Antenna systems and methods for modulating an electromagnetic property of an antenna

• US 10,439,299 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2017
• Issued: 10/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Black, Eric J., Deutsch, Brian Mark, Katko, Alexander Remley, Machado, Melroy, McCandless, Jay Howard, Urzhumov, Yaroslav A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hoang V
• Application Number:
  US15/489,575
• Publication Number:
  US 20180301821A1
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/0066 said selective devices being reconfigurable, tunable or controllable, e.g. using switches
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/24 Combinations of antenna units polarised in different directions for transmitting or receiving circularly and elliptically polarised waves or waves linearly polarised in any direction circularly polarised patch antennas H01Q9/0428; circularly polarised horns H01Q13/0241; cross-polarised horns H01Q13/0258; polarisation converters H01Q15/242; cross-polarised rear feeds H01Q19/136; crossed polarisation dual antenna H01Q25/001
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/293 one unit or more being an array of identical aerial elements adaptive arrays H01Q3/2605
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/247 by switching different parts of a primary active element
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/26 varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture H01Q3/12, H01Q3/22, H01Q3/24 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/2682 Time delay steered arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/44 varying the electric or magnetic characteristics of reflecting, refracting, or diffracting devices associated with the radiating element

Abstract

Antenna systems and related methods are disclosed. An antenna system includes an antenna controller configured to operably couple to control inputs of an antenna including an array of electromagnetic (EM) scattering elements. A method includes controlling an array of EM scattering elements to operate according to holographic modulation patterns, and modulating at least one effective EM property of the antenna over space, time, or a combination thereof to, in the average and/or the aggregate, cause side lobes of an antenna gain of the antenna to be reduced.

Claims

1. An antenna system, comprising:

an antenna controller configured to operably couple to control inputs of an antenna including an array of electromagnetic (EM) scattering elements having sub-wavelength spacing and carried by a body configured to propagate an EM reference wave, the antenna controller configured to;

control the array of EM scattering elements, through the control inputs, to operate according to a holographic modulation pattern; and

control the array of EM scattering elements to modulate a spatial holographic phase of the antenna itself over time to, on average, cause side lobes of an antenna gain of the antenna to be reduced.

2. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the spatial holographic phase of the antenna over time by switching the antenna between the holographic modulation pattern having a first spatial holographic phase and another holographic modulation pattern having a second spatial holographic phase that is different from the first spatial holographic phase.

3. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the spatial holographic phase of the antenna over time by switching the antenna between the holographic modulation pattern and two or more other holographic modulation patterns, the holographic modulation pattern and the two or more other holographic modulation patterns each having different spatial holographic phases.

4. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the spatial holographic phase of the antenna over time according to a single-frequency sinusoidal function of time.

5. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the spatial holographic phase of the antenna over time according to a rectangular periodic function of time.

6. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the spatial holographic phase of the antenna over time according to a periodic function of time.

7. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the spatial holographic phase of the antenna over time according to an aperiodic function of time.

8. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the spatial holographic phase of the antenna over time according to a random aperiodic function of time.

9. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate an effective mode index of the antenna over time.

10. The antenna system of claim 9, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the effective mode index of the antenna over time by switching the antenna between the holographic modulation pattern having a first effective mode index and a second holographic modulation pattern having a second effective mode index that is different from the first effective mode index.

11. The antenna system of claim 9, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the effective mode index of the antenna over time by switching the antenna between the holographic modulation pattern and two or more other holographic modulation patterns, the holographic modulation pattern and the two or more other holographic modulation patterns each having different effective mode indices.

12. The antenna system of claim 9, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the effective mode index of the antenna over time according to a single frequency sinusoidal function of time.

13. The antenna system of claim 9, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the effective mode index of the antenna over time according to a rectangular periodic function of time.

14. The antenna system of claim 9, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the effective mode index of the antenna over time according to a periodic function of time.

15. The antenna system of claim 9, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the effective mode index of the antenna over time according to an aperiodic function of time.

16. The antenna system of claim 9, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the effective mode index of the antenna over time according to a random aperiodic function of time.

17. The antenna system of claim 1, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate both a spatial holographic phase and an effective mode index of the antenna over time.

18. The antenna system of claim 1, further comprising:

the body; and

the EM scattering elements of the array, wherein the EM scattering elements are configured to scatter EM energy at least one of;

from the EM reference wave to an EM radiative wave; and

from the EM radiative wave to the EM reference wave.

19. The antenna system of claim 18, wherein the EM scattering elements are spaced at less than about one half of a wavelength of an operational frequency of the antenna system.

