3D antenna assembly with projected AMC and applications thereof

• US 9,083,081 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2012
• Issued: 07/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Alexopoulos, Nicolaos G., Yoon, Seunghwan
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, HOANGANH T
• Application Number:
  US13/720,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20130252561A1
• Time in Patent Office: 937 Days
• Field of Search: 343/840, 343/781.R, 343/781.P, 343/781.CA
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/0066 said selective devices being reconfigurable, tunable or controllable, e.g. using switches
• 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 9/27 Spiral antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/40 Circuits

Abstract

An antenna assembly a spiral antenna feed and a programmable circuit. The spiral antenna feed includes a substrate, a spiral antenna element, and a feed point. The substrate has a three-dimensional hyperbolic shaped region, which supports the spiral antenna element such that the spiral antenna element has an overall shape approximating a three-dimensional hyperbolic shape. The feed point is coupled to a connection point of the spiral antenna element. The programmable circuit produces a projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish that reflects an inbound RF signal to the spiral antenna feed and reflects an outbound RF signal from the spiral antenna feed.

Claims

1. An antenna assembly comprises:

a spiral antenna feed that includes;

a substrate having a three-dimensional hyperbolic shaped region;

a spiral antenna element supported by and conforming to the three-dimensional hyperbolic shaped region such that the spiral antenna element has an overall shape approximating a three-dimensional hyperbolic shape; and

a feed point coupled to a connection point of the spiral antenna element; and

a programmable circuit operable to produce a projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish that;

reflects an inbound RF signal to the spiral antenna feed; and

reflects an outbound RF signal transmitted by the spiral antenna feed.

2. The antenna assembly of claim 1 further comprises:

a second spiral antenna element interwoven with the spiral antenna element, wherein each of the spiral antenna element and the second spiral antenna element, has an Archimedean symmetric spiral shape, an Archimedean eccentric spiral shape, an equiangular symmetric spiral shape, or a equiangular eccentric spiral shape.

3. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein the programmable circuit comprises:

a second substrate;

a plurality of artificial magnetic mirror (AMM) cells on the substrate, wherein the plurality of AMM cells collectively produce an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) as the projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish at a distance from a surface of the second substrate for the inbound and outbound RF signals in a given frequency range; and

a control module operably coupled to the plurality of AMM cells, wherein the control module provides control information to one or more of the plurality of AMM cells to tune at least one of the dish shape of the AMC and the distance of the AMC from the surface of the second substrate.

4. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein the programmable circuit comprises:

a programmable substrate that includes;

a second substrate;

substrate inclusions embedded within the second substrate, wherein the substrate inclusions provide base permittivity, permeability, and conductivity characteristics of the programmable substrate; and

a metamorphic layer proximal to the second substrate, wherein the metamorphic layer includes one or more variable impedance circuits that tune, in a region of the second substrate, the base permittivity, permeability, and conductivity characteristics to provide desired permittivity, permeability, and conductivity characteristics of the programmable substrate to create the projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish.

5. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein the spiral antenna element comprises one of:

a substantially solid conducive material with a multiple turn spiral slot; and

a conductive wire formed as a multiple turn spiral, wherein a lower end of a frequency band of the antenna assembly is based on a radius of the spiral antenna element.

6. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises one of:

one or more printed circuit boards;

one or more integrated circuit package substrates; and

an non-conductive fabricated antenna backing structure.

7. An antenna assembly comprises:

a spiral antenna feed that includes;

a substrate having a three-dimensional hyperbolic shaped region;

a plurality of spiral antenna sections, wherein each spiral antenna section of the plurality of spiral antenna sections is supported by a corresponding section of the three-dimensional hyperbolic shaped region and conforms to the corresponding section of the three-dimensional hyperbolic shaped region such that, collectively, the plurality of spiral antenna sections has an overall shape approximating a three-dimensional hyperbolic shape; and

a feed point coupled to a connection point of at least one of the plurality of spiral antenna sections; and

a programmable circuit operable to produce a projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish that;

reflects an inbound RF signal to the three-dimensional spiral antenna feed; and

reflects an outbound RF signal transmitted by the three-dimensional spiral antenna feed.

8. The antenna assembly of claim 7, wherein a spiral antenna section of the plurality of spiral antenna section comprises:

a spiral antenna element having an Archimedean symmetric spiral shape, an Archimedean eccentric spiral shape, an equiangular symmetric spiral shape, or an equiangular eccentric spiral shape.

9. The antenna assembly of claim 8, wherein the spiral antenna element comprises one of:

a substantially solid conducive material with a multiple turn spiral slot; and

a conductive wire formed as a multiple turn spiral, wherein a lower end of a frequency band of the three-dimensional multiple spiral antenna is based on a radius of the plurality of spiral antenna sections having the overall shape approximating the three-dimensional shape.

