations due to tolerances.

[0087] With the development of communication technology, phased array antennas have been designed. A phased array antenna is a type of array antenna that changes the beam direction by controlling the feed phase of the radiating elements, enabling spatial scanning of the array beam. Existing phased array antennas use liquid crystal phase-shifting units, which rely on applying voltage to the upper and lower substrates of the liquid crystal phase-shifting unit to create overlapping capacitance, thereby changing the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal material. This alters the phase constant of the electromagnetic wave on the device, ultimately adjusting the phase shift and achieving beam scanning of the antenna device.

[0088] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, Figure 1 (1) and (2) show schematic diagrams of the signal transmission mode and range of a traditional antenna, Figure 1 (3) shows schematic diagrams of the signal transmission mode and range of a phased array antenna, and Figure 2 shows schematic diagrams of the principle of beamforming achieved by the phase shifting unit. As shown in Figure 1 (3), when phased array antennas are used in 5G signal transmission, they can enhance the signal coverage range, reduce interference, and flexibly and in real time achieve beam adjustment, supporting high-frequency communication.

[0089] In Figure 2, the phase-shifting unit is an important component of the phased array antenna. By changing the phase consistency of the antenna components, it can improve the power combining efficiency and the combining efficiency of the echo signal. In Figure 2, Tx represents the transmitting unit, Φ represents the phase-shifting unit, and C represents the signal that controls the phase-shifting unit to perform phase shifting, thereby realizing beam switching / scanning and improving the capabilities of the communication system.

[0090] In related technologies, the phase-shifting units used in phased array antennas mainly include mechanical phase-shifting units and electronic phase-shifting units. Mechanical phase-shifting units, such as waveguide phase-shifting units, air coaxial phase-shifting units, strip phase-shifting units, and arc-shaped phase-shifting units, change the phase of electromagnetic signal transmission by altering the position of the medium and the physical length of the transmission line. Mechanical phase-shifting units are large in size, subject to significant inertial constraints, and cannot change the phase rapidly in a short time. Electronic phase-shifting units, such as ferrite phase-shifting units (which use an external DC magnetic field to change the permeability of the ferrite in the waveguide, thereby changing the phase velocity of the electromagnetic wave) and semiconductor phase-shifting units (which control the on / off state of PIN diodes to connect different transmission lines, thereby achieving different phase delays), are too expensive, complex, have poor intermodulation performance, and cannot be used for phase modulation.

[0091] Among them, the liquid crystal phase shifting unit effectively overcomes the shortcomings of mechanical and electronic phase shifting units, achieving low power consumption, miniaturization, and fast response.

[0092] The phase-shifting performance of the liquid crystal phase-shifting unit is related to the beam pointing of the antenna; therefore, it is necessary to ensure the performance of the liquid crystal phase-shifting unit.

[0093] In addition, it is also necessary to consider reducing the manufacturing cost of liquid crystal phase shifting units.

[0094] In view of the above, embodiments of this disclosure provide a phase-shifting unit and an antenna device. The phase-shifting unit may include two substrates disposed opposite to each other, and a dielectric layer 30 located between the two substrates. Each substrate may include a substrate, an electrode located on one side of the substrate, and a transmission structure. The transmission structure may include a transmission line connected to the electrode. The transmission structure may also include a branch structure and / or at least one substrate may also include an auxiliary structure. The branch structure may assist the electrode in forming an electric field in the dielectric layer 30, and the auxiliary structure may be used to reduce the spacing between the first substrate and the second substrate in the area excluding the electrode.

[0095] When the transmission structure includes a branch structure, since the branch structure can be connected to the transmission line and can assist the electrode in forming an electric field on the dielectric layer 30, the performance of the electric field formed by the phase shifting unit on the dielectric layer 30 can be optimized, thereby improving the performance of the phase shifting unit.

[0096] When an auxiliary structure is included, since the minimum spacing between the two substrates at the auxiliary structure is less than or equal to the minimum spacing between the two substrates at the electrodes, the spacing between the regions of the two substrates other than the electrodes can be shortened while ensuring sufficient distance between the two electrodes. This allows for a reduction in the thickness of the dielectric layer 30 in the region outside the electrodes. For example, when the dielectric layer 30 is liquid crystal, the liquid crystal can be concentrated at the electrodes, thereby improving the electrical tuning capability of the dielectric layer 30 and optimizing the phase-shifting performance of the phase-shifting unit. Furthermore, reducing the thickness of the dielectric layer 30 in the region outside the electrodes also reduces the amount of liquid crystal used in the region outside the electrodes, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the phase-shifting unit.

[0097] The phase-shifting unit and antenna device proposed in the embodiments of this disclosure will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0098] Referring to Figures 6A and 7B, Figures 6A and 6B show planar schematic diagrams of the two phase shifting units 101, and Figures 7A and 7B show cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the two phase shifting units 101.

[0099] As shown in Figures 3-7A, the phase-shifting unit 101 in this embodiment can be a liquid crystal phase-shifting unit, which can be applied in a phased array antenna and can serve as a phase-shifting structural component of the phased array antenna. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the phase-shifting unit 101 may include:

[0100] Two substrates (first substrate 10 and second substrate 20) are arranged opposite to each other. Each substrate includes a substrate, an electrode located on one side of the substrate, and a transmission structure. The transmission structure includes a transmission line connected to the electrode. The orthographic projections of the electrodes on the two substrates onto the substrate overlap.

[0101] A dielectric layer 30 is located between two substrates, and the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer 30 is adjustable;

[0102] The transmission structure further includes a branch structure electrically connected to the transmission line, the branch structure including at least an auxiliary electrode forming an electric field in the dielectric layer 30; and / or,

[0103] At least one substrate further includes an auxiliary structure, the orthographic projection of the auxiliary structure onto the substrate being located around the orthographic projection of the electrode onto the substrate, wherein the vertical distance between the surface of the auxiliary structure facing away from the substrate and the substrate is greater than or equal to the vertical distance between the surface of the electrode facing away from the substrate and the substrate.

[0104] In this embodiment, one of the two substrates can be referred to as the first substrate 10, and the other substrate can be referred to as the second substrate 20.

[0105] The substrate on the first substrate 10 can be referred to as the first substrate 11, the substrate on the second substrate 20 can be referred to as the second substrate 21, the electrode on the first substrate 10 can be referred to as the first electrode 14, and the electrode on the second substrate 20 can be referred to as the second electrode 24.

[0106] In this embodiment, both the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 21 can be flexible substrates, or at least one of the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 21 can be a flexible substrate.

[0107] In one example, at least one of the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 21 can be a rigid substrate. For example, the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 21 can be glass substrates, or the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 21 can be silicon-based substrates. When the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 21 are silicon-based substrates, on the one hand, since silicon material has good thermal conductivity and helps dissipate heat, the phase shifting unit 101 can provide better thermal conductivity when operating for a long time or under high power conditions, thereby increasing the service life of the phase shifting unit 101; on the other hand, the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 21 can be more easily integrated with the shift register and feed network in the phase shifting unit 101, thereby helping to reduce the overall thickness of the phase shifting unit 101 and improve the integration of the subsequently assembled antenna.

[0108] In one example, the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 21 can both be transparent substrates, or the first substrate 11 can be a transparent substrate and the second substrate 21 can be an opaque substrate.

[0109] The first electrode 14 can be located on one side of the first substrate 11, and the second electrode 24 can be located on one side of the second substrate 21. As shown in Figures 6A-6C, the orthographic projections of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 11 can overlap. For example, as shown in Figures 6A-6C, the orthographic projections of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 11 partially overlap, and an electric field is formed between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the overlapping region 141, thereby driving a change in the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer 30 (such as liquid crystal) located between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, achieving phase shifting.

[0110] For example, both the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 are formed of a metallic material, such as copper, aluminum, gold, or silver. For instance, copper can be used, which reduces costs and provides good electrical conductivity.

[0111] The materials of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 may be the same or different, and no limitation is made here.

[0112] The thickness of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 may be the same or different. For example, the thickness of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 may be 3 to 5 μm, such as 3 μm, 3.5 μm, 4 μm, 4.5 μm, or 5 μm.

[0113] The first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 can have the same shape as the orthographic projection on the first substrate 11. For example, as shown in Figures 6A-6C, the shape of the orthographic projection of the first electrode 14 on the first substrate 11 is the same as the shape of the orthographic projection of the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 11.

[0114] In one example, as shown in Figure 6C, the orthographic projections of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 onto the first substrate 11 can be regular shapes. Regular shapes refer to shapes with a defined shape and size that can be divided according to a certain fixed rule or pattern, such as circles, squares, rectangles, etc. For example, as shown in Figure 6C, the shapes of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 are both rectangles.

[0115] In one example, as shown in Figures 6A and 6B, the orthographic projection of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 onto the first substrate 11 can be an irregular pattern, which refers to a pattern other than a regular pattern.

[0116] As shown in Figures 6A-6C, the orthogonal projections of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 11 together form an electrode pattern 10P. The electrode pattern 10P can refer to the combined pattern of the orthogonal projections of the first electrode 14 on the first substrate 10 and the orthogonal projections of the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10, including the overlapping and non-overlapping parts.

[0117] In one example, the electrode pattern 10P can be a symmetrical pattern, for example, as shown in Figures 6A and 6B, the electrode pattern 10P can be an axisymmetric pattern.

[0118] In one example, the electrode pattern 10P can be an asymmetrical pattern, for example, as shown in Figure 6C, the electrode pattern 10P can be an asymmetrical pattern.

[0119] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG7A, the first electrode 14 may be located on the side of the first substrate 11 near the dielectric layer 30, and the second electrode 24 may be located on the side of the second substrate 21 near the dielectric layer 30.

[0120] In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 7A and 7B, the first substrate 10 may further include a transmission structure located on one side of the first substrate 11. The transmission structure on the first substrate 10 may be disposed in the same layer as the first electrode 14 or in a different layer. The second substrate 20 may further include a transmission structure located on one side of the second substrate 21. The transmission structure on the second substrate 20 may be disposed in the same layer as the second electrode 24 or in a different layer.

[0121] For example, as shown in FIG7A, the transmission structure can be disposed in the same layer as the electrode; as shown in FIG7B, the transmission structure can be located on the side of the same layer as the electrode away from the dielectric layer 30.

[0122] Referring to Figure 9, which shows a planar schematic diagram of a phase shifting unit 101, the transmission structure on the first substrate 10 may include a transmission line connected to the first electrode 14, and the transmission structure on the second substrate 20 may also include a transmission line connected to the second electrode 24.

[0123] The transmission line connected to the first electrode 14 is called the first transmission line 15, and the transmission line connected to the second electrode 24 is called the second transmission line 25.

[0124] The materials of the first transmission line 15 and the second transmission line 25 may be the same or different. For example, the first transmission line 15 and the second transmission line 25 may be made of metal materials, or the first transmission line 15 and the second transmission line 25 may be made of metal oxide materials.

[0125] In one example, both the first transmission line 15 and the second transmission line 25 can be made of metal oxide materials. Further, the first transmission line 15 and the second transmission line 25 can be made of a light-transmitting conductive material, such as indium tin oxide. In this way, both the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 can be light-transmitting in the area outside the electrodes. This light transmittance helps with the alignment between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. For example, when alignment marks 102 are provided on both the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, the areas outside the electrodes of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 are transparent. Thus, the alignment marks 102 can be visually seen, facilitating machine or manual alignment of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 and improving alignment accuracy.

[0126] The thicknesses of the first transmission line 15 and the second transmission line 25 may be the same or different. For example, the thickness of the first transmission line 15 may be less than the thickness of the first electrode 14, and the thickness of the second transmission line 25 may be less than the thickness of the second electrode 24.

[0127] For example, the thickness of the first electrode and the second electrode can be 3 to 5 μm, and the thickness of both the first transmission line and the second transmission line is less than 3 μm.

[0128] The first electrode 14 can be located on the side of the first transmission line 15 away from the first substrate 11, and the second electrode 24 can be located on the side of the second transmission line 25 away from the second substrate 21. Alternatively, the first electrode 14 can be disposed in the same layer as the first transmission line 15, and the second electrode 24 can be disposed in the same layer as the second transmission line 25.

[0129] The first transmission line 15 can be connected to the first electrode 14, and the first transmission line 15 can input a first electrical signal to the first electrode 14; the second transmission line 25 can be connected to the second electrode 24, and the second transmission line 25 can input a second electrical signal to the second electrode 24.

[0130] Here, connection can refer to direct contact or coupling.

[0131] In this process, the first transmission line 15 inputs a first electrical signal to the first electrode 14, and the second transmission line 25 inputs a second electrical signal to the second electrode 24. In this way, an electric field can be formed between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 at the dielectric layer 30. The electric field can change the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer 30, thereby shifting the phase of the feed signal arriving at the phase shifting unit 101 and thus changing the radiation phase.

[0132] In this embodiment, the phase shifting unit 101 can be driven directly. Direct drive means that the first electrode 14 is directly connected to the driving structure that drives the first electrode 14 through the first transmission line 15, and the second electrode 24 is directly connected to the driving structure that drives the second electrode 24 through the second transmission line 25.

