THREE-DIMENSIONAL ANTENNA ASSEMBLY AND APPLICATIONS THEREOF

• US 20150188232A1
• Filed: 12/29/2014
• Published: 07/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies General IP PTE Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Alexopoulos, Nicolaos G., Yoon, Seunghwan
• Application Number:
  US14/584,395
• Publication Number:
  US 20150188232A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0006 Particular feeding systems
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/06 Arrays of individually energised antenna units similarly polarised and spaced apart
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/20 the units being spaced along or adjacent to a curvilinear path slotted waveguide arrays H01Q21/005; circularly or helically slotted waveguides H01Q21/0062
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/16 with feed intermediate between the extremities of the antenna, e.g. centre-fed dipole H01Q9/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/27 Spiral antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/44 Transmit/receive switching

Abstract

An antenna assembly includes a substrate, a plurality of spiral dipole antenna sections, and a phase array feeder. The substrate has a three-dimensional shaped region. Each of the spiral dipole antenna sections is supported by a corresponding section of the three-dimensional shaped region and conforms to the corresponding section of the three-dimensional shaped region such that, collectively, the plurality of spiral dipole antenna sections has an overall shape approximating a three-dimensional shape. The spiral dipole antenna sections are coupled together in accordance with a coupling configuration for beamforming and/or power combining. The phase array feeder inputs, or outputs, a phase offset representations of a radio frequency (RF) signal from, or to, the spiral dipole antenna sections and converts between the phase offset representations of the RF signal and the RF signal.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. A Radio Frequency (RF) front end comprising:

a three-dimensional structure formed upon or in a surface of a substrate;

a plurality of antennas, at least a portion of which are formed on the three-dimensional structure, wherein each antenna of the plurality of antennas conforms to a corresponding portion of the three-dimensional structure and wherein, the plurality of antennas has an overall three-dimensional shape corresponding to the three-dimensional structure; and

a phase array interface configured to;

interface a plurality of phase offset representations of a radio frequency (RF) signal with the plurality of antennas; and

convert between the plurality of phase offset representations of the RF signal and the RF signal.

3. The RF front end of claim 2, wherein the three-dimensional structure has a convex shape and is formed upon the surface of the substrate and.

4. The RF front end of claim 3, wherein the convex shape comprises a rectangular prism.

5. The RF front end of claim 3, wherein the convex shape comprises a spherical cap.

6. The RF front end of claim 2, wherein the three-dimensional structure comprises a concave depression formed within the surface of the substrate.

7. The RF front end of claim 2, wherein the three-dimensional structure comprises one or more of:

a cup shape;

a conical shape;

a cylindrical shape;

a pyramid shape;

a box shape;

a spherical shape;

a parabolic shape;

or

a hyperbolic shape.

8. The RF front end of claim 2, wherein the phase array interface is further configured to establish the plurality of phase offset representations of the RF signal in accordance with a selected beam form angle.

9. The RF front end of claim 2, wherein the substrate comprises one of:

a printed circuit board;

an integrated circuit package substrate;

or

a non-conductive fabricated antenna backing structure.

10. A Radio Frequency (RF) front end comprising:

receive-transmit isolation circuitry configured to isolate an inbound Radio Frequency (RF) signal from an outbound RF signal;

a phase array interface coupled to the receive-transmit isolation circuitry and configured to;

convert the output RF signal to a plurality of phase offset representations of the output RF signal; and

convert a plurality of phase offset representations of the inbound RF signal to the inbound RF signal;

a three-dimensional structure formed upon or in a surface of a substrate; and

a plurality of antennas coupled to the phase array interface, at least a portion of which are formed on the three-dimensional structure, wherein each antenna of the plurality of antennas conforms to a corresponding portion of the three-dimensional structure and wherein, the plurality of antennas has an overall three-dimensional shape corresponding to the three-dimensional structure.

11. The RF front end of claim 10, further comprising tuning circuitry coupled to the receive-transmit isolation circuitry and configured to tune the receive-transmit isolation circuitry.

12. The RF front end of claim 10, wherein the phase array interface is configured to:

couple the plurality of phase offset representations of the output RF signal to the plurality of antennas; and

receive the plurality of phase offset representations of the inbound RF signal from the plurality of antennas.

13. The RF front end of claim 11, wherein the three-dimensional structure has a convex shape and is formed upon the surface of the substrate.

14. The RF front end of claim 13, wherein the convex shape comprises a rectangular prism.

15. The RF front end of claim 13, wherein the convex shape comprises a spherical cap.

16. The RF front end of claim 10, wherein the three-dimensional structure comprises a concave depression formed within the surface of the substrate.

17. The RF front end of claim 10, wherein the three-dimensional structure comprises one or more of:

a cup shape;

a conical shape;

a cylindrical shape;

a pyramid shape;

a box shape;

a spherical shape;

a parabolic shape;

or

a hyperbolic shape.

18. The RF front end of claim 10, wherein the phase array interface is further configured to establish the plurality of phase offset representations of the RF signal in accordance with a selected beam form angle.

19. The RF front end of claim 10, wherein the substrate comprises one of:

a printed circuit board;

an integrated circuit package substrate;

or

a non-conductive fabricated antenna backing structure.

20. A Radio Frequency (RF) front end comprising:

a substrate comprising at least one RF circuit component;

a three-dimensional structure formed upon or in a surface of the substrate;

a plurality of antennas, at least a portion of which are formed on the three-dimensional structure, wherein each antenna of the plurality of antennas conforms to a corresponding portion of the three-dimensional structure and wherein, the plurality of antennas has an overall three-dimensional shape corresponding to the three-dimensional structure; and

a phase array interface configured to;

interface a plurality of phase offset representations of a radio frequency (RF) signal with the plurality of antennas; and

convert between the plurality of phase offset representations of the RF signal and the RF signal.

21. The RF front end of claim 20, wherein the substrate comprises one of:

a printed circuit board;

an integrated circuit package substrate;

or

a non-conductive fabricated antenna backing structure.