ANTENNAS, DEVICES AND SYSTEMS BASED ON METAMATERIAL STRUCTURES

• US 20100283705A1
• Filed: 05/21/2010
• Published: 11/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tyco Electronics Services GmbH (TE Connectivity Ltd. (United Kingdom))
• Original Assignee: Rayspan Corporation
• Inventors: Franz, Birkner, Achour, Maha, Gummalla, Ajay, Stoytchev, Marin
• Application Number:
  US12/785,246
• Publication Number:
  US 20100283705A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/844
• 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 21/065 Patch antenna array
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49204 Contact or terminal manufacturing

Abstract

Techniques, apparatus and systems that use one or more composite left and right handed (CRLH) metamaterial structures in processing and handling electromagnetic wave signals. Antenna, antenna arrays and other RF devices can be formed based on CRLH metamaterial structures. The described CRLH metamaterial structures can be used in wireless communication RF front-end and antenna sub-systems.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

a plurality of antenna elements spaced from one another and structured to form a composite left and right handed (CRLH) metamaterial structure, each antenna element being of a dimension of one tenth of a wavelength of a signal in resonance with the CRLH metamaterial structure, two adjacent antenna elements spaced from each other by one quarter of the wavelength or less.

2. The device as in claim 1, comprising:

an RF circuit element integrated to the CRLH metamaterial structure, wherein the RF circuit element is one of a feedback network, an amplifier, a filter, a power splitter or a power combiner.

3. The device as in claim 2, wherein:

the RF circuit element comprises a CRLH metamaterial structure.

4. The device as in claim 1, comprising:

a directional coupler having on a CRLH metamaterial structure, the directional coupler coupled to at least a portion of the antenna elements.

5. A device, comprising:

a substrate;

an antenna formed on the substrate and comprising a plurality of unit cells structured to form a composite left and right handed (CRLH) metamaterial structure; and

an RF circuit element formed on the substrate in a second CRLH metamaterial structure and coupled to the antenna.

6. The device as in claim 5, wherein:

the RF circuit element comprises a filter.

7. The device as in claim 5, wherein:

the RF circuit element comprises a power splitter.

8. The device as in claim 5, wherein:

the RF circuit element comprises a power combiner.

9. The device as in claim 5, wherein:

the RF circuit element comprises a directional coupler.

10. The device as in claim 5, wherein:

the RF circuit element comprises a matching network.

11. The device as in claim 5, wherein:

the antenna is a Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output antenna array.

12. A device, comprising:

an antenna array;

an RF circuit element electromagnetically coupled to the antenna array; and

an analog RF circuit coupled to the RF circuit element,

wherein the RF circuit element comprises a composite left and right handed (CRLH) metamaterial structure.

13. The device as in claim 12, wherein:

the CRLH metamaterial structure comprises;

a plurality of unit cells formed on a dielectric substrate by a plurality of separated conductive patches formed one side of the substrate, a ground conductive layer formed on another side of the substrate, and a plurality of conductive via connectors formed in the substrate to respectively connect the conductive patches to the ground conductive layer, respectively.

14. The device as in claim 12, wherein:

the RF circuit element comprises a power combiner.

15. The device as in claim 12, wherein:

the RF circuit element comprises a matching network.

16. The device as in claim 12, wherein:

the RF circuit element comprises a power combiner.