[0133] The driving structure for driving the first electrode 14 can be a first driving chip (such as the first driving module described in the following embodiments), and the first transmission line 15 can be connected to the pin of the first driving chip. In this way, the first driving chip outputs a high-level or low-level signal (first electrical signal) to the pin, and the output high-level or low-level signal is output to the first electrode 14 through the first transmission line 15.

[0134] The driving structure for driving the second electrode 24 can be a second driving chip (such as the second driving module described in subsequent embodiments), and the second transmission line 25 can be connected to the pin of the second driving chip. In this way, the second driving chip outputs a high-level or low-level signal (second electrical signal) to the pin, and the output high-level or low-level signal is output to the second electrode 24 through the second transmission line 25.

[0135] In this embodiment, when using direct drive, the phase shifting unit 101 can be controlled individually. One of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 serves as a common electrode, while the other electrode needs to be driven independently. For example, assuming multiple phase shifting units 101 are included, taking the first electrode 14 as the common electrode, multiple first electrodes 14 can be connected to the same first transmission line 15, and multiple second electrodes 24 need to be connected to multiple independent second transmission lines 25. Therefore, the number of second transmission lines 25 is the same as the number of phase shifting units 101. In this way, different second electrical signals can be input to multiple second electrodes 24 through multiple second transmission lines 25, and the same first electrical signal can be input to multiple first electrodes 14 through the same first transmission line 15. This achieves the goal of independent control of each phase shifting unit 101.

[0136] As shown in Figures 7A and 7B, a dielectric layer 30 is further included between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. The dielectric constant of the dielectric layer 30 is adjustable; for example, the dielectric layer 30 can be a liquid crystal. In the case of a liquid crystal, after the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 are assembled, the edges of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 can be sealed using a frame adhesive 40 to form a sealed receiving cavity, which is filled with liquid crystal.

[0137] High viscosity liquid crystal can be used, which can reduce the response time of the phase shifting unit 101 when it is in operation.

[0138] In this embodiment, in order to improve the phase shifting performance of the phase shifting unit 101, in one example, the transmission structure may further include a branch structure, which may be electrically connected to the transmission line. The branch structure may at least include a structure for assisting the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in forming an electric field in the dielectric layer 30.

[0139] A branch structure is a relatively small structural part of a transmission structure, and can be understood as a component of the transmission structure. For example, as shown in Figure 9, the branch structure can be set on the same layer as the transmission line. The branch structure can be understood as a branch connected to the transmission line, and the material and thickness of the branch structure can be the same as those of the transmission line.

[0140] Alternatively, in one example, the thickness of the branch structure can differ from the thickness of the transmission line. For instance, the thickness of the branch structure can be greater than the thickness of the transmission line.

[0141] As shown in Figure 9, when the branch structure requires the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 to form an electric field in the dielectric layer 30, the orthogonal projections of the branch structure on the first substrate 10 and the branch structure on the second substrate 20 onto the first substrate 11 can overlap. In this way, an electric field can be formed in the overlapping area of ​​the branch structure on the first substrate 10 and the branch structure on the second substrate 20. Thus, an auxiliary electric field can be formed around the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24, thereby improving the control capability of liquid crystal tuning at the electrode edge under low-frequency voltage, thereby improving the performance of the phase-shifting unit 101.

[0142] In another example, an auxiliary structure is also formed on the first substrate 10 and / or the second substrate 20, which can shorten the distance between the regions of the two substrates other than the electrode region.

[0143] As shown in Figures 7A and 7B, an auxiliary structure 13 is also formed on the first substrate, and / or an auxiliary structure 23 is also formed on the second substrate, wherein the vertical distance between the surface of the auxiliary structure facing away from the substrate and the substrate is greater than or equal to the vertical distance between the surface of the electrode facing away from the substrate and the substrate.

[0144] As shown in Figures 7A and 7B, the vertical distance d2 from the surface of the auxiliary structure 13 formed on the first substrate away from the substrate 11 to the substrate 11 is equal to the vertical distance d1 from the surface of the first electrode 14 away from the substrate 11 to the substrate 11. This allows the thickness of the first substrate at the first electrode to be the same as the thickness at the auxiliary structure, thereby reducing the amount of dielectric layer used between the first and second substrates when they are assembled.

[0145] For example, as shown in FIG12, FIG12 shows a partial cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of a phase shifting unit 101. As shown in FIG12 (1), an auxiliary structure 13 can be formed on one side of the first substrate 10. The auxiliary structure 13 on the first substrate 10 can increase the thickness of the area around the first electrode 14 in the first substrate 10, so that the thickness of the first substrate 10 at the first electrode 14 is consistent with the thickness at the auxiliary structure.

[0146] In some examples, the minimum spacing between the first and second substrates at the auxiliary structure may be less than or equal to the minimum spacing at the electrodes.

[0147] As shown in Figure 12(2), an auxiliary structure 23 can be formed on one side of the second substrate 20. The auxiliary structure 23 on the second substrate 20 can increase the thickness of the area around the second electrode 24 in the second substrate 20, so that the minimum distance d4 between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 in the area where the auxiliary structure is located is equal to the minimum distance d3 in the electrode overlapping area.

[0148] As shown in (3) and (4) of Figure 12, auxiliary structures can be formed on one side of both the second substrate 20 and the first substrate 10. The auxiliary structures can increase the thickness of the area around the second electrode 24 in the second substrate 20 and the thickness of the area around the first electrode 14 in the first substrate 10, so that the minimum distance d4 between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 in the area where the auxiliary structure is located is less than or equal to the minimum distance d3 in the electrode overlapping area.

[0149] The minimum spacing can refer to the vertical distance between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20.

[0150] The electrode overlap region is the overlapping area of ​​the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 11. The minimum distance between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 in the electrode overlap region can be called the minimum distance between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 in the electrode overlap region. In some cases, it can be directly expressed as the vertical distance between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24.

[0151] The region where the auxiliary structure is located can be understood as the orthographic projection region of the auxiliary structure on the first substrate 11.

[0152] In this example, since the auxiliary structure can reduce the vertical distance between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 in the region around the electrodes, for example, it can be less than or equal to the vertical distance between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24. In this way, the strength of the electric field formed between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 can be guaranteed. At the same time, it can avoid filling the region outside the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 with too much medium, reduce the amount of medium (e.g., liquid crystal) used, and thus save costs.

[0153] Furthermore, when the dielectric layer 30 is liquid crystal, the step difference between the electrode and the area surrounding the electrode can be reduced by the auxiliary structure, which can prevent the liquid crystal from flowing to the area surrounding the electrode and concentrate the liquid crystal at the electrode, thereby improving the electrical tuning capability of the dielectric layer 30 and optimizing the phase shifting performance of the phase shifting unit 101.

[0154] The electrode can be an irregularly shaped graphic. In this case, the area around the electrode can refer to the area on the substrate other than the area where the electrode is located and which is adjacent to the electrode, as shown in Figure 13. Figure 13 shows a planar schematic diagram of two types of electrodes. As shown in Figure 13(1), the electrode is an irregular graphic. The outer contour of the electrode can be circumscribed by a regular graphic 14a. The irregular graphic of the electrode can be an inscribed graphic of the circumscribed regular graphic. The circumscribed regular graphic 14a can be a rectangle, a circle, a triangle, or an ellipse. In this embodiment, taking the circumscribed regular graphic as a rectangle as an example, the circumscribed rectangle of the electrode can be regarded as the area where the electrode is located. This area is a virtual area. Then the area around the electrode can be the area 14b outside the area selected by the circumscribed rectangle of the electrode, as shown in Figure 13(1), which can be the area 14b within the two dashed boxes.

[0155] The electrode can be a regular shape. In this case, the area around the electrode can refer to the area on the substrate other than the electrode and adjacent to the electrode, as shown in Figure 13 (2). The electrode is a regular shape, such as a rectangle. The area around the electrode can be the area outside the electrode, for example, the area 14b between two adjacent electrodes on the substrate.

[0156] In some embodiments, the transmission structure may include a branch structure, and the branch structure may include multiple branch structures. Some of the branch structures may be used to assist the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in forming an electric field in the dielectric layer 30. Some branch structures may be used to assist the transmission line in signal transmission. Some branch structures may be used to assist electrical detection and optical detection.

[0157] Referring to Figure 9, the branch structure may include a first type of branch structure and a second type of branch structure 174, wherein the first type of branch structure and the second type of branch structure 174 are connected at different locations on the transmission line; wherein the first type of branch structure (including 171, 172 and 173) is used to assist the electrode in forming an electric field in the dielectric layer 30, and the second type of branch structure 174 assists in electrical detection and optical detection. The electrical detection is used to detect the voltage characteristics of the electric field, and the optical detection is used to detect the thickness and polarization characteristics of the dielectric layer 30.

[0158] In this embodiment, the first type of branch structure can be used to assist the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in forming an electric field in the dielectric layer 30. The first type of branch structure assists in forming an electric field by improving the signal quality, duration, and coverage of the electric field. As a result, the duration of the electric field can be extended, the coverage of the electric field can be expanded, and the quality of the formed electric field can be improved.

[0159] The first type of branch structure may include multiple branches, such as multiple branches. Different branches can be connected at different positions on the transmission line. Different branches can assist in forming an electric field between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 from different angles. For example, some branches can be used to extend the duration of the electric field, some branches can be used to expand the range covered by the electric field, and some branches can be used to improve the quality of the electric field.

[0160] In some examples, as shown in Figure 9, the orthographic projections of a portion of the branch on the first substrate 10 and a portion of the branch on the second substrate 20 onto the first substrate 11 can overlap, and an electric field can be formed at the overlap, thereby expanding the range covered by the electric field.

[0161] As shown in Figure 9, for a branch that expands the range of the electric field, the width of the orthographic projection of the branch on the substrate (first substrate 11 or second substrate 21) can be greater than the width of the transmission line, and the length of the orthographic projection of the branch on the substrate (first substrate 11 or second substrate 21) can be less than the length of the transmission line.

[0162] In this context, width can refer to the line width of the transmission line, and length can refer to the routing length of the transmission line.

[0163] The transmission structures on the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 may both include the first type of branch structure.

[0164] In this embodiment, both the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 include a second type of branch structure 174. The orthographic projections of the second type of branch structure 174 on the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 onto the substrate (first substrate 11 or second substrate 21) can overlap, thereby enabling electrical detection and optical detection through the second type of branch structure 174.

[0165] Electrical testing can be used to detect the voltage characteristics of the electric field, while optical testing can be used to detect the thickness and polarization characteristics of the dielectric layer 30. For example, taking liquid crystal as the dielectric layer 30, electrical testing can use testing equipment to measure indicators such as the voltage applied to the electrodes, which facilitates quality control in mass production. Optical testing can also use testing equipment to test indicators such as the polarization and cell gap of the liquid crystal.

[0166] In this embodiment, the shapes of the orthographic projections of the first type of branch structure and the second type of branch structure 174 on the substrate (first substrate 11 or second substrate 21) can be different.

[0167] When the first type of branch structure and the second type of branch structure 174 are adopted, the branch structure in the transmission structure can not only assist the electrode in forming an electric field and improve the electric field quality of the formed electric field, but also assist the phase shifting unit 101 in performing electrical and optical detection, thereby improving the overall quality of the phase shifting unit 101.

[0168] In some examples of this embodiment, the first type of branch structure can be used to assist the formed electric field from at least one of the signal quality of the electric field, the duration of the electric field, and the range covered by the electric field. Specifically, the first type of branch structure includes at least one of a first substructure 171, a second substructure 172, and a third substructure 173; wherein the orthographic projection of the first substructure 171 on the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate, and the first substructure 171 is configured to assist the signal transmission of the transmission line;

[0169] Among them, for the second substructure 172, the orthographic projections of the second substructure 172 on the two substrates overlap on the substrate, and are configured to form an auxiliary electric field around the electrode.

[0170] Specifically, for the third substructure 173, a capacitor structure is formed between the third substructures 173 on the two substrates.

[0171] In this embodiment, the first type of branch structure may include at least one of the first substructure 171, the second substructure 172 and the third substructure 173. When the first substructure 171, the second substructure 172 and the third substructure 173 are included, the phase shifting unit 101 can have higher performance.

[0172] Wherein, at least one of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 may include a first substructure 171. For example, the first substructure 171 may be located on the first substrate 10 or the second substrate 20, or both the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 may include the first substructure 171. When both include the first substructure 171, the orthographic projections of the first substructure 171 on the first substrate 10 and the first substructure 171 on the second substrate 20 on the substrate do not overlap.

[0173] In this case, a first substructure 171 may be provided on the first substrate 10, which is a non-common electrode. For example, if the first electrode 14 on the first substrate 10 is a common electrode, the transmission structure on the second substrate 20 may include the first substructure 171.

[0174] In some examples, please refer to Figure 11, which shows an enlarged schematic diagram of the first substructure 171. As shown in Figure 11(1), the first substructure 171 can be used to assist in signal transmission of the transmission line. Specifically, the first substructure 171 can isolate the RF port C and the DC port D, thereby optimizing the influence of the low-frequency control signal on the performance of the phase shifting unit 101. The RF port C is also called the second connection point C, which can refer to the point connected to the electrode (first electrode 14 or second electrode 24) of the phase shifting unit 101. The DC port D can refer to the pin of the control module connected to the transmission line.