10. The antenna assembly of claim 8, wherein the spiral antenna section further comprises:

a second spiral antenna element interwoven with first spiral antenna element, wherein the second spiral antenna element has the Archimedean symmetric spiral shape, the Archimedean eccentric spiral shape, the equiangular symmetric spiral shape, or the equiangular eccentric spiral shape.

11. The antenna assembly of claim 7, wherein the programmable circuit comprises:

a second substrate;

a plurality of artificial magnetic mirror (AMM) cells on the substrate, wherein the plurality of AMM cells collectively produce an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) as the projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish at a distance from a surface of the second substrate for the inbound and outbound RF signals in a given frequency range; and

a control module operably coupled to the plurality of AMM cells, wherein the control module provides control information to one or more of the plurality of AMM cells to tune at least one of the dish shape of the AMC and the distance of the AMC from the surface of the second substrate.

12. The antenna assembly of claim 7, wherein the projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish comprises:

a programmable substrate that includes;

a second substrate;

substrate inclusions embedded within the second substrate, wherein the substrate inclusions provide base permittivity, permeability, and conductivity characteristics of the programmable substrate; and

a metamorphic layer proximal to the second substrate, wherein the metamorphic layer includes one or more variable impedance circuits that tune, in a region of the second substrate, the base permittivity, permeability, and conductivity characteristics to provide desired permittivity, permeability, and conductivity characteristics of the programmable substrate to create the projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish.

13. The antenna assembly of claim 7, wherein the substrate comprises one of:

one or more printed circuit boards;

one or more integrated circuit package substrates; and

an non-conductive fabricated antenna backing structure.

14. A radio frequency (RF) front-end module comprises:

an antenna assembly that includes;

a hyperbolic shaped spiral antenna feed; and

a programmable circuit operable to produce a projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish that;

reflects an inbound RF signal to the hyperbolic shaped spiral antenna feed; and

reflects an outbound RF signal transmitted by the hyperbolic shaped spiral antenna feed;

a receive-transmit isolation module operably coupled to the antenna assembly, wherein the receive-transmit isolation module is operable to isolate the inbound RF signal and the outbound RF signal; and

a tuning module operable to tune the receive-transmit isolation module.

15. The RF front-end module of claim 14, wherein the hyperbolic shaped spiral antenna feed comprises:

a substrate having a three-dimensional hyperbolic shaped region;

a spiral antenna element supported by and conforming to the three-dimensional hyperbolic shaped region such that the spiral antenna element has an overall shape approximating a three-dimensional hyperbolic shape; and

a feed point coupled to a connection point of the spiral antenna element.

16. The RF front-end module of claim 15, wherein the spiral antenna element comprises one of:

a substantially solid conducive material with a multiple turn spiral slot; and

a conductive wire formed as a multiple turn spiral, wherein a lower end of a frequency band of the antenna assembly is based on a radius of the spiral antenna element.

17. The RF front-end module of claim 14, wherein the hyperbolic shaped spiral antenna feed comprises:

a substrate having a three-dimensional hyperbolic shaped region;

a plurality of spiral antenna sections, wherein each spiral antenna section of the plurality of spiral antenna sections is supported by a corresponding section of the three-dimensional hyperbolic shaped region and conforms to the corresponding section of the three-dimensional hyperbolic shaped region such that, collectively, the plurality of spiral antenna sections has an overall shape approximating a three-dimensional hyperbolic shape; and

a feed point coupled to a connection point of at least one of the plurality of spiral antenna sections.

18. The RF front-end module of claim 17, wherein a spiral antenna section of the plurality of spiral antenna section comprises:

a spiral antenna element having an Archimedean symmetric spiral shape, an Archimedean eccentric spiral shape, an equiangular symmetric spiral shape, or an equiangular eccentric spiral shape.

19. The RF front-end module of claim 14, wherein the programmable circuit comprises:

a second substrate;

a plurality of artificial magnetic mirror (AMM) cells on the substrate, wherein the plurality of AMM cells collectively produce an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) as the projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish at a distance from a surface of the second substrate for the inbound and outbound RF signals in a given frequency range; and

a control module operably coupled to the plurality of AMM cells, wherein the control module provides control information to one or more of the plurality of AMM cells to tune at least one of the dish shape of the AMC and the distance of the AMC from the surface of the second substrate.

20. The RF front-end module of claim 14, wherein the projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish comprises:

a programmable substrate that includes;

a second substrate;

substrate inclusions embedded within the second substrate, wherein the substrate inclusions provide base permittivity, permeability, and conductivity characteristics of the programmable substrate; and

a metamorphic layer proximal to the second substrate, wherein the metamorphic layer includes one or more variable impedance circuits that tune, in a region of the second substrate, the base permittivity, permeability, and conductivity characteristics to provide desired permittivity, permeability, and conductivity characteristics of the programmable substrate to create the projected artificial magnetic conductor reflector dish.