Electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device and method for producing same

• US 9,419,335 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2014
• Issued: 08/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Inventors: Pintos, Jean-Francois, El Bouayadi, Ossama
• Primary Examiner(s): Mancuso, Huedung
• Application Number:
  US14/291,322
• Publication Number:
  US 20140354502A1
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 343/841, 343/700.MS, 343/909
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/523 between antennas of an array
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/525 between emitting and receiving antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/526 Electromagnetic shields
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/0066 said selective devices being reconfigurable, tunable or controllable, e.g. using switches
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/008 said selective devices having Sievenpipers' mushroom elements
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4902 Electromagnet, transformer or inductor

Abstract

An electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device with a metamaterial structure including: a plurality of conductive elements arranged on a top face of a substrate; a plurality of interconnection networks electrically interconnecting at least some of these conductive elements, wherein these networks are not electrically connected to each other. At least two of these networks are dimensioned differently to each other, thus involving that distances between interconnected conductive elements are different from one network to another, to generate phase shifts, between the conductive elements interconnected thereby, different from one network to the other. A ground plane with holes is arranged on a bottom face of the substrate and metallic vias are formed in the substrate, each of them including an upper end in contact with a conductive elements and a lower end arranged facing one of the holes of the ground plane, with no electrical contact with the ground plane.

Claims

1. An electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device with a metamaterial structure, comprising:

a plurality of conductive elements separated from each other and arranged on a top face of a substrate;

a plurality of interconnection networks electrically interconnecting at least some of said conductive elements,

wherein the interconnection networks are not electrically connected to each other, and

wherein at least two of said interconnection networks are dimensioned differently to each other, such that distances between interconnected conductive elements are different from one interconnection network to another interconnection network of said at least two of said interconnection networks, to generate phase shifts between the conductive elements interconnected thereby, different from one of said interconnection networks to said another interconnection network;

a ground plane positioned on a bottom face of the substrate with holes formed in the ground plane; and

a set of metallic vias formed in the substrate and passing through an entire thickness thereof, each of said metallic vias comprising an upper end in contact with one of the conductive elements and a lower end arranged facing one of the holes formed in the ground plane, with no electrical contact with the ground plane but with an electrical contact with one of the interconnection networks.

2. The electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least some of said interconnected networks include adjustable phase shift devices configured to connect the conductive elements to each other.

3. The electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conductive elements are distributed on the substrate in an array along m rows and n columns, n being an even number, each interconnection network interconnecting two conductive elements of the same i-th row positioned on the

4. The electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower ends of the metallic vias in contact with the interconnected conductive elements form access ports to power supply points to which the interconnection networks are connected.

5. The electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metamaterial structure includes two overlaid layers of conductive elements arranged on the top face of the substrate, each of said layers including a plurality of conductive elements separated from each other and distributed in an array along m rows and n columns, said two layers being separated from each other along a perpendicular direction to the top face of the substrate by a predetermined distance, the conductive elements of the first layer being arranged in a staggered fashion relative to the conductive elements of the second layer.

6. The electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the conductive elements has any of the shapes of the set consisting of a square shape, a rectangular shape, a spiral shape, a fork shape, a Jerusalem cross shape and a dual Jerusalem cross shape known as a UC-EBG shape.

7. The electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of interconnection networks has any of the topologies from the set consisting of a linear topology, a star topology, a radial topology and a tree topology.

8. An electromagnetic wave transmission/receiving system including at least two antennas between which at least one electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device as claimed in claim 1 is arranged.

9. A method for producing an electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device with a metamaterial structure, comprising:

arranging a plurality of conductive elements separated from each other on a top face of a substrate;

electrically interconnecting at least some of said conductive elements using a plurality of interconnection networks, said interconnection networks not being electrically connected to each other;

dimensioning the interconnection networks, wherein at least two of said interconnection networks are dimensioned differently to each other, such that distances between interconnected conductive elements are different from one interconnection network to another interconnection network of said at least two of said interconnection networks, to generate phase shifts between the conductive elements interconnected thereby, different from one of said interconnection networks to said another interconnection network;

arranging a ground plane on a bottom face of the substrate with holes formed in the ground plane; and

forming a set of metallic vias in the substrate passing through an entire thickness thereof, each of said metallic vias comprising an upper end in contact with one of the conductive elements and a lower end arranged facing one of the holes formed in the ground plane, with no electrical contact with the ground plane but with an electrical contact with one of the interconnection networks.

10. The method for producing an electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device with a metamaterial structure according to claim 9, wherein at least some of said interconnected networks include adjustable phase shift devices configured to connect the conductive elements to each other.

11. The method for producing an electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device with a metamaterial structure according to claim 9, wherein the conductive elements are distributed on the substrate in an array along m rows and n columns, n being an even number, each interconnection network interconnecting two conductive elements of the same i-th row positioned on the

12. The method for producing an electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device with a metamaterial structure according to claim 9, wherein the lower ends of the metallic vias in contact with the interconnected conductive elements form access ports to power supply points to which the interconnection networks are connected.

13. The method for producing an electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device with a metamaterial structure according to claim 9, wherein the metamaterial structure includes two overlaid layers of conductive elements arranged on the top face of the substrate, each of said layers including a plurality of conductive elements separated from each other and distributed in an array along m rows and n columns, said two layers being separated from each other along a perpendicular direction to the top face of the substrate by a predetermined distance, the conductive elements of the first layer being arranged in a staggered fashion relative to the conductive elements of the second layer.

14. The method for producing an electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device with a metamaterial structure according to claim 9, wherein each of the conductive elements has any of the shapes of the set consisting of a square shape, a rectangular shape, a spiral shape, a fork shape, a Jerusalem cross shape and a dual Jerusalem cross shape known as a UC-EBG shape.

15. The method for producing an electromagnetic wave propagation disruption device with a metamaterial structure according to claim 9, wherein said plurality of interconnection networks has any of the topologies from the set consisting of a linear topology, a star topology, a radial topology and a tree topology.