[0175] As shown in Figure 11(2), the first substructure 171 may include a linear branch that can be connected to a transmission line. The transmission line includes a first connection point B connected to the linear branch and a second connection point C connected to an electrode.

[0176] The length of the linear branch is equal to the length of the first trace between the first connection point B and the second connection point C.

[0177] As shown in Figure 11(1), the length of the linear branch is equal to the length of the first line portion, which can mean that the length of the linear branch is approximately equal to the length of the first line portion. For example, the difference between the length of the linear branch and the length of the first line portion can be less than 0.1 μm, or the difference can be less than 1 / 100 to 1 / 50 of the length of the linear branch.

[0178] In some exemplary embodiments, the length of the linear stub and the length of the first trace portion can both be λ / 4, where λ refers to the center wavelength of the operating frequency of the phase shifting unit 101.

[0179] As shown in Figure 11, a linear stub can be understood as an open-circuit stub connected to a transmission line. One end of the linear stub is connected to the transmission line, and the other end A is open-circuited, meaning it is not connected to any other conductive structures.

[0180] Among them, the linear stub can be orthogonal to the transmission line, the linewidth of the linear stub can be the same as the linewidth of the transmission line, and the material of the linear stub can be the same as the material of the transmission line.

[0181] The shape of the orthographic projection of the linear branch onto the substrate can be straight, wavy, or zigzag, and in some other examples, the edge of the linear branch can be serrated.

[0182] In some examples, the shape of the orthographic projection of the linear stub on the substrate can be a broken line, for example, the linear stub bends on the substrate, and the transmission line also includes a second trace portion located at the first connection point B away from the second connection point B;

[0183] The second trace portion includes at least one bend, and the orthographic projection of the bend onto the substrate is located between the orthographic projections of the first substructure 171 and the third substructure 173 onto the substrate.

[0184] As shown in Figure 11(2), the linear branch bends and the bend can be a right angle bend or an oblique angle bend. For example, the linear branch can include multiple inflection points, and the corner at each inflection point can be a right angle. In this way, the linear branch can present a similar square wave-like routing shape on the substrate.

[0185] In the case where linear stubs are bent and routed on the substrate, the orthogonal projection of the linear stubs on the substrate can be a periodic bending structure. For example, it can include a single-period bending structure or multiple-period bending structures.

[0186] Among them, the bending and routing of linear branches can save wiring space for linear branches.

[0187] As shown in Figures 9 and 11(2), the second trace portion can be the part of the transmission line other than the first trace portion. The second trace portion can include at least one bend portion, and the position of the orthogonal projection of the bend portion on the substrate is located between the orthogonal projections of the first substructure 171 and the third substructure 173 on the substrate.

[0188] In this example, the first type of branch structure may include a second substructure 172 and a third substructure 173. The second trace may also be bent, and the bend in the bend is located between the second substructure 172 and the third substructure 173. Thus, the transmission line can also be bent near the first connection point B, which facilitates isolation between the RF port C and the DC port D.

[0189] As shown in Figure 9, for the second substructure 172, the second substructure 172 is provided on both the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. The orthographic projections of the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 and the second substructure 172 on the second substrate 20 overlap on the substrate. In this way, an electric field can be formed around the electrode through the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. This electric field can be called the edge electric field.

[0190] Since the second substructure 172 needs to form an edge electric field around the electrode, in one example, the second substructure 172 can be located around the electrode. For example, the edge of the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 can completely or partially enclose the orthogonal projection of the first electrode 14 on the substrate, and the edge of the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the second substrate 20 can completely or partially enclose the orthogonal projection of the second electrode 24 on the substrate.

[0191] The overlapping area of ​​the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 and the second substructure 172 on the second substrate 20 is called the second overlapping area 142. The overlapping area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the substrate can be called the first overlapping area 141. The second overlapping area 142 can completely or completely enclose the first overlapping area 141.

[0192] For example, as shown in FIG10A (1), the edge of the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 can partially enclose the orthogonal projection of the first electrode 14 on the substrate, the edge of the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the second substrate 20 partially encloses the orthogonal projection of the second electrode 24 on the substrate, and the second overlapping region 142 partially encloses the first overlapping region 141.

[0193] For example, as shown in FIG10A (2), the edge of the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 can partially enclose the orthogonal projection of the first electrode 14 on the substrate, the edge of the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the second substrate 20 partially encloses the orthogonal projection of the second electrode 24 on the substrate, and the second overlapping region 142 completely encloses the first overlapping region 141.

[0194] For example, as shown in FIG10A (3), the edge of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 can completely enclose the orthographic projection of the first electrode 14 on the substrate, the edge of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the second substrate 20 can completely enclose the orthographic projection of the second electrode 24 on the substrate, and the second overlapping region 142 completely encloses the first overlapping region 141.

[0195] The second substructure 172 is also electrically connected to the transmission line.

[0196] In some examples, for the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, the second substructure 172 can be connected to an electrode, the electrode can be located on the side of the second substructure 172 away from the substrate, and the second substructure 172 on the two substrates can be non-overlapping with the electrode.

[0197] For example, as shown in FIG10A (1), the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 onto the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the first electrode 14 on the substrate, and the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the second substrate 20 onto the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the second electrode 24 on the substrate. Here, the lack of overlap means that there is no overlap between the second substructure 172 and the electrode, but the edge of the electrode and the edge of the second substructure 172 can be in direct contact.

[0198] In this case, the size of the second substructure 172 can be smaller than the size of the electrode. This size can refer to the orientation direction of the orthogonal projection of the first electrode 14 on the substrate toward the orthogonal projection of the second electrode 24 on the substrate. For example, as shown in FIG10A (1), the size of the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 in the orientation direction W is smaller than the size of the first electrode 14 in the orientation direction W, and the size of the second substructure 172 on the second substrate 20 in the orientation direction W is smaller than the size of the second electrode 24 in the orientation direction W. In this way, the problem of excessive influence of the edge electric field on the electric field generated between the electrodes can be avoided, and the auxiliary role of the edge electric field can be guaranteed.

[0199] In some examples, for the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, the second substructure 172 can be connected to an electrode, the electrode can be located on the side of the second substructure 172 away from the substrate, and the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate on both substrates overlaps with the orthogonal projection of the electrode on the substrate.

[0200] In this example, referring to Figure 7B, the electrode can be located on the side of the second substructure 172 away from the substrate. For example, the transport structure can be located on the side of the electrode close to the substrate. The first type of branch structure, the second type of branch structure 174 and the transport line in the transport structure are all located on the side of the electrode close to the substrate.

[0201] As shown in (2) and (3) of Figure 10A, the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the second substrate 20 on the substrate overlaps with the orthographic projection of the second electrode 24 on the substrate, and the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 on the substrate overlaps with the orthographic projection of the first electrode 14 on the substrate.

[0202] As shown in Figure 10A(2), the overlap can be partial, that is, the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate and a portion of the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate can coincide.

[0203] Alternatively, as shown in Figure 10A (3), the overlap can be the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate covering the orthogonal projection of the electrode on the substrate.

[0204] In this example, when the orthographic projections of the second substructures 172 on both substrates overlap with the orthographic projections of the electrodes on the substrates, the size of the second overlapping region 142 between the second substructures 172 on the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 in the oriented direction W can be smaller than the size of the electrodes in the oriented direction W, and larger than the size of the first overlapping region 141 in the oriented direction W. Furthermore, the size of the second overlapping region 142 in the orthogonal direction to the oriented direction W is larger than the size of the first overlapping region 141 in the orthogonal direction to the oriented direction W, and smaller than the size of the electrodes in the orthogonal direction to the oriented direction W.

[0205] In this example, the second overlapping region 142 can cover the first overlapping region 141.

[0206] Specifically, since the second substructure 172 needs to form an edge electric field around the electrode, the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate includes at least a portion of the region located outside the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate.

[0207] When the electrode overlaps with the second substructure 172, the contact area between the electrode and the second substructure 172 can be increased, thereby reducing the contact resistance between the electrode and the second substructure 172 and improving the performance of the phase shifting unit 101.

[0208] Wherein, when the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate covers the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate, the area of ​​the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate is 101% to 105% of the area of ​​the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate; and / or, the minimum distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate is less than or equal to 5 μm.

[0209] Please refer to Figure 10B, which shows a planar schematic diagram between the electrode shown in Figure 6A and the second substructure 172. As shown in Figure 10B, the shape of the orthogonal projection of the electrode on the substrate is irregular, and the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate covers the orthogonal projection of the electrode on the substrate.

[0210] The shape of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate can also be a regular shape, for example, as shown in Figure 10B (1), the shape of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate is a Z-shaped shape.

[0211] The shape of the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate can be the same as the shape of the orthogonal projection of the electrode on the substrate. For example, as shown in Figure 10B (2), the shape of the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate is the same as the shape of the orthogonal projection of the electrode on the substrate. The second substructure 172 can be regarded as the outer extension pattern of the electrode.

[0212] Since the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate covers the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate, the planar area of ​​the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate is greater than the planar area of ​​the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate.

[0213] In one example, the planar area of ​​the second substructure 172 should not be too much larger than the planar area of ​​the electrode. Specifically, the planar area of ​​the second substructure 172 can be 101% to 105% of the planar area of ​​the electrode. For example, the planar area of ​​the second substructure 172 can be 101%, 102%, 103%, 104%, or 105% of the planar area of ​​the electrode. In this example, the shape of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate can be the same as the shape of the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate, or the shape of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate can be a regular pattern, different from the pattern of the electrode.

[0214] In one example, the minimum distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate is less than or equal to 5 μm. For example, the minimum distance can be 5 μm, 4.5 μm, 4 μm, 3.5 μm, 3 μm, or 2.5 μm. In this example, the shape of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate can be the same as the shape of the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate, or the shape of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate can be a regular pattern, different from the pattern of the electrode.

[0215] In one exemplary embodiment of this example, the minimum distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate is uniform. For example, as shown in FIG10B (2), the minimum distance between different positions of the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate is equal. In this example, the shape of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate can be the same as the shape of the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate.

[0216] In some examples, the minimum distance between the outer contour of the second substructure 172 projected onto the substrate and the outer contour of the electrode projected onto the substrate can be less than the size of the electrode in the minimum distance direction. For example, the minimum distance can be 1 / 20 to 1 / 10 of the size of the electrode in the minimum distance direction.

[0217] The minimum distance can refer to the vertical distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate.

[0218] In one example, the planar area of ​​the second substructure 172 can be 101% to 105% of the planar area of ​​the electrode, and the minimum distance between the outer contour of the orthogonal projection of the second substructure 172 on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthogonal projection of the electrode on the substrate is less than or equal to 5 μm.

[0219] In this example, the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 may include an electric field formed between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24, and an edge electric field formed between the second substructure 172 on the first substrate 10 and the second substructure 172 on the second substrate 20. The control capability of edge liquid crystal tuning under low frequency voltage can be improved by the electric field and the edge electric field.

[0220] In this embodiment, the first type of branch structure may further include a third substructure 173. The first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 both include the third substructure 173, and the third substructures 173 on the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 overlap. The third substructure 173 can be used to provide a voltage stabilizing capacitor, thereby extending the duration of the electric field formed between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24.

[0221] Specifically, as shown in FIG9, the third substructure 173 may include a first reference electrode 1731 and an insulating layer 1732 located between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, wherein the first reference electrode 1731 is connected to the transmission line; the insulating layer 1732 fills between the two substrates, and the orthographic projection of the insulating layer 1732 on the substrate overlaps with the orthographic projection of the first reference electrode 1731 on the substrate on both substrates.

[0222] As shown in Figure 9, the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10, the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20, and the insulating layer 1732 located between the two first reference electrodes 1731 can form a capacitor structure.

[0223] The dimensions of the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 and the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20 may be equal or unequal, and the orthogonal projections of the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 and the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20 on the substrate overlap.

[0224] The overlapping of the orthographic projections of the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 and the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20 onto the substrate can mean: the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 covers the orthographic projection of the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20 onto the substrate; the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 falls within the orthographic projection of the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20 onto the substrate; the orthographic projections of the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 and the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20 onto the substrate coincide; or the orthographic projections of the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 and the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20 onto the substrate are intersected.

[0225] The orthographic projection of the first reference electrode 1731 onto the substrate can be a regular or irregular shape. Taking a regular shape as an example, the orthographic projection of the first reference electrode 1731 onto the substrate can be a square, a rectangle, a circle, an ellipse, etc.

[0226] The shapes of the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 and the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20 projected onto the substrate may be the same or different.

[0227] The area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the first reference electrode 1731 onto the substrate is smaller than the area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the electrode onto the substrate. For example, the area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the first reference electrode 1731 onto the substrate can be 1 / 25 to 1 / 15 of the area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the electrode onto the substrate.

[0228] As shown in Figure 9, the third substructure 173 may also include a conductive line connected to the first reference electrode 1731. One end of the conductive line is connected to the transmission line and the other end is connected to the first reference electrode 1731. The conductive line, the first reference electrode 1731, and the transmission line may be made of the same material.

