Pentagonal Antenna Tile Layout for Dense Array Integration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing antenna arrays face challenges in integrating multiple mechanical, electrical, and thermal components within a limited space, leading to undesirable electrical parasitics and assembly complexity, while maintaining high gain and low sidelobes.
Innovation Solution
A customizable and scalable antenna system utilizing pentagonal-shaped antenna units that form hexagonal tiles, allowing for monohedral tiling and accommodating additional functional components like interconnects, connectors, and heat sinks, while operating across various frequency bands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple functional components are integrated within each antenna unit, then the antenna array achieves high gain and low sidelobes, but the space within each antenna unit becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna array is segmented into multiple antenna units that are tessellated to form antenna tiles. Each antenna unit contains a subset of functional components (antenna elements, interconnects, connectors), while heat sinks are separated and disposed remotely. This segmentation allows sufficient space allocation for each component type within the constraints of each antenna unit.
Solution Approach 2:
Heat sinks are extracted from the antenna units and disposed remotely to reduce the space occupation within each antenna unit. This extraction resolves the space constraint while maintaining the ability to provide thermal management functionality through remote heat sink placement.
2Area of stationary object
If functional components are moved out of antenna units and disposed remotely, then space within antenna units is sufficient, but electrical parasitics and assembly complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple antenna units are merged into antenna tiles through tessellation, where adjacent antenna units share common heat sinks. This merging reduces the total number of heat sinks required and simplifies assembly by eliminating the need to dispose of individual heat sinks for each antenna unit. The shared heat sink approach maintains thermal management effectiveness while reducing overall system complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional antenna unit shapes are used, then manufacturing is straightforward, but sufficient local space for functional components cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs non-conventional antenna unit shapes (such as pentagonal or hexagonal geometries) that provide optimized space utilization for accommodating functional components. These asymmetric shapes allow for more efficient packing and arrangement of antenna elements, interconnects, and connectors within each unit, achieving sufficient local space while maintaining manufacturability through standardized tessellation patterns.
Data Source
AI summary
An antenna array includes one or more antenna tiles which are arranged on an antenna plane. Each of the one or more antenna tiles includes one or more antenna units that are arranged together to form the respective antenna tile having a hexagonal shape and each antenna unit comprises an antenna circuit chip. In some embodiments, each antenna unit has a pentagonal shape and the antenna tile has a hexagonal shape formed by tessellating the one or more antenna units with one another.