20. The antenna system of claim 18, wherein the EM scattering elements are spaced at less than about one fourth of a wavelength of an operational frequency of the antenna system.

21. The antenna system of claim 18, further comprising one or more feeds configured to deliver the EM reference wave to or receive the EM reference wave from the body.

22. The antenna system of claim 21, further comprising signal generating circuitry configured to operably couple to and deliver a signal to the one or more feeds, the signal configured to excite the EM reference wave on or in the body.

23. The antenna system of claim 21, further comprising signal processing circuitry configured to operably couple to and receive a signal from the one or more feeds, the signal configured to be excited from the EM reference wave on or in the body.

24. The antenna system of claim 18, wherein the EM scattering elements are arranged in a one-dimensional arrangement.

25. The antenna system of claim 18, wherein the EM scattering elements are arranged in a plurality of one-dimensional arrangements.

26. The antenna system of claim 18, wherein the EM scattering elements are arranged in at least a two-dimensional arrangement.

27. The antenna system of claim 18, wherein the EM scattering elements are arranged in at least a three-dimensional arrangement.

28. An antenna system, comprising:

an antenna controller configured to operably couple to control inputs of an antenna including an array of electromagnetic (EM) scattering elements having sub-wavelength spacing and carried by a body configured to propagate an EM reference wave, the antenna controller configured to;

control the array of EM scattering elements, through the control inputs, to operate according to holographic modulation patterns; and

control the array of EM scattering elements to modulate a spatial holographic phase over separate segments of the antenna to, in the aggregate, cause side lobes of an antenna gain of the antenna to be reduced.

29. The antenna system of claim 28, wherein each of the separate segments of the antenna corresponds to a separate one-dimensional arrangement of a portion of EM scattering elements of the array of EM scattering elements.

30. The antenna system of claim 28, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the spatial holographic phase over the separate segments of the antenna by controlling the separate segments to operate with two different spatial holographic phases in at least two of the separate segments.

31. The antenna system of claim 28, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the spatial holographic phase over the separate segments of the antenna by controlling the separate segments to operate with more than two different spatial holographic phases in more than two of the separate segments.

32. The antenna system of claim 28, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate the spatial holographic phase over the separate segments according to a single frequency sinusoidal function of space.

33. The antenna system of claim 28, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate an effective mode index over the separate segments of the antenna.

34. The antenna system of claim 33, wherein each of the separate segments of the antenna corresponds to a separate one-dimensional arrangement of a portion of the array of EM scattering elements.

35. The antenna system of claim 33, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate effective mode indices over the separate segments of the antenna by controlling the separate segments of the antenna to operate with two different effective mode indices in at least two of the separate segments.

36. The antenna system of claim 33, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate effective mode indices over the separate segments of the antenna by controlling the separate segments of the antenna to operate with more than two different effective mode indices in more than two of the separate segments.

37. The antenna system of claim 33, wherein the antenna controller is configured to modulate effective mode indices over the separate segments according to a single frequency sinusoidal function of space.

38. The antenna system of claim 28, wherein the antenna controller is configured to control the array of EM scattering elements to modulate both a spatial holographic phase and an effective mode index of the antenna over separate segments of the antenna.

39. A method of operating an antenna system, the method comprising:

controlling an array of electromagnetic (EM) scattering elements of an antenna through control inputs of the antenna to operate according to a holographic modulation pattern, the array of EM scattering elements having sub-wavelength spacing and carried by a body configured to propagate an EM reference wave; and

controlling the array of EM scattering elements to modulate a spatial holographic phase of the antenna itself over time to, on average, cause side lobes of an antenna gain of the antenna to be reduced.

40. An antenna system, comprising:

an antenna controller configured to operably couple to control inputs of an antenna including an array of electromagnetic (EM) scattering elements having sub-wavelength spacing and carried by a body configured to propagate an EM reference wave, the antenna controller configured to;

control the array of EM scattering elements, through the control inputs, to operate according to a holographic modulation pattern; and

control the array of EM scattering elements to modulate an effective mode index of the antenna itself over time to, on average, cause side lobes of an antenna gain of the antenna to be reduced.

41. A method of operating an antenna system, the method comprising:

controlling an array of electromagnetic (EM) scattering elements of an antenna through control inputs of the antenna to operate according to a holographic modulation pattern, the array of EM scattering elements having sub-wavelength spacing and carried by a body configured to propagate an EM reference wave; and

controlling the array of EM scattering elements to modulate an effective mode index of the antenna itself over time to, on average, cause side lobes of an antenna gain of the antenna to be reduced.