Magnetic pseudo-conductor spiral antennas

• US 8,847,846 B1
• Filed: 02/29/2012
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Atomics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: General Atomics, Inc.
• Inventors: Diaz, Rodolfo E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Hoanganh
• Application Number:
  US13/409,031
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• Field of Search: 343/895, 343/700.MS, 343/909
• US Class Current: 343/895
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/36 Structural form of radiating elements, e.g. cone, spiral, umbrella; Particular materials used therewithH01Q1/08, H01Q1/14 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/27 Spiral antennas

Abstract

A variable permeability antenna apparatus includes a first region configured for coupling with a feed of a radio frequency signal and a second region for transmitting the radio frequency signal. The permeability of material at the second region is greater than the permeability of material at the first region. Also, a spiral antenna for transmission or reception of radio frequency signals is disclosed.

Claims

1. An antenna based on a magnetic pseudo-conductor material, comprising:

a ground plane formed of an electrically conductive material;

a spiral antenna structure formed over the ground plane and including a magnetic pseudo-conductive material exhibiting a real part of a permeability greater than a corresponding imaginary part of the permeability while the relative permeability is greater than the relative permittivity of the material, the magnetic pseudo-conductive material being shaped to extend from a center into opposite directions as two spiral antenna arms to form as a spiral having two spiral antenna arm tips at two opposite sides of the spiral and to have a spatially varying permeability along each spiral antenna arm between the center and each spiral antenna arm tip; and

a transmission line formed near the center of the spiral antenna structure to feed an antenna signal with respect to the spiral structure to enable an antenna operation by the ground plane, the spiral antenna structure and the transmission line.

2. The antenna of claim 1, wherein:

a tip of each spiral arm is structured to have a permeability greater than that of the spiral antenna arm near the center of the spiral antenna structure.

3. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the spatially varying permeability increases continuously from the center to a spiral arm tip in each spiral antenna arm.

4. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the two spiral antenna arms are different from each other in a physical dimension.

5. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the first spiral antenna arm and the second spiral antenna arm are spatially interlaced and coplanar.

6. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the magnetic pseudo-conductive material of the spiral antenna structure has a ratio of real permeability to real permittivity greater than 3.

7. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the first spiral antenna arm and the second spiral antenna arm are substantially identical in a physical dimension.

8. The antenna of claim 7, wherein the physical dimension is a thickness of the first and second spiral antenna arms.

9. The antenna of claim 7, wherein the physical dimension is a width of the first and second spiral antenna arms.

10. The antenna of claim 9, wherein a product of a permeability value of the antenna and the width is greater than a predetermined value.

11. The antenna of claim 1, further comprising a first high permeability tip material added to the first spiral antenna arm tip and a second high permeability tip material added to the second spiral antenna arm tip.

12. An antenna for radio frequency (RF) transmission or reception, comprising:

a ground plane formed of an electrically conductive material;

a first spirally-shaped antenna element located over the ground plane and comprising a pseudo-conductor material, the first antenna element having a first feed end and a first transmit end, wherein permeability of the first spirally-shaped antenna element is spatially varying between the first feed end and the first transmit end, the pseudo-conductor material having an electromagnetic constitutive property having a real part greater than a corresponding imaginary part of the electromagnetic constitutive property; and

a second spirally shaped antenna element located over the ground plane and comprising the pseudo-conductor material, the second antenna element having a second feed end coupled to the first feed end of the first spirally-shaped antenna element and a second transmit end, wherein permeability of the second spirally-shaped antenna element is spatially varying between the first feed end and the first transmit end,

wherein each of first and second spirally-shaped antenna elements includes a magnetic pseudo-conductive material exhibiting a real part of a permeability greater than a corresponding imaginary part of the permeability while the relative permeability is greater than the relative permittivity of the material.

13. The antenna recited in claim 12, further comprising:

a first radius of the first spirally-shaped antenna and a second radius of the second radius of the second spirally-shaped antenna are a function of a nominal transmission wavelength; and

widths of the first and the second spirally-shaped antenna elements are a function of the nominal transmission wavelength.

14. The antenna recited in claim 13, wherein

the first radius and the second radius are equal to each other.

15. The antenna recited in claim 14, wherein the first radius and the second radius are greater than a nominal transmission wavelength.

16. The antenna of claim 13, wherein the first and second spirally-shaped antenna elements have a greater width outside a nominal radial distance from the first and second feed ends.

17. An antenna for transmitting or receiving radio frequency (RF) signals, comprising:

a ground plane formed of an electrically conductive material;

an antenna element formed over the ground plane and having a first end and a second end, the antenna element comprising a material having a permeability that changes from the first end to the second end, wherein the antenna element includes a magnetic pseudo-conductive material exhibiting a real part of a permeability greater than a corresponding imaginary part of the permeability while the relative permeability is greater than the relative permittivity of the material;

a width and the permeability of the antenna element vary from the first end to the second end such that an antenna characteristic is substantially frequency-independent in a frequency band.

18. The antenna of claim 17, wherein the antenna element conforms to a plane and extends sinuously from the first end to the second.

19. The antenna of claim 17, wherein the antenna element conforms to the ground plane and extends spirally from the first end to the second end.