Apparatus and Method of a Dual Polarized Broadband Agile Cylindrical Antenna Array with Reconfigurable Radial Waveguides

• US 20150380814A1
• Filed: 06/30/2014
• Published: 12/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Boutayeb, Halim, Watson, Paul, Kemp, Toby
• Granted Patent: US 9,502,765 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/14 Reflecting surfaces; Equivalent structures electromagnetic shields H01Q1/526
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0012 Radial guide fed arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0031 Parallel-plate fed arrays; Lens-fed arrays multibeam arrays H01Q25/008
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0037 linear waveguide fed arrays
• 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 3/24 varying the orientation by switching energy from one active radiating element to another, e.g. for beam switching
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/446 the radiating element being at the centre of one or more rings of auxiliary elements

Abstract

Embodiments are provided for an agile antenna that beamsteers radio frequency (RF) signals by selectively activating/de-activating tunable elements on radial-waveguides using direct current (DC) switches. The antenna comprises two parallel radial waveguide structures, each comprising a first radial plate, a second radial plate in parallel with the first radial plate, and conductive elements positioned vertically and distributed radially between the two plates. The radial waveguide structure further includes a plurality of quarter RF chokes which are connected to the conductive elements via respective micro-strips and tunable elements. The two parallel radial plates are separated by a height determined according to a desired transmission frequency range for RF signals, a length of the micro-strips, a diameter of the conductive elements, and a clearance space around each one of the conductive elements.

Claims

1. A radial waveguide structure in an antenna comprising:

a first radial plate;

a second radial plate substantially in parallel with the first radial plate;

a plurality of conductive elements positioned vertically and distributed radially between the first radial plate and the second radial plate, wherein the conductive elements are connected to micro-strips and tunable elements; and

a plurality of quarter radio frequency (RF) chokes, wherein the RF chokes are connected to the conductive elements via the micro-strips and the tunable elements,

wherein the first radial plate and the second plate are separated by a height determined according to a desired transmission frequency range for RF signals, a length of the micro-strips, a diameter of the conductive elements, and a diameter of a clearance space around each one of the conductive elements.

2. The radial waveguide structure of claim 1, wherein the height is equal to about a quarter of a wavelength, the wavelength corresponding to a transmission frequency for the RF signals.

3. The radial waveguide structure of claim 1, wherein the height of separation of the first radial plate and the second radial plate, the length of the micro-strips, the diameter of the conductive elements, and the diameter of the clearance space have dimensions determining a broadband transmission of the antenna, the broadband transmission overlapping with a frequency range from about 5 Gigahertz to about 6 Gigahertz.

4. The radial waveguide structure of claim 1, wherein the height of separation of the first radial plate and the second radial plate, the length of the micro-strips, the diameter of the conductive elements, and the diameter of the clearance space have dimensions determining a broadband transmission of the antenna, the broadband transmission overlapping with a frequency range from about 1 Gigahertz to about 8 Gigahertz.

5. The radial waveguide structure of claim 1, wherein the micro-strips connected to the conductive elements have variable lengths, and wherein the variable lengths of the micro-strips provide transmission over a wider range of frequencies in comparison to one length of the micro-strips.

6. The radial waveguide structure of claim 1, wherein the tunable elements are diodes positioned between the micro-strips and the RF chokes, and are connected to a plurality of direct current (DC) switches and a controller of the DC switches, the controller and the DC switches being configured to activate and deactivate the diodes, and wherein the activation or deactivation directs propagation of the RF signals.

7. The radial waveguide structure of the claim 6, wherein each one of the DC switches is connected to a corresponding group of the diodes and activates or deactivates all the diodes of the corresponding group.

8. The radial waveguide structure of claim 7, wherein all the activated or deactivated diodes of the corresponding group behave as a power divider determining a transmission direction and a transmission coefficient for the RF signals.

9. The radial waveguide structure of claim 6, wherein the length of the micro-strips determines transmission of the RF signals in response to one of activating and deactivating the diodes.

10. The radial waveguide structure of claim 1, wherein the tunable elements are micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).