[0229] In this embodiment, the orthographic projection of the insulating layer 1732 on the substrate overlaps with the orthographic projection of the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 and also overlaps with the orthographic projection of the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20. In some further examples, the overlapping region between the orthographic projections of the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 and the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20 is a third overlapping region. In this case, the orthographic projection of the insulating layer 1732 on the substrate may fall within the third overlapping region. For example, the orthographic projection of the insulating layer 1732 on the substrate may coincide with the third overlapping region, or fall within the third overlapping region.

[0230] The thickness of the insulating layer 1732 can be less than or equal to the vertical distance between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. Exemplarily, the insulating layer 1732 can directly contact the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 and the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20. For example, there is no gap between the upper and lower surfaces of the insulating layer 1732 and the first reference electrode 1731. In this way, the dielectric layer 30 can have less or no dielectric material at the location of the insulating layer 1732. For example, liquid crystal can be left unfilled at the location of the insulating layer 1732, thereby saving liquid crystal usage and avoiding liquid crystal deflection at this location, which could affect phase-shifting performance.

[0231] The upper and lower surfaces of the insulating layer 1732 refer to the two opposite surfaces of the insulating layer 1732 in the cross-sectional direction of the phase shifting unit 101.

[0232] The insulating layer 1732 can be made of organic or inorganic materials. For example, the insulating layer 1732 can be formed using inorganic materials.

[0233] In this embodiment, when the first type of branch structure includes a first substructure 171, a second substructure 172, and a third substructure 173, the second substructure 172 may include linear branches, and the second substructure 172 may be located between the first substructure 171 and the third substructure 173.

[0234] For example, the minimum distance between the third substructure 173 and the electrode can be greater than the minimum distance between the linear stub and the electrode. In some exemplary embodiments, the connection point between the conductive line and the transmission line in the third substructure 173 can be a third connection point, and the length of the third trace portion of the transmission line located between the third connection point and the electrode can be greater than twice the trace length of the linear stub. For example, the trace length of the third trace portion can be greater than λ / 2.

[0235] The orthographic projection of the first reference electrode 1731 in the third substructure 173 onto the substrate may be different from the orthographic projection of the first substructure 171 onto the substrate.

[0236] In some examples, the thickness of the first reference electrode 1731 may be the same as the thickness of the first substructure 171, and the thickness of the first reference electrode 1731 may be greater than the thickness of the linear branch.

[0237] Alternatively, in some other examples, the thickness of the first reference electrode 1731 may be greater than the thickness of the electrode, or it may be greater than the thickness of the first substructure 171. This would reduce the vertical distance between the first reference electrode 1731 on the first substrate 10 and the first reference electrode 1731 on the second substrate 20, thereby increasing the capacitance.

[0238] In this embodiment, for the second type of branch structure 174, since the second type of branch structure 174 is used to assist in electrical and optical detection, the second type of branch structure 174 may include a visible partial structure and a conductive structure connected to the transmission line. The visible partial structure can be used to detect the thickness and polarization characteristics of the dielectric layer 30, and the conductive structure can be used to detect the voltage characteristics. The visible partial structure and the conductive structure may not overlap.

[0239] In one example of this embodiment, as shown in FIG9, the second type of branch structure 174 may include a second reference electrode 1741 and a plurality of visible objects 1742 located around the second reference electrode 1741. The second reference electrode 1741 is connected to a transmission line, and the orthographic projection of the second reference electrode 1741 on the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate, but the orthographic projections of the second reference electrodes 1741 on the substrates of the two substrates overlap; the orthographic projections of the plurality of visible objects 1742 on the substrate are distributed around the orthographic projection of the second reference electrode 1741 on the substrate.

[0240] As shown in Figure 9, a second reference electrode 1741 is disposed on both the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, and the second reference electrode 1741 is connected to the transmission line.

[0241] The dimensions of the second reference electrode 1741 on the first substrate 10 and the second reference electrode 1741 on the second substrate 20 may be equal or unequal, and the orthogonal projections of the second reference electrode 1741 on the first substrate 10 and the second reference electrode 1741 on the second substrate 20 on the substrate overlap.

[0242] The overlapping of the orthographic projections of the second reference electrode 1741 on the first substrate 10 and the second reference electrode 1741 on the second substrate 20 onto the substrate can mean: the second reference electrode 1741 on the first substrate 10 covers the orthographic projection of the second reference electrode 1741 on the second substrate 20 onto the substrate; the second reference electrode 1741 on the first substrate 10 falls within the orthographic projection of the second reference electrode 1741 on the second substrate 20 onto the substrate; the orthographic projections of the second reference electrode 1741 on the first substrate 10 and the second reference electrode 1741 on the second substrate 20 onto the substrate coincide; or the orthographic projections of the second reference electrode 1741 on the first substrate 10 and the second reference electrode 1741 on the second substrate 20 onto the substrate are intersected.

[0243] The orthographic projection of the second reference electrode 1741 onto the substrate can be a regular or irregular shape. Taking a regular shape as an example, the orthographic projection of the second reference electrode 1741 onto the substrate can be a square, a rectangle, a circle, an ellipse, etc.

[0244] The shapes of the second reference electrode 1741 on the first substrate 10 and the second reference electrode 1741 on the second substrate 20 projected onto the substrate may be the same or different.

[0245] The area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the second reference electrode 1741 onto the substrate is smaller than the area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the electrode onto the substrate. For example, the area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the second reference electrode 1741 on the first substrate 10 may be 1 / 25 to 1 / 15 of the area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the first electrode 14 onto the substrate, and the area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the second reference electrode 1741 on the second substrate 20 may be 1 / 25 to 1 / 15 of the area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the second electrode 24 onto the substrate.

[0246] As shown in Figure 9, the third substructure 173 may also include a conductive line connected to the second reference electrode 1741. One end of the conductive line is connected to the transmission line and the other end is connected to the second reference electrode 1741. The conductive line, the second reference electrode 1741, and the transmission line may be made of the same material.

[0247] The second reference electrode 1741 is positioned away from the electrode.

[0248] Among them, multiple visible objects 1742 can be seen, for example, they can be observed by the human eye or sensed by a machine, such as they can be photographed by an electron microscope camera, or they can be both observed by the human eye and photographed by an electron microscope camera.

[0249] Among them, the visible object 1742 is non-transparent, such as the visible object 1742 is not translucent, and the visible object 1742 has color, such as the visible object 1742 is black, white or other colors.

[0250] The material of the visible object 1742 can be the same as that of the electrode. For example, if the electrode is made of copper, the visible object 1742 can also be made of copper. This allows the visible object 1742 and the electrode to be manufactured together, saving on the manufacturing process.

[0251] Among them, multiple visible objects 1742 are distributed around the second reference electrode 1741. Specifically, the orthographic projection of the multiple visible objects 1742 on the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the electrode, the second reference electrode 1741, and the first type of branch structure on the substrate.

[0252] The area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the visible object 1742 onto the substrate can be smaller than the area of ​​the orthogonal projection of the second reference electrode 1741 onto the substrate.

[0253] The multiple visible objects 1742 may be uniformly distributed around the second reference electrode 1741, or non-uniformly distributed around the second reference electrode 1741.

[0254] Among them, the multiple visible objects 1742 may be distributed only on one side or part of the second reference electrode 1741. For example, when the second reference electrode 1741 is a regular shape, taking a rectangle as an example, the multiple visible objects 1742 may be distributed only on one, two, or three sides of the second reference electrode 1741, or they may be distributed on all four sides of the second reference electrode 1741.

[0255] The multiple visible objects 1742 can be disposed in the same layer as the second reference electrode 1741 or in different layers. When disposed in the same layer, the multiple visible objects 1742 can be located in the same layer as the second reference electrode 1741. When disposed in different layers, the multiple visible objects 1742 can be disposed in the same layer as the electrode.

[0256] In some examples, the minimum distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the visible object 1742 on the substrate and the orthographic projection of the second reference electrode 1741 on the substrate may be less than the minimum distance from the second reference electrode 1741 to the transmission line.

[0257] As shown in Figure 9, the minimum distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the visible object 1742 on the substrate and the orthographic projection of the second reference electrode 1741 on the substrate can be defined as the vertical distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the visible object 1742 on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second reference electrode 1741 on the substrate.

[0258] In this case, if the minimum distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the visible object 1742 on the substrate and the orthographic projection of the second reference electrode 1741 on the substrate is less than the minimum distance from the second reference electrode 1741 to the transmission line, interference with the transmitted signal on the transmission line due to the proximity of the second reference electrode 1741 to the transmission line can be avoided.

[0259] In this embodiment, since electrical and optical detection are performed using the second type of branch structure 174 connected on the transmission line, the transmission line and the second type of branch structure 174 can be light-transmitting structures. For example, the second reference electrode 1741 in the transmission line and the second type of branch structure 174 can be made of a light-transmitting conductive material, such as indium tin oxide.

[0260] In optical detection using the second type of branch structure 174, the cell thickness and polarization characteristics of the liquid crystal can be observed through the visible object 1742. In electrical detection using the second type of branch structure 174, the voltage characteristics applied to the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 can be obtained through the second reference electrode 1741.

[0261] In some embodiments, the phase-shifting unit 101 may further include an auxiliary structure disposed on the first substrate 10 and / or the second substrate 20, the auxiliary structure being insulated from the electrodes and the transmission structure.

[0262] As described above, the auxiliary structure is mainly used to reduce the step difference between the electrode and the area surrounding the electrode. In some examples, the auxiliary structure may include a pad height 13, the orthographic projection of the pad height 13 on the substrate being located between the orthographic projections of multiple electrodes on the same substrate.

[0263] Referring to Figure 12, which shows a cross-sectional view of various phase-shifting units 101 at the auxiliary structure, the auxiliary structure may include a padding layer 13, which may be distributed between multiple electrodes. For example, if an auxiliary structure is provided on the first substrate 10, the padding layer 13 on the first substrate 10 is located between multiple first electrodes 14. Or, for example, if an auxiliary structure is provided on the second substrate 20, the padding layer 13 on the second substrate 20 is located between multiple second electrodes 24.

[0264] Please refer to Figure 14, which shows the corresponding planar schematic diagram in Figure 12. In Figure 14, (1) shows the planar schematic diagram of the phase shifting unit 101 in (3) and (4) of Figure 12, and (2) shows the planar schematic diagram of the phase shifting unit 101 in (1) and (2) of Figure 12.

[0265] In one example, as shown in Figure 14(1), the padding layer 13 can be formed of an insulating material, in which case the edge of the padding layer 13 can directly contact the edge of the electrode. This allows the entire area around the electrode to be raised, thereby reducing the step difference between the substrate and the electrode, except for the area around the electrode.

[0266] In one example, as shown in Figure 14(2), the material of the padding layer 13 can be a conductive material. In this case, the edges of the padding layer 13 and the edges of the electrodes are separated from each other, that is, there is a gap between the padding layer 13 and the electrodes. In one implementation of this example, the material of the padding layer 13 can be the same as the material of the electrodes, so the padding layer 13 can be fabricated in the same layer as the electrodes.

[0267] As shown in Figures 12 (1), (2) and (3), the vertical distance between the surface of the pad layer 13 facing away from the substrate and the substrate can be greater than the vertical distance between the surface of the electrode facing away from the substrate and the substrate. For example, the thickness of the pad layer 13 can be equal to the thickness of the electrode. When the edge of the pad layer 13 can directly contact the edge of the electrode, the side of the substrate with the pad layer 13 near the dielectric layer 30 is a flat surface. When the dielectric layer 30 is liquid crystal, this flat surface is not only beneficial for the uniform orientation of the liquid crystal, but also reduces the distance between the two substrates, thereby saving the amount of liquid crystal used.

[0268] As shown in Figure 12 (4), the vertical distance between the surface of the pad layer 13 away from the substrate and the substrate can be greater than the vertical distance between the surface of the electrode away from the substrate and the substrate. In this way, there is a step difference between the pad layer 13 and the electrode, and the electrode is located in the recess of the substrate. As a result, most of the liquid crystal can flow into the location of the electrode, further reducing the amount of liquid crystal used.

[0269] In this example, when the vertical distance between the surface of the pad layer 13 facing away from the substrate and the substrate can be greater than the vertical distance between the surface of the electrode facing away from the substrate and the substrate, when the pad layer 13 and the electrode are disposed in the same layer, the thickness of the pad layer 13 can be greater than the thickness of the electrode, and the difference between the thickness of the pad layer 13 and the thickness of the electrode can be 1 / 15 to 1 / 10 of the thickness of the electrode. In this way, the step difference between the electrode and the pad layer 13 will not be too large, ensuring the uniformity of the subsequent liquid crystal alignment.

[0270] In some examples of this embodiment, the padding layer 13 may include a plurality of padding pads, the orthographic projections of the plurality of padding pads on the substrate not overlapping with the orthographic projections of the electrodes on the substrate. The phase-shifting unit 101 may also include a support post 181 located between the two substrates, one end of the support post 181 being in direct contact with the padding pads.

