Tunable metamaterial systems and methods
First Claim
1. An antenna system, comprising:
- a plurality of sub-wavelength antenna elements;
a plurality of lumped impedance elements in communication with the plurality of sub-wavelength antenna elements;
a plurality of variable impedance control inputs configured to allow for the selection of an impedance value for each of the lumped impedance elements;
a processor; and
a computer-readable medium providing instructions accessible to the processor to cause the processor to perform operations for radiation patterning, comprising;
determining a scattering matrix (S-Matrix) of field amplitudes for each of a plurality of lumped ports, N, wherein the lumped ports, N, include;
a plurality of lumped antenna ports, Na, with impedance values corresponding to the impedance values of each of the plurality of lumped impedance elements; and
at least one lumped external port, Ne, located physically external to the antenna system,wherein the S-Matrix is expressible in terms of an impedance matrix, Z-Matrix, with impedance values, zn, of each of the plurality of lumped ports, N;
identifying a target radiation pattern of the antenna system defined in terms of target field amplitudes in the S-Matrix for the at least one lumped external port, Ne;
determining an optimized port impedance vector {zn} of impedance values zn for each of the lumped antenna ports, Na, that results in an S-Matrix element for the at least one lumped external port, Ne, that approximates the target field amplitude for an operating frequency; and
adjusting at least one of the plurality of variable impedance control inputs to modify at least one of the impedance values of at least one of the plurality of variable lumped impedance elements based on the determined optimized {zn} of the impedance values for the lumped antenna ports, Na.
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Abstract
The present disclosure provides system and methods for optimizing the tuning of impedance elements associate with sub-wavelength antenna elements to attain target radiation and/or field patterns. A scattering matrix (S-Matrix) of field amplitudes for each of a plurality of modeled lumped ports, N, may be determined that includes a plurality of lumped antenna ports, Na, with impedance values corresponding to the impedance values of associated impedance elements and at least one modeled external port, Ne, located external to the antenna system at a specified radius vector. Impedance values may be identified through an optimization process, and the impedance elements may be tuned (dynamically or statically) to attain a specific target radiation pattern.
49 Citations
35 Claims
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1. An antenna system, comprising:
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a plurality of sub-wavelength antenna elements; a plurality of lumped impedance elements in communication with the plurality of sub-wavelength antenna elements; a plurality of variable impedance control inputs configured to allow for the selection of an impedance value for each of the lumped impedance elements; a processor; and a computer-readable medium providing instructions accessible to the processor to cause the processor to perform operations for radiation patterning, comprising; determining a scattering matrix (S-Matrix) of field amplitudes for each of a plurality of lumped ports, N, wherein the lumped ports, N, include; a plurality of lumped antenna ports, Na, with impedance values corresponding to the impedance values of each of the plurality of lumped impedance elements; and at least one lumped external port, Ne, located physically external to the antenna system, wherein the S-Matrix is expressible in terms of an impedance matrix, Z-Matrix, with impedance values, zn, of each of the plurality of lumped ports, N; identifying a target radiation pattern of the antenna system defined in terms of target field amplitudes in the S-Matrix for the at least one lumped external port, Ne; determining an optimized port impedance vector {zn} of impedance values zn for each of the lumped antenna ports, Na, that results in an S-Matrix element for the at least one lumped external port, Ne, that approximates the target field amplitude for an operating frequency; and adjusting at least one of the plurality of variable impedance control inputs to modify at least one of the impedance values of at least one of the plurality of variable lumped impedance elements based on the determined optimized {zn} of the impedance values for the lumped antenna ports, Na. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for antenna radiation patterning, comprising:
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numerically evaluating a scattering matrix (S-Matrix) of field amplitudes for each of a plurality of lumped ports, N, associated with an antenna device, including a plurality of lumped antenna ports, Na, wherein each lumped antenna port corresponds to an impedance value of a lumped impedance element in communication with at least one sub-wavelength antenna element of an antenna device, and at least one lumped external port, Ne, located physically external to the antenna device, wherein the S-Matrix is expressible in terms of an impedance matrix, Z-Matrix, with impedance values, zn, of each of the plurality of lumped ports, N; identifying a target radiation pattern of the antenna device defined in terms of target field amplitudes in the S-Matrix for the at least one lumped external port, Ne; and determining an optimized port impedance vector, {zn}, of impedance values for each of the lumped antenna ports, Na, that results in an S-Matrix element for the at least one lumped external port, Ne, that approximates the target field amplitude for an operating frequency; wherein each of the lumped impedance elements is tunable, such that an impedance value of each of the tunable, lumped impedance elements is variable based on a plurality of impedance control inputs, and wherein the method further comprises; adjusting impedance values of at least some of the tunable, lumped impedance elements based on the determined optimized impedance matrix. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for manufacturing an antenna system, comprising:
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determining a scattering matrix (S-Matrix) of field amplitudes for each of a plurality of lumped ports, N, associated with an antenna device, including a plurality of lumped antenna ports, Na, wherein each lumped antenna port corresponds to an impedance value of a lumped impedance element in communication with at least one sub-wavelength antenna element of an antenna device, and at least one lumped external port, Ne, located physically external to the antenna device, wherein the S-Matrix is expressible in terms of an impedance matrix, Z Matrix, with impedance values, zn, of each of the plurality of lumped ports, N; identifying a target radiation pattern of the antenna device defined in terms of target field amplitudes in the S Matrix for the at least one lumped external port, Ne; determining an optimized port impedance vector, {zn}, of impedance values for each of the lumped antenna ports, Na, that results in an S-Matrix element for the at least one lumped external port, Ne, that approximates the target field amplitude for an operating frequency; and forming a plurality of sub-wavelength antenna elements; forming a plurality of impedance elements in communication with the plurality of sub-wavelength antenna elements with impedance values corresponding to the optimized impedance vector {zn}. - View Dependent Claims (35)
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Specification