11. An antenna device comprising:

a first radial waveguide structure comprising two first parallel radial plates and a plurality of first conductive elements connected to tunable elements and positioned vertically between the two first parallel plates, wherein the two first parallel plates are separated by a height determined according to desired transmission frequency range for radio frequency (RF) signals, a diameter of the conductive elements, and a clearance space around each one of the conductive elements;

a second radial waveguide structure similar to the first waveguide structure and comprising two second parallel radial plates and a plurality of second conductive elements similar to the first conductive elements and connected to second tunable elements, wherein the second conductive elements have the same clearance space as the first conductive elements and are positioned vertically between the two second parallel plates, and wherein the two second plates are separated by a same height of separation of the first two parallel plates; and

a plurality of radiating elements positioned between the first radial waveguide structure and the second radial waveguide structure, and distributed radially around a circumference of the first radial waveguide structure and a circumference of the second radial waveguide structure, wherein the first radial waveguide structure and the second radial waveguide structure are substantially in parallel.

12. The antenna device of claim 11 further comprising:

a first line feed connected substantially to a center of a surface of the first radial waveguide structure and to a RF signal source;

a second line feed connected to substantially a center of a surface of the second radial waveguide structure and to the RF signal source;

a plurality of direct current (DC) switches connected to the tunable elements and the second tunable elements; and

a controller for the DC switches, the controller enabling activating and deactivating the tunable elements and the second tunable elements by switching the DC switches ON and OFF.

13. The antenna device of claim 12, wherein each one of the conductive elements are connected to a micro-strip and a diode, and wherein the antenna further comprises a plurality of RF chokes, each one of the RF chokes being connected to one of the diodes.

14. The antenna device of claim 13, wherein the same height of separation of the two first parallel plates and of the two second radial plates is determined in accordance with a length of the micro-strip, the diameter of the conductive elements, and the clearance space around each one of the conductive elements.

15. The antenna device of claim 14, wherein the height, the length of the micro-strip, the diameter of the conductive elements, and the clearance space determine a broadband transmission of the antenna, the broadband transmission overlapping with a frequency range from about 5 Gigahertz to about 6 Gigahertz.

16. The antenna device of claim 14, wherein the height, the length of the micro-strip, the diameter of the conductive elements, and the clearance space determine a broadband transmission of the antenna, the broadband transmission overlapping with a frequency range from about 1 Gigahertz to about 8 Gigahertz.

17. The antenna device of claim 12, wherein the DC switches are connected to corresponding groups of the tunable elements and to similar groups of the second tunable elements.

18. The antenna device of claim 17, wherein the first radial waveguide structure and the second radial waveguide structure have a diameter greater than 100 millimeters (mm), the height of separation between each one of the two first parallel plates and the two second parallel plates is equal to 10 mm, a total number of each one of the tunable elements and the second tunable elements is 36 tunable elements, and a total number of each one of the groups of the tunable elements and the similar groups of the second tunable elements is 18 groups.

19. A method for an antenna with a broadband radio transmission, the method comprising:

determining a frequency range desired for the broadband radio transmission of the antenna;

determining a height of a plurality of conductive elements of the antenna, wherein the height enables the broadband radio transmission in the frequency range;

determining, in accordance with the height and the frequency range, a diameter of two parallel plates of the antenna;

assembling a radial waveguide structure of the antenna by positioning vertically and distributing radially the conductive elements between the parallel plates;

assembling a second radial waveguide structure similar to the radial waveguide structure by positioning vertically and distributing radially a plurality of second conductive elements, similar to the conductive elements, between two second parallel plates similar to the two parallel plates;

positioning the radial waveguide structure and the second radial waveguide structure substantially in parallel; and

placing a plurality of radial elements around a circumference of the radial waveguide structure and a circumference of the second radial waveguide structure.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising:

determining, in accordance with the height and the frequency range, a diameter of the conductive elements;

determining, in accordance with the height and the frequency range, a length of a micro-strip connecting a corresponding diode to each one of the conductive elements and the second conductive elements; and

determining, in accordance with the height and the frequency range, a clearance space diameter around each one of the conductive elements and the second conductive elements.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the conductive elements and the second conductive elements are coupled to respective tunable elements, and wherein the method further comprises:

connecting a plurality of direct current (DC) switches to respective groups of the tunable elements via the conductive elements and the second conductive elements;

connecting the DC switches to a controller;

selecting the tunable elements for activation in accordance with a desired propagation direction and transmission frequency for a RF signal within the frequency range for the broadband radio transmission of the antenna; and

switching ON, via the controller, one or more of the DC switches that are connected to the selected tunable elements.