[0271] Referring to Figures 12(1) and (2) and Figure 14(2), multiple pads can be distributed around each electrode, with a gap between the orthographic projection of the pads on the substrate and the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate.

[0272] In one example, the interval can be smaller than the interval between two adjacent electrodes on the same substrate. For instance, the interval between the orthographic projection of the pad on the substrate and the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate can be 1 / 5 to 1 / 10 of the interval between two adjacent electrodes on the same substrate. This avoids the problem of the pad being too far from the electrode.

[0273] In this example, when the shim is placed in the same layer as the electrode, the thickness of the shim can be greater than or equal to the thickness of the electrode.

[0274] In this example, the material of the shim can be the same as that of the electrode, so that the shim can be formed simultaneously with the electrode.

[0275] In this example, the orthographic projection of the shim onto the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the transport structure onto the substrate, meaning that the shim and the transport structure are insulated from each other.

[0276] In this example, the orthographic projection of the pad onto the substrate can be either a regular shape or an irregular shape.

[0277] In this example, as shown in FIG12, the phase shifting device 1 may further include a support column 181, which is used to support the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. As shown in FIG12 (3), one end of the support column 181 can directly contact the padding pad and the other end can directly contact the other substrate. For example, if the padding layer 13 is located on the first substrate 10, then one end of the support column 181 can directly contact the padding pad on the first substrate 10 and the other end can directly contact the second substrate 20.

[0278] As shown in Figure 12(2), both the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 include a padding pad, so one end of the support column 181 can directly contact the padding pad on the first substrate 10 and the other end can directly contact the padding pad on the second substrate 20.

[0279] As shown in Figure 12, the orthographic projection of the support column 181 on the substrate can overlap with the orthographic projection of the shim pad on the substrate.

[0280] In some examples, as shown in (2) and (1) of Figure 12, the support pillar that is in direct contact with the padding is called the first support pillar 181. A second support pillar 182 may also be included between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. The orthographic projection of the second support pillar 182 on the substrate may not overlap with the orthographic projection of the padding on the substrate.

[0281] As shown in (2) and (1) of Figure 12, one end of the second support column 182 can be in direct contact with the first electrode 14 or the second electrode 24, or both ends of the second support column 182 can be in direct contact with the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 respectively.

[0282] In some examples, the dimension of the second support pillar 182 in the cross-sectional direction of the phase-shifting unit 101 can be the same as the dimension of the first support pillar 181 in the cross-sectional direction of the phase-shifting unit 101. This simplifies the manufacturing difficulty of the first support pillar 181. Furthermore, due to the presence of the shim pad, the distance between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 at the shim pad is reduced, thereby reducing the height of the first support pillar 181. This allows the use of support pillars from LCD (liquid crystal display) manufacturing processes, thus saving process costs.

[0283] In some examples of this embodiment, the padding layer 13 may be formed of an insulating material, such as an organic material, an inorganic material, or a combination of organic and inorganic materials. For example, the padding layer 13 may be a composite layer consisting of an organic material layer and an inorganic material layer. Exemplarily, the padding layer 13 may include an organic material layer and an inorganic material layer located on the side of the organic material layer facing away from the substrate; alternatively, the padding layer 13 may include an inorganic material layer and an organic material layer located on the side of the inorganic material layer facing away from the substrate.

[0284] When an organic material layer is used, the organic material has a leveling effect, which can improve the flatness of one side of the substrate surface.

[0285] In one implementation of this example, the thickness of the pad layer 13 may be greater than the thickness of the electrode, wherein the pad layer 13 includes a plurality of openings, and the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate lies within the orthographic projection of the openings on the substrate.

[0286] In this implementation, please refer to Figure 12 (4). The thickness of the padding layer 13 is greater than the thickness of the electrode. The difference between the thickness of the padding layer 13 and the thickness of the electrode can be 1 / 20 to 1 / 15 of the electrode thickness to avoid the problem of the padding layer 13 exceeding the electrode thickness too much and increasing the step difference.

[0287] The padding layer 13 has multiple openings, each corresponding to a multiple electrode. The orthogonal projection of the electrode on the substrate falls within the orthogonal projection of the opening on the substrate.

[0288] For example, taking the padding layer 13 on the first substrate 10 as an example, the padding layer 13 on the first substrate 10 includes a plurality of openings, and the first electrode 14 falls into the openings;

[0289] For example, taking the padding layer 13 on the second substrate 20 as an example, the padding layer 13 on the second substrate 20 includes a plurality of openings, and the second electrode 24 falls into the openings;

[0290] When padding layers 13 are provided on both the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, since the orthographic projections of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the substrate overlap, the orthographic projection of the first electrode 14 on the substrate can fall into multiple openings of the padding layers 13 on the first substrate 10 and also into multiple openings of the padding layers 13 on the second substrate 20. Simultaneously, the orthographic projection of the second electrode 24 on the substrate can fall into multiple openings of the padding layers 13 on both the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20.

[0291] As shown in Figure 12 (4), since the thickness of the padding layer 13 is greater than the thickness of the electrode, and the padding layer 13 has an opening that exposes the electrode, the electrode is located in the recess of the padding layer 13. When the liquid crystal is coated, the liquid crystal flows completely into the overlapping area of ​​the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 due to gravity, thereby improving the electrical tuning capability of the liquid crystal.

[0292] In some embodiments, the padding layer 13 includes a ramp 181a at the opening, and the thickness of the flat layer gradually decreases in the region of the ramp 181a along a first direction, wherein the first direction is the direction of the padding layer 13 toward the electrode.

[0293] Referring to Figure 12 (4), the edge of the opening of the padding layer 13 can be a slope 181a. The slope 181a is inclined toward the location of the electrode. As shown in the direction of the padding layer 13 toward the electrode, the thickness of the padding layer 13 at the opening gradually decreases, thereby forming a bowl-shaped slope around the electrode. In this way, when coating the PI liquid to align the liquid crystal, the tension of the PI liquid at the opening can be reduced, avoiding the problem of uneven thickness of the alignment film caused by the accumulation of PI liquid at the opening, thereby improving the alignment uniformity of the liquid crystal. When the alignment uniformity of the liquid crystal is improved, the deflection of the liquid crystal under the electric field between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 can be consistent, thereby ensuring the phase shifting performance of the phase shifting unit 101.

[0294] In some examples, the slope angle of the slope 181a is 35°-60°. For example, the slope angle of the slope 181a can be 35°, 40°, 45°, 50°, 55°, or 60°.

[0295] When using this 35°-60° slope angle, the PI liquid can flow along the slope 181a to the electrode surface, breaking the tension effect between the PI liquids and preventing the PI liquid from accumulating at the opening.

[0296] In some embodiments, a phase-shifting device is also provided, as shown in Figures 3-5. Figure 3 shows a plan view of the phase-shifting device 1, Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of one partition in the phase-shifting device 1, and Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the alignment marks of multiple partitions. As shown in Figures 3-5, it includes multiple phase-shifting units as described in the above embodiments.

[0297] In one example of this embodiment, all phase shifting units 101 in the phase shifting device 1 can share the same first substrate 10 and the same second substrate 20, which can improve the uniformity among the phase shifting units 101.

[0298] In another example of this embodiment, some phase-shifting units 101 in the phase-shifting device 1 can share the same first substrate 10 and the same second substrate 20. In this way, the phase-shifting device 1 can be manufactured in sections. For example, as shown in FIG3, it includes four sections 10A. The four sections 10A are formed by four independent first substrates 10 and four independent second substrates 20. Thus, when forming the phase-shifting device 1, the four sections 10A can be spliced ​​together.

[0299] In some embodiments, when the dielectric layer 30 includes liquid crystal, in order to further save liquid crystal usage, the phase shifting device 1 may also include an isolation dam 19, which is located between two substrates, and the orthographic projection of the isolation dam 19 on the substrate may overlap with the orthographic projection of the auxiliary structure on the substrate; wherein the orthographic projection of the isolation dam 19 on the substrate encloses the orthographic projection of at least one electrode pattern 10P on the substrate.

[0300] The electrode pattern 10P is a pattern formed by the orthogonal projection of electrodes on two substrates onto the substrate.

[0301] One of the electrode patterns 10P can be regarded as a phase shifting unit 101 of the phase shifting device 1.

[0302] In this embodiment, please refer to Figures 15 and 16. Figure 15 shows several planar schematic diagrams of the isolation dam 19, and Figure 16 shows a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of the phase shifting device 1 at the isolation dam 19. As shown in Figure 16, the isolation dam 19 is supported between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. The orthographic projection of the isolation dam 19 on the substrate can overlap with the orthographic projection of the auxiliary structure on the substrate. For example, the auxiliary structure may include a padding layer 13, so the isolation dam 19 can directly contact the padding layer 13.

[0303] Therefore, the isolation dam 19 can also act as a support column 181 between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, thereby improving the support force on the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20.

[0304] As shown in Figure 16, the shape of the orthographic projection of the isolation dam 19 onto the substrate can be an annular shape. For example, as shown in Figure 15, it can be a circular annular shape, a polygonal annular shape, or an irregular annular shape. For example, as shown in (1), (2), and (3) of Figure 15, the isolation dam 19 can be a rectangular annular shape, and as shown in (4) of Figure 15, the isolation dam 19 can be an irregular annular shape.

[0305] As shown in Figure 15, the orthogonal projection of the isolation dam 19 onto the substrate can enclose one or more electrode patterns 10P. As shown in (1), (2), and (3) of Figure 15, the orthogonal projection of the isolation dam 19 onto the substrate can enclose multiple electrode patterns 10P, that is, enclose multiple phase-shifting units 101. As shown in (4) of Figure 15, the orthogonal projection of the isolation dam 19 onto the substrate can enclose one electrode pattern 10P, that is, enclose one phase-shifting unit 101. In this case, each phase-shifting unit 101 is surrounded by an independent isolation dam 19, thereby enabling each phase-shifting unit 101 to achieve partial encapsulation, thus further saving liquid crystal usage.

[0306] When the isolation dam 19 encloses multiple electrode patterns 10P, as shown in FIG15(1), it may include one isolation dam 19, which may be located within the boundary of the frame adhesive 40 and enclose all the phase shifting units 101 in the phase shifting device 1. In another example, as shown in FIG15(2), it may include multiple isolation dams 19, all of which are located within the boundary of the frame adhesive 40, and the number of phase shifting units 101 enclosed by different isolation dams 19 may be different.

[0307] Along the frame adhesive 40, the isolation dam 19 is 500-1000μm away from the frame adhesive 40. The advantage of doing this is that it can prevent the liquid crystal from spreading and contaminating the adhesive area.

[0308] In another example, as shown in Figure 15(3), multiple isolation dams 19 may be included, all of which are located within the boundary of the frame adhesive 40, and the number of phase shifting units 101 enclosed by the multiple isolation dams 19 may be the same. The multiple isolation dams 19 may be arranged in an array.

[0309] In another example, as shown in Figure 15 (4), a plurality of isolation dams 19 may be included, all of which are located within the boundary of the frame adhesive 40, and each isolation dam 19 encloses a phase shifting unit 101. The plurality of isolation dams 19 may be arranged in an array.

[0310] In some examples, where each isolation dam 19 encloses a phase-shifting unit 101, the support pillar 181 may not be present between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, and the isolation dam 19 may serve as the support pillar 181. Where one isolation dam 19 encloses multiple phase-shifting units 101, the support pillar 181 may be present between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, wherein the orthographic projection of the support pillar 181 on the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the isolation dam 19 on the substrate; for example, the support pillar 181 may be distributed among the isolation dams 19.

[0311] In the case of including the support column 181 and the isolation dam 19, the heights of the support column 181 and the isolation dam 19 may be the same or different.

[0312] In some examples, where each isolation dam 19 encloses a phase shifting unit 101, the minimum distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the isolation dam 19 on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the electrode pattern 10P on the substrate is uniform.

[0313] As shown in Figure 15(4), the orthographic projection of the isolation dam 19 on the substrate is an irregular ring, and its outer contour is similar to the outer contour of the electrode pattern 10P. The minimum distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the isolation dam 19 on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the electrode pattern on the substrate at different positions is equal.

[0314] The minimum distance refers to the vertical distance between the outer contours.

[0315] By using this example, the shape of the isolation dam 19 surrounding the phase-shifting unit 101 can be adapted to the shape of the matching electrode pattern 10P, thereby improving the local packaging of the phase-shifting unit 101 and reducing the space occupied by the isolation dam 19 on the substrate, thus achieving the effect of extremely saving liquid crystal usage.

[0316] In some embodiments, as described above, the two substrates may include a first substrate 10 and a second substrate 20. The electrode on the first substrate 10 is called the first electrode 14, the electrode on the second substrate 20 is called the second electrode 24, the transmission line connected to the first electrode 14 is called the first transmission line 15, and the transmission line connected to the second electrode 24 is called the second transmission line 25.

[0317] The phase shifting device 1 may include multiple partitions 10A, each partition 10A including at least one phase shifting unit 101 or multiple phase shifting units.

