Electronic Devices Having Antenna Array Apertures Mounted Against a Dielectric Layer

• US 20190312347A1
• Filed: 04/10/2018
• Published: 10/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Edwards, Jennifer M., Rajagopalan, Harish, Paulotto, Simone, Avser, Bilgehan, Xu, Hao, Gomez Angulo, Rodney A., Yong, Siwen, Mow, Matthew A., Pascolini, Mattia
• Granted Patent: US 10,978,797 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/48 Earthing means; Earth screens; Counterpoises
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/52 Means for reducing coupling between antennas; Means for reducing coupling between an antenna and another structure absorbing means H01Q17/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/523 between antennas of an array
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/26 Turnstile or like antennas comprising arrangements of three or more elongated elements disposed radially and symmetrically in a horizontal plane about a common centre
• 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 5/42 using two or more imbricated arrays H01Q5/49 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0407 Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna dipole H01Q9/285; monopole H01Q9/40
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/0435 using two feed points
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/026 Details of the structure or mounting of specific components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with a dielectric cover layer and a conductive layer on the dielectric cover layer. The conductive layer may define an opening. A dielectric spacer may be mounted to the cover layer within the opening. A substrate may be mounted to the spacer. Vertical conductive structures may extend from the conductive layer to the substrate and may laterally surround the spacer. A phased antenna array may be formed on the substrate and aligned with the opening. The cover layer may have a dielectric constant and thickness that are selected to form a quarter wave impedance transformer for the array at a wavelength of operation of the array. The spacer and the conductive structures may exhibit a cavity resonance at the wavelength. The array and the conductive structures may radiate radio-frequency signals at millimeter wave frequencies through the dielectric cover layer.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a dielectric cover layer;

a dielectric spacer mounted against a surface of the dielectric cover layer;

a dielectric substrate mounted against the dielectric spacer, wherein the dielectric spacer is interposed between the dielectric substrate and the dielectric cover layer; and

a phased antenna array on the dielectric substrate, wherein the phased antenna array is configured to transmit radio-frequency signals at a frequency between 10 GHz and 300 GHz through the dielectric spacer and the dielectric cover layer.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a conductive layer on the surface of the dielectric cover layer, wherein the conductive layer has an opening aligned with the phased antenna array.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2, further comprising:

vertical conductive structures that laterally surround the dielectric spacer and extend from edges of the opening in the conductive layer to the dielectric substrate.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3, wherein the phased antenna array comprises:

ground traces embedded in the dielectric substrate; and

a plurality of antenna resonating elements interposed between the ground traces and the dielectric spacer.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4, further comprising:

fences of conductive vias in the dielectric substrate, wherein the fences of conductive vias laterally surround the plurality of antenna resonating elements and extend from the ground traces to the vertical conductive structures through the dielectric substrate.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5, wherein the phased antenna array further comprises:

a plurality of parasitic antenna resonating elements interposed between the plurality of antenna resonating elements and the dielectric spacer, wherein the fences of conductive vias laterally surround the plurality of parasitic antenna resonating elements.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 5, wherein each antenna resonating element in the plurality of antenna resonating elements comprises first and second positive antenna feed terminals coupled to respective first and second transmission line paths.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 3, further comprising:

a housing, wherein the conductive layer is formed from a portion of the housing.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 3, wherein the dielectric spacer and the vertical conductive structures are configured to exhibit a resonant cavity mode at the frequency.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 1, wherein the dielectric cover layer has a first thickness and the dielectric spacer has a second thickness that is greater than the first thickness.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10, wherein the dielectric cover layer has a first dielectric constant and the dielectric spacer has a second dielectric constant that is less than the first dielectric constant.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11, wherein the electronic device has opposing first and second faces and further comprises:

a display having a display cover layer and pixel circuitry that emits light through the display cover layer, wherein the display cover layer forms the first face of the electronic device, the dielectric cover layer forms the second face of the electronic device, and the dielectric cover layer comprises glass.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 11, wherein the radio-frequency signals at the frequency exhibit a first effective wavelength while propagating through the dielectric layer and a second effective wavelength while propagating through the dielectric spacer, the first thickness is between 0.15 and 0.25 times the first effective wavelength, and the second thickness is between 0.4 and 0.6 times the second effective wavelength.

14. An electronic device comprising:

a dielectric layer;

a dielectric spacer coupled to the dielectric layer;

a dielectric substrate coupled to the dielectric spacer;

conductive structures on the dielectric spacer that laterally surround the dielectric spacer and extend from the dielectric layer to the dielectric substrate; and

a phased antenna array on the dielectric substrate and aligned with the dielectric spacer, wherein the phased antenna array is configured to transmit radio-frequency signals at a frequency between 10 GHz and 300 GHz, and the dielectric substrate and the conductive structures are configured to exhibit a cavity resonance at the frequency.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14, wherein the dielectric layer has a first dielectric constant and a first thickness, the dielectric spacer has a second dielectric constant and a second thickness, the first thickness is less than the second thickness, and the second dielectric constant is less than the first dielectric constant.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15, further comprising:

a conductive layer on a surface of the dielectric layer, wherein the conductive layer defines an opening, the opening is aligned with the dielectric spacer and the phased antenna array, and the conductive structures are shorted to the conductive layer.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16, wherein the dielectric spacer has a first and second lateral dimensions, the second lateral dimension is orthogonal to and shorter than the first lateral dimension, the radio-frequency signals exhibit an effective wavelength while propagating through the dielectric spacer, and the second lateral dimension is between 0.4 and 0.6 times the effective wavelength.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 17, wherein the phased antenna array comprises a first antenna configured to transmit radio-frequency signals at the frequency and a second antenna configured to transmit radio-frequency signals at an additional frequency that is greater than the frequency, the dielectric spacer and the conductive structures being configured to exhibit an additional cavity resonance at the additional frequency.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 16, further comprising:

fences of conductive vias in the dielectric substrate and laterally surrounding the phased antenna array, wherein the fences of conductive vias are aligned with and shorted to the conductive structures.

20. An electronic device comprising:

a dielectric housing wall;

a conductive layer on a surface of the dielectric housing wall, wherein the conductive layer surrounds an opening;

a dielectric spacer having opposing first and second surfaces, the first surface being attached to the surface of the dielectric housing wall within the opening;

a dielectric substrate attached to the second surface of the dielectric spacer;

conductive structures that extend from the conductive layer to the dielectric substrate and around the dielectric spacer; and

a phased antenna array on the dielectric substrate and aligned with the opening, wherein the phased antenna array and the conductive structures are configured to radiate radio-frequency signals at a frequency between 10 GHz and 300 GHz through the dielectric housing wall.