Combined antenna apertures allowing simultaneous multiple antenna functionality

• US 10,367,269 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2017
• Issued: 07/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kymeta Corporation (Reorganized ISA SA)
• Original Assignee: Kymeta Corporation (Reorganized ISA SA)
• Inventors: Bily, Adam, Sazegar, Mohsen, Kundtz, Nathan, Stevenson, Ryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hoang V
• Application Number:
  US15/847,542
• Publication Number:
  US 20180131103A1
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/0086 said selective devices having materials with a synthesized negative refractive index, e.g. metamaterials or left-handed materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0012 Radial guide fed arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/061 Two dimensional planar arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/064 using horn or slot aerials slotted waveguides arrays H01Q21/005
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/065 Patch antenna array
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/00 Antennas or antenna systems providing at least two radiating patterns arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern H01Q3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/002 providing at least two patterns of different beamwidth; Variable beamwidth antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/247 by switching different parts of a primary active element
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/42 using two or more imbricated arrays H01Q5/49 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0457 electromagnetically coupled to the feed line

Abstract

An antenna apparatus and method for use of the same are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the antenna comprises a single physical antenna aperture having at least two spatially interleaved antenna arrays of antenna elements, the antenna arrays being operable independently and simultaneously at distinct frequency bands.

Claims

1. An antenna comprising:

a single physical antenna aperture having at least two spatially interleaved antenna sub-arrays of surface scattering antenna elements; and

a controller coupled to control each of the antenna sub-arrays by providing voltages to the surface scattering antenna elements of the sub-arrays to operate the antenna sub-arrays independently and simultaneously at different frequencies, the voltages to tune the surface scattering antenna elements to provide a desired scattering at a given frequency.

2. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the controller includes drive electronics to apply voltages to surface scattering antenna elements of the sub-arrays.

3. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the voltages for each sub-array of the at least two spatially interleaved antenna sub-arrays correspond to a control pattern to control generation of a beam by said each sub-array.

4. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the at least two antenna sub-arrays comprise combined transmit and receive antenna arrays of antenna elements operable to perform reception and transmission, respectively, simultaneously.

5. The antenna defined in claim 4 wherein transmission and reception are in the Ku transmit and receive bands, respectively.

6. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein the at least two antenna arrays comprise combined interleaved dual receive antenna arrays operable to perform reception in two different receive bands and pointing at two different sources in two different directions simultaneously and with switchable/orthogonal polarization states.

7. The antenna defined in claim 6 wherein the two bands comprise the Ka and Ku receive bands.

8. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein pointing angles of the at least two antenna sub-arrays are different such that a first antenna sub-array of the at least two antenna sub-arrays is operable to form a beam in one direction and a second antenna sub-array of the at least two antenna sub-arrays is operable to form a beam in a second direction different than the first direction and that the angle between the two beams is greater than 10°

.

9. The antenna defined in claim 1 wherein surface scattering antenna elements in each sub-array of the at least two antenna sub-arrays are positioned in one or more rings.

10. The antenna defined in claim 9 wherein one ring of the one or more rings for operation in a first frequency of the multiple frequencies has a different number of elements than one ring of the one or more rings for operation in a second frequency of the multiple frequencies, the first frequency being different than the second frequency.

11. The antenna defined in claim 10 wherein at least one ring has elements of both tunable slotted arrays.

12. A flat panel antenna comprising:

a single physical antenna aperture having at least two spatially interleaved antenna sub-arrays of surface scattering antenna elements;

a controller coupled to control each of the antenna sub-arrays by providing voltages to the surface scattering antenna elements of the sub-arrays to operate the antenna sub-arrays independently and simultaneously at different frequencies, the voltages to tune the surface scattering antenna elements to provide a desired scattering at a given frequency; and

a single, radial feed coupled to the aperture.

13. The antenna defined in claim 12 wherein the controller includes drive electronics to apply voltages to surface scattering antenna elements of the sub-arrays.

14. The antenna defined in claim 12 wherein the voltages for each sub-array of the at least two spatially interleaved antenna sub-arrays correspond to a control pattern to control generation of a beam by said each sub-array.

15. The antenna defined in claim 12 wherein the at least two antenna sub-arrays comprise combined transmit and receive antenna sub-arrays of antenna elements operable to perform reception and transmission, respectively, simultaneously.

16. The antenna defined in claim 15 wherein transmission and reception are in the Ku transmit and receive bands, respectively.

17. The antenna defined in claim 12 wherein the at least two antenna sub-arrays comprise combined interleaved dual receive antenna sub-arrays of antenna elements operable to perform reception in two different receive bands and pointing at two different sources in two different directions simultaneously.

18. The antenna defined in claim 17 wherein the two bands comprise the Ka and Ku receive bands.

19. The antenna defined in claim 17 wherein pointing angles of the at least two antenna sub-arrays are different such that a first antenna sub-array of the at least two antenna sub-arrays is operable to form a beam in one direction and a second antenna array of the at least two antenna sub-arrays is operable to form a beam in a second direction different than the first direction and that the angle between the two beams is greater than 10 degrees.

20. The antenna defined in claim 12 wherein a first antenna sub-array of the at least two antenna sub-arrays has a number of elements and element density that is different than that of the second sub-array of the at least two antenna sub-arrays.

21. The antenna defined in claim 12 wherein most surface scattering antenna elements in each of the at least two sub-arrays are interleaved and spaced with respect to each other.

22. The antenna defined in claim 12 wherein surface scattering antenna elements in each of the at least two sub-arrays are positioned in one or more rings.

23. The antenna defined in claim 22 wherein one ring of the one or more rings for operation in a first frequency of the multiple frequencies has a different number of surface scattering antenna elements than one ring of the one or more rings for operation in a second frequency of the multiple frequencies, the first frequency being different than the second frequency.

24. The antenna defined in claim 22 wherein at least one ring has surface scattering antenna elements of the at least two sub-arrays.

25. A method for transmission comprising:

providing voltages to the surface scattering antenna elements of the sub-arrays to operate the antenna sub-arrays, the voltages to tune the surface scattering antenna elements to provide a desired scattering at a given frequency;

exciting, with radio-frequency (RF) energy, first and second independently operating sets of interleaved surface scattering antenna elements in first and second antenna sub-arrays, respectively, the sub-arrays being combined in a single physical aperture of a flat panel antenna; and

generating two RF waves using the first and second sets of elements simultaneously, the two RF waves being in two different frequency bands.

26. The method defined in claim 25 further comprising superimposing the two RF waves with a coupling interface.

27. The method defined in claim 26 wherein the two RF waves are in two different receive bands.

28. The method defined in claim 25 wherein the two receive bands are the Ka and Ku receive bands.

29. The method defined in claim 25 wherein the two frequency bands are a transmit band and a receive band.

30. The method defined in claim 29 wherein transmit and receive bands are the Ku transmit and receive bands, respectively.

31. The method defined in claim 25 further comprising performing reception and transmission simultaneously with the first and second independently operating sets of interleaved antenna elements in the first and second antenna arrays, respectively, of a flat panel antenna.

32. The method defined in claim 25 further comprising performing reception in two different receive bands and pointing at two different sources in two different directions simultaneously.