[0318] Referring to Figures 17 and 18, Figure 17 shows a schematic diagram of the layout of partition 10A of the phase shifting device 1, and Figure 18 shows a schematic diagram of the wiring of two adjacent partitions 10A. As shown in Figures 17 and 18, in two adjacent first partitions 10A1 and second partitions 10A2, multiple first electrodes 14 located in the first partition 10A1 are connected to the same first transmission line 15, and multiple second electrodes 24 are connected to different second transmission lines 25; multiple first electrodes 14 located in the second partition 10A2 are connected to different first transmission lines 15, and multiple second electrodes 24 are connected to the same second transmission line 25.

[0319] In this embodiment, a partition 10A may include one or more phase shifting units 101, wherein one of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the phase shifting unit 101 serves as a common electrode and the other electrode serves as a control electrode.

[0320] As shown in Figure 18, in a partition 10A, the common electrode of multiple phase shifting units 101 can be connected to the same transmission line. The same voltage can be input to multiple common electrodes through this transmission line. The control electrodes of multiple phase shifting units 101 need to be connected to different transmission lines. In this way, multiple control electrodes can be loaded with their own independent voltages, thereby independently controlling the electric field between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in each phase shifting unit 101.

[0321] As shown in Figure 17, taking a partition 10A that includes multiple phase shifting units 101 as an example, in two adjacent first partitions 10A1 and second partitions 10A2, multiple first electrodes 14 located in the first partition 10A1 can be connected to the same first transmission line 15, and multiple second electrodes 24 can be connected to different second transmission lines 25. In this way, the first electrodes 14 in the first partition 10A1 can be used as common electrodes, and the second electrodes 24 can be used as control electrodes.

[0322] In this configuration, multiple first electrodes 14 located in the second partition 10A2 are connected to different first transmission lines 15, and multiple second electrodes 24 are connected to the same second transmission line 25. Thus, the first electrodes 14 in the second partition 10A2 serve as control electrodes, and the second electrodes 24 serve as common electrodes.

[0323] Therefore, the electric field direction formed in the phase shifting unit 101 in the first partition 10A1 and the electric field direction formed in the second partition 10A2 can be opposite. When the dielectric layer 30 is liquid crystal, the polarization directions of the liquid crystal in the first partition 10A1 and the second partition 10A2 are opposite. Thus, the polarization direction of the liquid crystal in one partition 10A will affect the polarization direction of the liquid crystal in the other partition 10A. This ultimately balances the problem of the liquid crystal characteristics deviating due to the two partitions 10A being in the same polarization direction for a long time. This avoids the problem of the liquid crystal polarization direction being the same and affecting the liquid crystal characteristics due to the entire phase shifting device 1 being under the same voltage for a long time. This can improve the direction and offset of the phase shifting index.

[0324] The above settings can be used in every two adjacent partitions 10A in the multiple partitions 10A, that is, one partition 10A in every two adjacent partitions 10A is the first partition 10A1 and the other partition 10A is the second partition 10A2.

[0325] The multiple partitions 10A can be arranged in the same direction. For example, the phase shifting device 1 can be divided into multiple partitions 10A along the row direction, and the multiple partitions 10A can be arranged in a column. Each partition 10A includes multiple rows of phase shifting units 101. As another example, the phase shifting device 1 can be divided into multiple partitions 10A along the column direction, and the multiple partitions 10A can be arranged in a row. Each partition 10A includes multiple columns of phase shifting units 101.

[0326] Alternatively, the phase shifting device 1 can be divided into multiple partitions 10A according to rows and columns.

[0327] For example, when using the phase shifting device 1, it can be divided into n zones for control. Within one zone, one substrate is shared by the transmission line of the common electrode, and the common electrode voltage is 9V. Another substrate is used for separate control of the control electrode, and the IC drive output voltage can be 0-18V. The voltage difference switching of the control voltage is achieved through 0-9V and 9-18V.

[0328] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 5, alignment marks 102 can be set in each partition 10A. Partition 10A can be a rectangular partition. In this way, alignment marks 102 can be set on the diagonal of partition 10A, and another alignment mark 102 can be set at any endpoint, thereby forming three alignment marks 102 for precise alignment.

[0329] The shape of the alignment mark 102 is not limited, such as a cross, triangle, etc.

[0330] In some embodiments, the transmission lines on the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 may have the same orientation. For example, as shown in FIG18, the orthogonal projections of the transmission lines on one substrate and the transmission lines on the other substrate onto the substrate do not overlap.

[0331] For example, as shown in FIG18, the first transmission line 15 on the first substrate 10 and the transmission line on the second substrate 20 can both be routed in the row direction. The orthogonal projections of the first transmission line 15 and the second transmission line 25 on the substrate can be non-overlapping. In this way, there is no overlapping capacitance between the first transmission line 15 and the second transmission line 25, thereby ensuring the performance of the phase shifting device 1.

[0332] Since one of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the phase shifting unit 101 serves as a common electrode and the other as a control electrode, and the transmission line connected to the common electrode in the first transmission line 15 and the second transmission line 25 needs to be connected to multiple electrodes simultaneously, the transmission line connected to the common electrode can avoid the transmission line connected to the control electrode. For example, the transmission line connected to the common electrode can have a cutout area, and the orthographic projection of the cutout area on the substrate can overlap with the orthographic projection of the transmission line connected to the control electrode on the substrate. Thus, the transmission line connected to the common electrode avoids the transmission line connected to the control electrode through the cutout area.

[0333] For example, taking the first electrode 14 in partition 10A as a common electrode and the second electrode 24 as a control electrode, multiple first electrodes 14 in partition 10A are connected to the same first transmission line 15, and multiple second electrodes 24 in partition 10A are respectively connected to independent second transmission lines 25. The first transmission line 15 and the second transmission line 25 have the same routing direction. A cutout area can be formed on the first transmission line 15 to avoid the second transmission line 25. In this way, the orthographic projections of the first transmission line 15 and the second transmission line 25 on the substrate do not overlap.

[0334] Using this example, the first transmission line can bypass the second transmission line, thereby reducing the response time of the phase shifter. For example, the response time of the phase shifter unit can be less than 1.65ms, which improves the quality of the square wave control signal, makes it easier to drive, reduces power consumption, and ensures the capacitor-electrical-tunable function of the phase shifter unit.

[0335] Referring to Figure 19, which shows an enlarged schematic diagram of the wiring of the phase shifting unit 101, as shown in Figure 19, in some examples, the transmission line needs to be connected to the electrode. In this case, the transmission line can be bent at the location where it is connected to the electrode. For example, the transmission line can first be routed along the first direction, then along the second direction, and then connected to the electrode. At the intersection of the first and second directions, the transmission line has a bend 151.

[0336] As shown in Figure 19, the bend 151 of the transmission line can be a non-right angle bend. For example, the bending angle at the bend 151 of the transmission line can be an obtuse angle, such as an obtuse angle of 120°. This can avoid the generation of static electricity at the bend.

[0337] In some embodiments, the phase shifting device 1 may include a plurality of array elements 100, each array element 100 including at least two types of phase shifting units, each type of phase shifting unit including two substrates, namely a first substrate 10 and a second substrate 20; wherein the morphology of the orthogonal projection of the electrode patterns in different types of phase shifting units onto the substrate is different.

[0338] Referring to Figure 4, the phase shifting device 1 may include multiple array elements 100. Each array element 100 can be referred to as a minimum repeating unit of the phase shifting device 1. Each array element 100 includes at least two types of phase shifting units. For example, it may include two, three, or more types of phase shifting units. The number of each type of phase shifting unit can be one or more. That is, each type of phase shifting unit in the array element 100 can be a single phase shifting unit or multiple phase shifting units.

[0339] One electrode pattern 10P can be approximated as a phase-shifting unit.

[0340] The number of phase-shifting units of different types can be the same or different. For example, the number of phase-shifting units of each type is n, or the number of phase-shifting units of one type is n and the number of phase-shifting units of another type is m, where n is not equal to m and n and m are both positive integers.

[0341] For example, as shown in FIG4, an array element 100 may include two types of phase shifting units 101. The number of one type of phase shifting unit 101 (hereinafter referred to as the first phase shifting unit 1011) is 4, and the number of the other type of phase shifting unit 101 (hereinafter referred to as the second phase shifting unit 1012) is 2.

[0342] In this embodiment, different types of phase shifting units 101 can correspond to different signal frequency bands, and / or different types of phase shifting units 101 can correspond to different types of antenna units. For example, the signal frequency band corresponding to the first phase shifting unit 1011 is different from the signal frequency band corresponding to the second phase shifting unit 1012; for instance, the signal frequency band corresponding to the first phase shifting unit 1011 is higher than the signal frequency band corresponding to the second phase shifting unit 1012. Also for example, the first phase shifting unit 1011 corresponds to an antenna unit for transmitting signals, and the second phase shifting unit 1012 corresponds to an antenna unit for receiving signals.

[0343] Among them, the various phase shifting units 101 can be independent of each other. The same type of phase shifting unit 101 in different array elements 100 can achieve beamforming of the signal by phase shifting the same signal. In this way, different types of phase shifting units 101 can phase shift signals of different frequency bands.

[0344] In this device 1, multiple phase-shifting units 101 can be coplanar, meaning that multiple phase-shifting units 101 are distributed in the same plane.

[0345] The surface on which the various phase-shifting units 101 are located can be either a plane or a curved surface.

[0346] As shown in Figures 6A and 6B, the orthogonal projections of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 form an electrode pattern 10P. The electrode pattern 10P can refer to the pattern jointly formed by the orthogonal projections of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10, including the overlapping and non-overlapping parts.

[0347] Among them, the electrode pattern 10P has shape and size.

[0348] The shape of the orthographic projection of the first electrode 14 on the first substrate 10 can be the same as the shape of the orthographic projection of the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10. For example, as shown in FIG6A and FIG6B, the shape of the orthographic projection of the first electrode 14 on the first substrate 10 is the same as the shape of the orthographic projection of the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10.

[0349] The electrode patterns 10P in different types of phase-shifting units 101 correspond to different morphologies, which include shape and / or size. If shape is included, the electrode patterns 10P in different types of phase-shifting units 101 have the same size but different shapes. Referring to Figures 6A and 6B, the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the same type of phase-shifting unit 101 have the same shape when projected onto the first substrate 10, while the shapes of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in different types of phase-shifting units 101 can be different.

[0350] When dimensions are included, the electrode patterns 10P of different types of phase shifting units 101 may have the same shape but different dimensions. For example, the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the same type of phase shifting unit 101 may have the same shape as their orthogonal projections onto the first substrate 10. The first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in different types of phase shifting units 101 may also have the same shape as their orthogonal projections onto the first substrate 10, but the dimensions of their orthogonal projections onto the first substrate 10 may be different.

[0351] Here, the size can be understood as the area occupied by the electrode pattern 10P.

[0352] Furthermore, the size can also be understood as the overlapping area between the orthographic projections of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the second substrate 20, that is, the area of ​​the overlapping portion of the orthographic projections of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the second substrate 20. Thus, the different sizes of the electrode patterns 10P of different types of phase shifting units 101 may include different overlapping areas corresponding to different types of phase shifting units 101.

[0353] As shown in Figures 6A and 6B, the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the same phase shifting unit 101 can have the same orthogonal projection on the first substrate 10. For example, the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 both include an intermediate connecting portion 111 and edge connecting portions connected to both ends of the intermediate connecting portion 111. The two edge connecting portions face opposite sides of the intermediate connecting portion 111. The edge connecting portions can be L-shaped connecting portions, and the intermediate connecting portion 111 can be comb-shaped connecting portions.

[0354] Figure 6A shows a schematic diagram of a phase-shifting unit 101. As shown in Figure 6A, both the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 can include an intermediate connecting portion 111, and a first edge connecting portion 112 and a second edge connecting portion 113 respectively connected to opposite ends of the intermediate connecting portion 111. The first edge connecting portion 112 is L-shaped, with its long side connected to the intermediate connecting portion 111. The second edge connecting portion 113 is L-shaped, with its short side connected to the intermediate connecting portion 111. The linewidth of the long side of the L-shape in the second edge connecting portion 113 is smaller than the linewidth of the short side, while the linewidth of the short side of the L-shape in the first edge connecting portion 112 is larger than the linewidth of the long side. Specifically, the linewidth of the short side of the L-shape in the first edge connecting portion 112 is smaller than the linewidth of the short side of the L-shape in the second edge connecting portion 113, and the linewidth of the long side of the L-shape in the first edge connecting portion 112 is smaller than the linewidth of the long side of the L-shape in the second edge connecting portion 113.

[0355] Figure 6B shows a schematic diagram of another phase-shifting unit 101. As shown in Figure 6B, both the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 may include an intermediate connecting portion 111, and a first edge connecting portion 112 and a second edge connecting portion 113 respectively connected to opposite ends of the intermediate connecting portion 111. The first edge connecting portion 112 is L-shaped, with one side connected to the intermediate connecting portion 111 and the other side suspended. The line width of the side of the first edge connecting portion 112 connected to the intermediate connecting portion 111 is smaller than the line width of the suspended side. The second edge connecting portion 113 is also L-shaped, with one side connected to the intermediate connecting portion 111 and the other side suspended. The edge of the second edge connecting portion 113 facing the intermediate connecting portion 111 is serrated, and the serrations cause the line width of the second edge connecting portion 113 to gradually decrease from the end closer to the intermediate connecting portion 111 to the end farther away from the intermediate connecting portion 111.

