Differential Planar Aperture Antenna for Millimeter-Wave Gain
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional high gain aperture antennas for millimeter-wave bands have large profiles, high costs, and often suffer from low gain or high cost, while existing planar aperture antennas face trade-offs between gain and cost.
Innovation Solution
A differential planar aperture antenna design featuring a pair of grounded coplanar waveguides, a cavity with symmetric lobes, and a cross-shaped patch that extends into the ports and lobes, allowing for a high gain and wide bandwidth by exciting a uniform aperture field distribution and utilizing standard planar circuit technologies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If conventional high gain aperture antennas (parabolic reflector) are used, then high gain and wide bandwidth are achieved, but large profile and large size occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the traditional monolithic parabolic reflector into segmented planar components including multiple feed horns, waveguides, and reflector segments arranged in a distributed configuration. This segmentation enables the system to achieve high gain through coordinated radiation from multiple smaller elements rather than requiring a single large parabolic structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional parabolic surface to a three-dimensional distributed planar array configuration. By arranging multiple planar aperture elements in spatial distribution with specific geometries and orientations, the system achieves high gain without requiring a large single-plane profile, effectively utilizing volumetric space rather than surface area.
2Power
If conventional high gain aperture antennas are used, then high gain is achieved, but high cost and large size occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs universal planar components such as standard waveguide sections, common feed horn designs, and standardized reflector segments that can be manufactured using常规 planar fabrication techniques. These multi-functional elements serve multiple purposes in the antenna system, reducing the need for custom-made specialized components and thereby lowering overall manufacturing cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses replicated identical or near-identical planar aperture elements throughout the antenna structure. By copying standardized feed horn-waveguide-reflector assemblies and arranging them in specific configurations, the system achieves high gain through collective radiation while benefiting from economies of scale in manufacturing identical components rather than custom-building each element.
3Ease of manufacture
If planar aperture antennas (horn and horn-like) are used, then cost is reduced, but gain decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple planar aperture elements (multiple feed horns with their associated waveguides and reflectors) into a coordinated array system. By combining the radiation from multiple individual planar apertures that are spatially distributed and phase-coordinated, the system achieves high gain that would be unattainable by a single planar element, while still maintaining the cost advantages of planar fabrication techniques.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The differential aperture antenna achieves high aperture efficiency and gain with a compact, cost-effective design suitable for millimeter-wave applications, compatible with PCB and LTCC technologies, and demonstrates improved performance across various frequency bands.
Implementation Method 1
guiding the transmission as a surface wave along the patch to a cavity
Implementation Method 2
exciting a uniform aperture field distribution in the cavity based on the two parts of the transmission
Data Source
AI summary
A planar differential aperture antenna that has a high gain and wide bandwidth at a millimeter wave band is provided. The differential aperture antenna has a cavity within it that has a height of roughly a quarter of a wavelength of the desired transmission band. The cavity is H-shaped, and has a cross shaped patch within the cavity that is fed differentially by two grounded coplanar waveguides. Two ends of the patch extend towards the ports on either side of the differential aperture antenna, and the other two ends of the patch extend into the cavity lobes, perpendicular with respect to the ports.