Multibeam GNSS Lens Antenna With Passive Sky Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current GNSS antennas face limitations in achieving high signal strength and reducing noise levels, which restricts position and time accuracy, especially due to interference and multipath signals, and are often complex and costly to implement.
Innovation Solution
The use of multibeam lens antennas with advanced lens architectures that generate multiple beams from a single aperture, utilizing refractive or diffractive structures like metamaterial or gradient index lenses, to improve signal gain and reduce interference by passively segmenting the sky and independently processing signals from each beam.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional single-element antennas are used, then the antenna structure is simple and cost-effective, but the signal gain is low and interference from terrestrial sources cannot be effectively mitigated
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna divides the sky into multiple discrete beams, with each beam independently receiving signals from a specific angular sector. This segmentation allows the system to focus gain in specific directions while rejecting interference from other directions, resolving the contradiction between achieving high signal gain and maintaining simple structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna uses electronically controllable beamforming to dynamically adjust the radiation pattern and null placement in response to detected interference sources. This dynamic adaptation enables the system to maintain high signal gain while actively mitigating terrestrial interference without requiring complex mechanical structures.
2Reliability
If high-performance fixed radiation pattern antennas are used, then signal gain and phase center stability are improved, but the antenna becomes more complex and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts beamforming weights and null placement based on real-time interference detection, replacing static high-performance structures with adaptive signal processing. This maintains phase center stability through electronic control rather than complex physical construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna changes the parameters of its radiation pattern dynamically by adjusting beamforming weights and null depths in response to detected interference. This allows the system to maintain optimal phase center stability without requiring fixed high-performance antenna structures.
3Reliability
If controlled radiation pattern antennas with phased array are used, then resilience to jamming and spoofing is increased, but the system complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the sky into discrete beams and processes each beam independently, simplifying the overall processing requirements compared to full phased array systems. This segmentation enables interference resilience through straightforward null placement in each beam without requiring complex cross-beam coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna implements partial beamforming capabilities focused specifically on null placement for interference mitigation, rather than full phased array functionality. This partial implementation achieves the necessary resilience to jamming and spoofing while keeping processing complexity and cost manageable.
4Measurement precision
If more signal processing techniques are used, then position and time accuracy is improved, but the signal quality remains limited by antenna performance
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna performs preliminary signal conditioning by segmenting the sky into beams and placing nulls in interference directions before the signal reaches the processing stage. This preliminary action improves signal quality upstream, enabling more effective position and time accuracy measurement downstream.
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
This approach enhances signal strength, reduces noise, and improves positioning accuracy by allowing simultaneous reception of signals from the entire upper hemisphere while mitigating interference, reducing the time required for accurate measurements and simplifying the antenna design.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing refractive or diffractive structures like metamaterial or gradient index lenses
Implementation Method 2
utilizing refractive or diffractive structures like metamaterial or gradient index lenses
Implementation Method 3
multibeam lens antennas with advanced lens architectures that generate multiple beams from a single aperture
Data Source
AI summary
A multibeam Radio Frequency (RF) lens antenna is designed as a receiver for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) applications, such as GPS (Global Positioning System), Galileo, GLONASS, COMPASS, and others. The RF lens and plurality of associated feed elements and receiver circuits combine to form a plurality of resulting high-gain relatively narrow beams that, taken together, allow reception of signals from GNSS satellites over the entire upper hemisphere. Any kind of RF lens can be used, where the lens can be of homogeneous or inhomogeneous, dielectric or metamaterial/metasurface construction. The benefit of this approach to build a GNSS receiver over existing alternatives is increased gain and decreased noise at each receiver, which improves the signal to noise ratio (SNR) and improves the accuracy and reliability of the position and time measurements, while also reducing the impact of, and sensitivity to, interference, jamming, and spoofing signals. The approaches described in this patent can be combined with existing signal processing and accuracy improvement methods (such as Real-Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise-Point Positioning (PPP), and Differential GPS (DEPS)) for further benefits. This system has applications within the surveying, maritime, land mobility, aerospace, and government positioning market areas.