[0356] Line width is used to measure the thickness of the connection.

[0357] By adopting the shape design of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 shown in Figures 6A and 6B, better impedance matching can be achieved.

[0358] As shown in Figures 6A and 6B, when the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 have the same shape, the shapes of the orthographic projections of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 can be symmetrical to each other. More specifically, the shapes of the orthographic projections of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 can be symmetrical about the overlapping area between them.

[0359] For example, as shown in FIG6A, the orthographic projections of the intermediate connecting portion 111 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in a phase shifting unit 101 on the first substrate 10 can overlap, and the overlapping area can refer to the overlapping area of ​​the intermediate connecting portion 111 on the first substrate 10; the orthographic projections of the first edge connecting portion 112 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 can overlap, and the orthographic projections of the second edge connecting portion 113 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 can be non-overlapping. Specifically, the orthographic projections of the first edge connecting portion 112 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 are symmetrical about the intermediate connecting portion 111, and the orthographic projections of the second edge connecting portion 113 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 are also symmetrical about the intermediate connecting portion 111. That is, the electrode pattern 10P formed by the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the first phase shifting unit 1011 can be an axially symmetrical pattern.

[0360] For example, as shown in FIG6B, in another phase-shifting unit 101, the orthographic projections of the intermediate connecting portion 111 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 can overlap, and the overlapping area can refer to the overlapping area of ​​the intermediate connecting portion 111 on the first substrate 10; the orthographic projections of the first edge connecting portion 112 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 can overlap, and the orthographic projections of the second edge connecting portion 113 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 can be non-overlapping. Specifically, the orthographic projections of the first edge connecting portion 112 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 are symmetrical about the intermediate connecting portion 111, and the orthographic projections of the second edge connecting portion 113 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 are also symmetrical about the intermediate connecting portion 111. That is, the electrode pattern 10P formed by the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the second phase-shifting unit 1012 can be an axially symmetrical pattern.

[0361] In some examples, as shown in Figures 6A and 6B, the intermediate connecting portion 111 in a phase-shifting unit 101 (first phase-shifting unit 1011) may include a first main body portion connected to a first edge connecting portion 112 and a second edge connecting portion 113, and a plurality of first electrodes 14 connected to and intersecting the transverse portion. The plurality of first electrodes 14 are spaced apart from each other and are parallel to each other, thus forming a comb-like structure of the intermediate connecting portion 111. The first electrodes 14 on the first electrode 14 and the first electrodes 14 on the second electrode 24 overlap in their orthographic projections onto the first substrate 10. This allows for the formation of a vertical electric field perpendicular to the first substrate 10 between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24, as well as a planar electric field between the plurality of first electrodes 14 on the first electrode 14 and between the plurality of first electrodes 14 on the second electrode 24.

[0362] The intersection can be orthogonal, that is, the electrode strip is vertically connected to the intermediate connecting part 111 (intermediate connecting part 111, intermediate connecting part 111).

[0363] The overlap between the orthographic projections of the first electrode 14 on the first electrode 14 and the first electrode 14 on the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 can mean that the orthographic projections of the first electrode 14 on the first electrode 14 and the first electrode 14 on the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10 coincide.

[0364] In a further example, in each phase-shifting unit 101, the lengths of the multiple electrode strips located at both ends of the first electrode 14 strips and the second electrode 24 strips are less than the lengths of the electrode strips located in the middle portion. For example, as shown in Figures 6A and 6B, the length of one of the first electrode 14 strips near the first edge connection portion 112 is less than the length of the electrode strip between the first edge connection portion 112 and the second edge connection portion 113.

[0365] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG3, a plurality of phase shifting units 101 in an array element 100 may include a first phase shifting unit 1011 and a second phase shifting unit 1012, such as including a plurality of first phase shifting units 1011 and a plurality of second phase shifting units 1012. The morphology of the electrode pattern 10P includes the size, which includes the overlap area between the orthographic projection of the first electrode 14 on the first substrate 10 and the orthographic projection of the second electrode 24 on the first substrate 10. The overlap area corresponding to the first phase shifting unit 1011 is smaller than the overlap area corresponding to the second phase shifting unit 1012. The number of first phase shifting units 1011 in the array element 100 is greater than the number of second phase shifting units 1012.

[0366] In some examples, the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the first phase shifting unit 1011 have the same shape as the orthogonal projection on the first substrate 10, and the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the second phase shifting unit 1012 have the same shape as the orthogonal projection on the first substrate 10, and the shape of the electrode pattern 10P in the first phase shifting unit 1011 is different from the shape of the electrode pattern 10P in the second phase shifting unit 1012.

[0367] The size of the electrode pattern 10P in the first phase shifting unit 1011 is smaller than the size of the electrode pattern 10P in the second phase shifting unit 1012. For example, the sizes of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the first phase shifting unit 1011 are both smaller than the sizes of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the second phase shifting unit 1012. More specifically, the size of the intermediate connecting portion 111 of the first electrode 14 (second electrode 24) in the first phase shifting unit 1011 is smaller than the size of the intermediate connecting portion 111 of the first electrode 14 (second electrode 24) in the second phase shifting unit 1012; the sizes of the first edge connecting portion 112 and the second edge connecting portion 113 of the first electrode 14 (second electrode 24) in the first phase shifting unit 1011 are both smaller than the sizes of the first edge connecting portion 112 and the second edge connecting portion 113 of the first electrode 14 (second electrode 24) in the second phase shifting unit 1012.

[0368] Therefore, the area of ​​the overlapping region between the intermediate connection portion 111 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the first phase shifting unit 1011 (hereinafter referred to as the first overlapping area) can be smaller than the area of ​​the overlapping region between the intermediate connection portion 111 of the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 in the second phase shifting unit 1012 (hereinafter referred to as the second overlapping area). For example, the second overlapping area can be 1.5 to 2.5 times the first overlapping area; for instance, the second overlapping area can be 1.5 times, 2 times, 2.2 times, or 2.5 times the first overlapping area.

[0369] It should be noted that the first overlapping area corresponding to multiple first phase shifting units 1011 can be the same, and the second overlapping area corresponding to multiple second phase shifting units 1012 can be the same.

[0370] In this embodiment, in an array element 100, the number of first phase shifting units 1011 can be greater than the number of second phase shifting units 1012. For example, the number of first phase shifting units 1011 can be an integer multiple of the number of second phase shifting units 1012, such as 2 times, 3 times, etc. Figure 5 includes 4 first phase shifting units 1011 and 2 second phase shifting units 1012. The number of first phase shifting units 1011 is twice the number of second phase shifting units 1012.

[0371] Of course, in some other examples, the number of first phase shifting units 1011 may not be an integer multiple of the number of second phase shifting units 1012.

[0372] In some embodiments, please refer to FIG20, which shows a schematic diagram of the packaging structure of the substrate of the phase shifting device 1. As shown in FIG20, the phase shifting device 1 further includes a flip-chip film 61 and a driving module 62 connected to the flip-chip film 61. The flip-chip film 61 and the driving module 62 are located on the same side of the substrate.

[0373] Multiple transmission lines are connected to multiple pins of the driving module 62 and multiple transmission lines are connected to multiple pins of the flip-chip film 61. The driving module 62 and the flip-chip film 61 are spaced apart from each other in the column direction, and the spacing between them is greater than 10 μm.

[0374] In this embodiment, multiple array elements 100 are arranged along rows and columns.

[0375] For example, as shown in FIG20, both the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 may include a flip-chip film 61 and a driving module 62 connected to the flip-chip film 61. The driving module 62 on the first substrate 10 may be referred to as the first driving module 62, and the driving module 62 on the second substrate 20 may be referred to as the second driving module 62.

[0376] The driving module 62 can be connected to multiple transmission lines on the substrate via the flip-chip film 61.

[0377] In some examples, as shown in Figure 18, the phase shifting device 1 may include multiple partitions 10A. When the first partition 10A1 and the second partition 10A2 are driven by partition 10A, each substrate driving module may include a first driving submodule corresponding to the control electrode and a second driving submodule corresponding to the common electrode. In this case, all electrodes in the partition 10A on the substrate that serve as the common electrode can be connected to the same pin of the second driving submodule, and multiple electrodes in the partition 10A on the substrate that serve as the control electrode can be connected to multiple pins of the first driving submodule respectively.

[0378] For example, the first substrate 10 may also include a second driving submodule and a first driving submodule, and the second substrate 20 may also include a second driving submodule and a first driving submodule. Each of the first driving submodule and the second driving submodule is connected to an independent flip-chip thin film 61.

[0379] Among them, Chip On Flex (COF) is a chip-on-flex packaging technology that fixes integrated circuits (ICs) onto flexible circuit boards. It uses a flexible attached circuit board as a chip carrier to combine the chip with the flexible substrate circuit, or simply refers to a flexible attached circuit board without packaged chips. It includes tape-and-roll packaging production (TAB substrate, whose process is called TCP), flexible board connection chip assembly, and flexible IC carrier board packaging.

[0380] As shown in Figure 19, the flip-chip film 61 can be connected to the wave control board 63. Specifically, the flip-chip film 61 connected to the first driving submodule can be connected to the wave control board 63. For example, the input end of the first driving submodule can be connected to the wave control board 63, and the output end can be connected to the flip-chip film 61.

[0381] In this way, by sending signals to the flip-chip film 61 through the wave control board 62, and through the conversion of the flip-chip film 61, the signals output by the first sub-drive module 62 can be controlled and checked, which greatly simplifies the structural design of the module end.

[0382] As shown in Figure 20, the phase shifting device 1 may also include a flexible circuit board 64, which can be used to bind other required electronic components, such as the power supply required for the heating wire.

[0383] In some embodiments, referring to FIG8, FIG8 shows a schematic diagram of the film layer layout of the phase shifting device 1. As shown in FIG8, the process of forming the phase shifting device 1 is illustrated by taking each phase shifting unit 101 as an example. In FIG8, Z is the cross-sectional direction of the phase shifting unit:

[0384] 1. Fabrication of the first substrate 10

[0385] 1.1 Fabrication of the bottom metal: 3500 / 800A Al / Mo metal is deposited on a glass substrate, and then patterned to form metal traces through photolithography and etching processes. This metal layer integrates the design of a heating wire; the heating wire is not shown in the figure. Generally, the heating wire can be used to heat the dielectric layer 30. The orthogonal projection of the heating wire on the substrate needs to avoid the orthogonal projection of the electrode pattern 10P on the substrate.

[0386] 1.2 A planarization layer is deposited and patterned windows are etched, which serves as an insulating layer 1732 for the underlying metal;

[0387] 1.3 Fabrication of transport structure: A 500 Å layer of ITO is deposited on a glass substrate, and then patterned to form ITO traces through photolithography and etching processes;

[0388] 1.4 Fabrication of the first electrode 14: Cu of a certain thickness (1.5-6 μm) is deposited using a sputter device, and then patterned by photolithography and etching processes;

[0389] 1.5 Preparation of padding layer 13: After the formation of the first electrode 14, a certain thickness (1000-2000 Å) of SiN is deposited as the encapsulation layer and cover layer of the first electrode 14. Before depositing padding layer 13, the surface of Cu metal is treated with NH3 Plasma for 10-30s to remove the oxide layer on the Cu surface.

[0390] 2. Fabrication of the second substrate 20: The fabrication process of the second substrate 20 is generally the same as that of the first substrate 10, except that the patterns of each layer are different. The second substrate 20 has an additional layer of support pillars 181, and the specific fabrication process is as follows:

[0391] 2.1 Fabrication of the underlying metal: A 3500 / 800 Å Al / Mo metal is deposited on a glass substrate, and then patterned to form metal traces through photolithography and etching processes; this metal layer can serve as alignment marker 102;

[0392] 2.2 Flat layer sedimentary cover;

[0393] 2.3 Fabrication of transport structure: A 500 Å layer of ITO metal is deposited on a glass substrate, and then patterned to form ITO metal traces through photolithography and etching processes;

[0394] 2.4 Fabrication of the second electrode 24: Cu of a certain thickness (1.5-6 μm) is deposited using a sputter device, and then patterned using photolithography and etching processes;

[0395] 2.5 Fabrication of padding layer 13: After forming Cu electrode, SiN of a certain thickness (1000-2000 Å) is deposited as the cladding layer and capping layer of the second electrode 24. Similarly, before PVX deposition, Cu metal surface is treated with NH3 Plasma for 10-30 s to remove surface oxides, and then its patterning is achieved through photolithography and etching processes.

[0396] 2.6 PS layer preparation: A layer of PS material of a certain thickness is coated by Spin Coating or Slit Coating, and then patterned by photolithography.

[0397] 3 pairs of boxes and crystal filling (or crystal dropping process)

[0398] The upper and lower substrates prepared in the first two steps are coated with PI liquid and then cured into films. After that, the OA (alignment) process is carried out to finally form a liquid crystal phase-shifting unit.

[0399] 4. Fitting and Bonding

[0400] The liquid crystal phase-shifting units formed in the previous step are bonded together with ICs to form the final liquid crystal phase-shifting unit device array structure.

[0401] In some embodiments, an antenna device is also provided, as shown in Figures 21 and 22. Figure 21 shows a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of the antenna device, and Figure 22 shows an assembly schematic diagram of the feed structure 2, the radiating structure 3, and the phase shifting device 1 in the antenna device. As shown in Figures 21-22, the antenna device may include the phase shifting device 1 described in any of Figures 1-20, and:

[0402] The power supply structure 22 is located on one side of the phase shifting device 1;

[0403] Radiation structure 3 is located on the side of the phase shifting device 1 that is away from the feed structure 2;

[0404] Among them, the radiation structure 3 includes radiation units corresponding to various phase-shifting units 101 respectively.

[0405] As shown in Figure 22, the radiation structure 3 may include radiation units corresponding to various phase shifting units 101 respectively. The radiation unit may include a radiation patch. The orthographic projection of the radiation patch on the first substrate 10 may or may not overlap with the electrode pattern 10P.

[0406] As shown in Figure 21, the radiation structure 3 and the phase-shifting structure are bonded together with optical adhesive 4, and the power supply structure 2 and the phase-shifting structure are also bonded together with optical adhesive 4.

[0407] As shown in Figure 22, the feeding structure 2 can be a waveguide feeding structure 2, including a dielectric waveguide 211 and a waveguide feed network 213 connected to the dielectric waveguide 211. The waveguide feed network 213 is called the waveguide feeding network, which is fabricated on a PCB board and used to feed electrical signals into the dielectric waveguide.

[0408] As shown in Figure 21, the waveguide feed grid 213 and the dielectric waveguide 211 are bonded together with conductive adhesive 212.

[0409] In this embodiment, the antenna device can be a transmit and receive antenna device with the same aperture. Specifically, the multiple phase shifting units 101 include a first phase shifting unit 1011 and a second phase shifting unit 1012, and the radiation structure 3 includes a first radiation unit corresponding to the first phase shifting unit 1011 and a second radiation unit corresponding to the second phase shifting unit 1012.

[0410] The first radiating element is configured to transmit signals, and the second radiating element is configured to receive signals; wherein the operating frequency of the first radiating element is higher than the operating frequency of the second radiating element.

[0411] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG5, each array element 100 may include four first phase shifting units 1011 and two second phase shifting units 1012, wherein the four first phase shifting units 1011 are located in the same row, the two second phase shifting units 1012 are located in the same row, and the size of the electrode pattern 10P of the first phase shifting unit 1011 is larger than the size of the electrode pattern 10P of the second phase shifting unit 1012.

[0412] The radiating structure 3 may include a first radiating element corresponding to the first phase shifting unit 1011. The first radiating element is configured to transmit signals outward. The first phase shifting unit 1011, the first radiating element, and the feeding structure 2 can serve as a transmitting antenna.

[0413] The radiating structure 3 may include a second radiating element corresponding to the second phase shifting unit 1012. The second radiating element is configured to receive the transmitted signal. The second phase shifting unit 1012, the second radiating element and the feeding structure 2 can serve as a receiving antenna.

[0414] In this embodiment, the operating frequency of the first radiating element can be higher than that of the second radiating element. For example, the operating frequency of the first radiating element is 25–35 GHz, and the operating frequency of the second radiating element is 10–25 GHz.

[0415] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the operating frequency of the first radiating element may be lower than the operating frequency of the second radiating element.

[0416] The antenna device and phase shifting unit used in this embodiment have the following advantages:

[0417] 1. The same aperture plane includes multiple phase-shifting elements, and the electrode patterns of the multiple phase-shifting elements are not exactly the same. Therefore, under the same area, the common aperture scheme integrates the antenna, phase-shifting elements and waveguide feed network together, which has a higher utilization rate, makes the antenna larger in scale, and thus the antenna gain is higher, thereby improving the antenna integration and performance.

[0418] 2. The addition of the liquid crystal phase-shifting unit makes the electronic control unit more continuous and controllable. At the same time, the reduction in cost and power consumption will greatly improve its commercial viability in the consumer market.

[0419] 3. Designing the phase-shifting unit into 10A partitions can prevent warping of the antenna radiating patch (radiating patch in radiating structure 3) attached to the glass surface.

[0420] 4. Alignment marks (base markers) can be placed within each partition 10A. For example, placing more than three alignment marks in the transition area between partitions 10A can establish a fitting coordinate system and improve alignment accuracy.

[0421] 5. The introduction of the padding layer 13 can reduce the distance between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 at the non-electrode location, thereby saving liquid crystal usage. Furthermore, the support pillar 181 is provided at the padding layer 13, which can reduce the height of the support pillar 181. The support pillar 181 used in the liquid crystal display process can be shared, greatly reducing manufacturing costs.

[0422] 6. The isolation dam 19 can enclose a phase shifting unit 101. In this way, each phase shifting unit 101 can be encapsulated separately, which can not only reduce crosstalk between phase shifting units 101, but also save liquid crystal usage to the extreme.

[0423] 7. The transmission structure includes a first substructure 171, which can improve the isolation between the DC port D and the RF port C, thereby optimizing the signal quality transmitted by the transmission line.

[0424] 8. The transmission structure is provided with a second substructure 172, which can form an edge electric field around the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24, thereby helping to improve the electric field quality between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24.

[0425] 9. The transmission structure is provided with a third substructure 173, which can form a capacitor structure, thereby extending the duration of the electric field between the first electrode 14 and the second electrode 24 and ensuring the stability of the phase shift performance.

[0426] 10. The transmission structure also includes a second type of branch structure 174, which can be used to simplify electrical and optical testing, thereby helping to improve the yield of the phase shifting unit.

[0427] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other.

[0428] Finally, it should be noted that in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0429] The phase-shifting unit, phase-shifting device, and antenna device provided in this disclosure have been described in detail above. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this disclosure. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the methods and core ideas of this disclosure. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope based on the ideas of this disclosure. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this disclosure.

[0430] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this disclosure are indicated by the following claims.

[0431] It should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the precise structures described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

[0432] The terms "an embodiment," "embodiment," or "one or more embodiments" as used herein mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this disclosure. Furthermore, please note that the examples of the phrase "in one embodiment" do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.

[0433] Numerous specific details are set forth in the specification provided herein. However, it will be understood that embodiments of this disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this specification.

[0434] In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses should not be construed as limiting the claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in the claims. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. This disclosure can be implemented by means of hardware comprising a plurality of different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim enumerating a plurality of means, several of these means may be embodied by the same item of hardware. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc., does not indicate any order. These words may be interpreted as names.

[0435] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this disclosure, and are not intended to limit them. Although this disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A phase-shifting unit, comprising: Two substrates are arranged opposite each other. Each substrate includes a substrate, an electrode located on one side of the substrate, and a transmission structure. The transmission structure includes a transmission line connected to the electrode. The orthographic projections of the electrodes on the two substrates onto the substrate overlap. A dielectric layer is located between the two substrates, and the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer is adjustable. The transmission structure further includes a branch structure electrically connected to the transmission line, the branch structure being at least used to assist the electrodes in forming an electric field in the dielectric layer; and / or, At least one of the substrates further includes an auxiliary structure, the orthographic projection of the auxiliary structure onto the substrate being located around the orthographic projection of the electrode onto the substrate, and the vertical distance between the surface of the auxiliary structure facing away from the substrate and the substrate being greater than or equal to the vertical distance between the surface of the electrode facing away from the substrate and the substrate.

2. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 1, wherein, The branch structure includes a first type of branch structure and a second type of branch structure, which are connected at different locations on the transmission line. The first type of branch structure assists the electrode in forming an electric field in the dielectric layer, and the second type of branch structure assists in electrical and optical detection. The electrical detection is used to detect the voltage characteristics of the electric field, and the optical detection is used to detect the thickness and polarization characteristics of the dielectric layer.

3. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 2, wherein, The first type of branch structure includes at least one of a first substructure, a second substructure, and a third substructure; Wherein, the orthographic projection of the first substructure on the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate, and the first substructure is configured to assist the signal transmission of the transmission line; The second substructures on the two substrates have their orthographic projections on the substrates overlapping, and are configured to form an auxiliary electric field around the electrodes; A capacitor structure is formed between the third substructures on the two substrates.

4. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 3, wherein, The first substructure includes a linear stub, and the transmission line includes a first connection point connected to the linear stub and a second connection point connected to the electrode; The length of the linear branch is equal to the length of the first wiring portion between the first connection point and the second connection point.

5. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 4, wherein, The orthographic projection of the linear branch onto the substrate includes at least one bend.

6. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 3, wherein, The electrode is located on the side of the second substructure away from the substrate, and the orthographic projections of the second substructures on the substrates on both substrates overlap with the orthographic projections of the electrode on the substrate.

7. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 6, wherein, The orthographic projection of the second substructure onto the substrate overlaps the orthographic projection of the electrode onto the substrate; Wherein, on the same substrate, the area of ​​the orthographic projection of the second substructure onto the substrate is 101% to 105% of the area of ​​the orthographic projection of the electrode onto the substrate; and / or, the minimum distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the second substructure onto the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the electrode onto the substrate is less than or equal to 5 μm.

8. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 3, wherein, The third substructure includes: The first reference electrode is connected to the transmission line; An insulating layer is filled between the two substrates; Wherein, the orthographic projection of the insulating layer on the substrate overlaps with the orthographic projection of the first reference electrode on the substrate on both substrates.

9. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 2, wherein, The second type of branching structure includes: The second reference electrode is connected to the transmission line. The orthographic projection of the second reference electrode on the substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate, and the orthographic projections of the second reference electrodes on the two substrates overlap. Multiple visible objects, the orthographic projections of which are distributed around the orthographic projection of the second reference electrode on the substrate.

10. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 9, wherein, The material of the visible object is the same as the material of the electrode.

11. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 1, wherein, The minimum spacing between the two substrates at the auxiliary structure is less than or equal to the minimum spacing at the electrodes.

12. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 1 or 11, wherein, The auxiliary structure includes: A padding layer, the orthographic projection of the padding layer on the substrate, is located between the orthographic projections of the plurality of electrodes on the same substrate on the substrate; The minimum spacing between the two substrates at the pad layer is less than or equal to the minimum spacing at the electrode.

13. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 12, wherein, The padding layer includes a plurality of padding pads spaced apart from each other, and the orthographic projections of the plurality of padding pads on the substrate do not overlap with the orthographic projections of the electrodes on the substrate; The phase-shifting unit further includes: A support post is located between the two substrates, with one end of the support post in direct contact with the shim pad.

14. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 12, wherein, The padding layer is disposed in the same layer as the electrode, and the thickness of the padding layer is greater than the thickness of the electrode. The padding layer includes multiple openings, and the orthographic projection of the electrode on the substrate is located within the orthographic projection of the opening on the substrate.

15. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 14, wherein, The padding layer includes a ramp at the opening, and the thickness of the flat layer at the ramp gradually decreases along a first direction, the first direction being the direction in which the padding layer faces the electrode.

16. The phase-shifting unit according to claim 15, wherein, The slope angle of the slope is 35°-60°.

17. A phase-shifting device, wherein, It includes the plurality of phase-shifting units as described in any one of claims 1-16.

18. The phase-shifting device according to claim 17, wherein, The electrode patterns are jointly formed by the orthogonal projections of the electrodes on the two substrates of the phase-shifting unit onto the substrate, and the phase-shifting device further includes: An isolation dam is located between the two substrates, and the orthographic projection of the isolation dam on the substrate overlaps with the orthographic projection of the auxiliary structure on the substrate; The isolation dam has an orthographic projection on the substrate that is ring-shaped and encloses at least one of the electrode patterns.

19. The phase-shifting device according to claim 18, wherein, The orthographic projection of the isolation dam onto the substrate encloses one of the electrode patterns; The minimum distance between the outer contour of the isolation dam projected onto the substrate and the outer contour of the electrode pattern is uniform.

20. The phase-shifting device according to claim 17, wherein, The two substrates of the phase shifting unit include a first substrate and a second substrate. The electrode on the first substrate is a first electrode, the electrode on the second substrate is a second electrode, the transmission line connected to the first electrode is a first transmission line, and the transmission line connected to the second electrode is a second transmission line. The phase-shifting device includes multiple partitions, and each partition includes at least one phase-shifting unit; In the adjacent first and second partitions, multiple first electrodes in the first partition are connected to the same first transmission line, and multiple second electrodes are connected to different second transmission lines; in the second partition, multiple first electrodes are connected to different first transmission lines, and multiple second electrodes are connected to the same second transmission line.

21. The phase-shifting device according to claim 17, wherein, The orthogonal projections of the electrodes on the two substrates of the phase-shifting unit onto the substrate together form an electrode pattern, and the phase-shifting device includes at least two types of phase-shifting units; The morphology of the orthographic projection of the electrode pattern in the phase-shifting unit in different types of phase-shifting units onto the substrate is different.

22. An antenna device, wherein, Includes the phase-shifting unit as described in any one of claims 1-16 or the phase-shifting device as described in any one of claims 17-21, and, The power supply structure is located on one side of the phase-shifting unit; The radiating structure is located on the side of the phase-shifting unit away from the feeding structure.

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