CN116646739A

CN116646739A - Circularly polarized antenna unit and array thereof

Info

Publication number: CN116646739A
Application number: CN202310461327.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 向磊; 肖广纯; 刘健
Original assignee: Hunan Maxwell Electronic Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hunan Maxwell Electronic Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-04-25
Filing date: 2023-04-25
Publication date: 2023-08-25

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of antennas, and provides a circularly polarized antenna unit and an array thereof. The circularly polarized antenna unit comprises a supporting structure, a radiation module, a feed module and a current perturbation structure, wherein the radiation module is arranged on the supporting structure and is provided with two feed points; the feed module is arranged on the supporting structure, and is coupled and/or electrically connected with the radiation module through two feed points so as to enable the radiation module to emit circularly polarized waves; one end of the current perturbation structure is grounded, and the other end of the current perturbation structure is coupled with the radiation module so as to enable at least part of unbalanced current of the radiation module to be grounded. The two orthogonal signals generated by the feed module are transmitted to the radiation module through the two feed points, so that the radiation module emits circularly polarized waves to realize a communication function, meanwhile, the magnitude and the direction of unbalanced grounding current of the radiation module are adjusted by the grounded current perturbation structure, the current magnitude of each direction and position of the radiation module is balanced, and the wide beam angle axis specific performance is improved.

Description

Circularly polarized antenna unit and array thereof

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of antennas, in particular to a circularly polarized antenna unit and an array thereof.

Background

Circular polarization refers to a phenomenon in which an electric field and a magnetic field continuously rotate while maintaining their respective orthogonality when electromagnetic waves generated by an antenna propagate through space away from the antenna. When a circularly polarized antenna is used for transmitting, if a linearly polarized antenna is used as a receiving antenna, the linear polarization in any direction can receive the level value, the condition that the level value cannot be received when the linear polarization and the linear polarization are orthogonal can not occur, and meanwhile, the antenna has a wide beam angle axis ratio and low feed loss. The circular polarized antenna is widely applied to the fields of wireless communication, radar monitoring, satellite communication and the like due to the characteristics.

The performance requirements of the current large-scanning-angle circularly polarized antenna are more and more severe, and under the same physical size, the performance of the antenna is limited by the theoretical limit value of an electromagnetic field, and a circularly polarized antenna unit with low feed loss and high pattern performance becomes a way for improving the performance of a large-scanning-angle antenna array. However, the conventional two-feed-point scheme circularly polarized antenna has the phenomenon of deterioration of wide beam angle axial ratio performance, and cannot meet the requirement of large scan angle circularly polarized axial ratio performance.

Disclosure of Invention

The application aims to provide a circularly polarized antenna unit and an array thereof, and aims to solve the technical problem that the wide beam angle axis ratio performance of the existing two-feed point circularly polarized antenna unit is to be improved.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a circularly polarized antenna unit comprising:

a support structure;

the radiation module is arranged on the supporting structure and provided with two feed points;

the feed module is arranged on the supporting structure, and is coupled and/or electrically connected with the radiation module through two feed points so that the radiation module emits circularly polarized waves;

and one end of the current perturbation structure is grounded, and the other end of the current perturbation structure is coupled with the radiation module to adjust unbalanced grounding current of the radiation module.

In one embodiment, the radiation module includes a first substrate and a radiator, the first substrate is mounted on the support structure, the first substrate has a first surface and a second surface that are disposed opposite to each other along a thickness direction of the first substrate, the radiator is disposed on the first surface, the radiator is provided with two feed points, and the feed module is coupled or electrically connected with the two feed points respectively.

In one embodiment, the feeding module is located at a side, far away from the first surface, of the second surface, and the first substrate is provided with two first openings corresponding to the two feeding points, and the first openings penetrate through the first substrate.

In one embodiment, the second surface is provided with coupling pieces corresponding to the two first openings, and the coupling pieces are electrically connected with the feeding module.

In one embodiment, the orthographic projection of the first opening in the thickness direction of the first substrate falls within the orthographic projection of the coupling piece in the thickness direction of the first substrate.

In one embodiment, the current perturbation structure includes a grounded conductive member and a first coupling structure, the first coupling structure is disposed on the first surface, the first coupling structure is coupled with the radiator, one end of the grounded conductive member is electrically connected with the first coupling structure, and the other end of the grounded conductive member is grounded.

In one embodiment, the current perturbation structure further includes a second coupling structure, the second coupling structure is disposed on the second surface, and the first substrate is provided with a second opening corresponding to the second coupling structure, so that the grounding conductive member is electrically connected with the first coupling structure and the second coupling structure respectively through the second opening.

In one embodiment, the first coupling structure is located in the geometrical center of the radiator in an orthographic projection of the first substrate in the thickness direction.

In one embodiment, the feeding module includes a second substrate and a feeding circuit, where the feeding circuit is disposed on the second substrate, and the feeding circuit includes a microstrip bridge, where the microstrip bridge is used to generate two quadrature signals with equal amplitude and 90 ° phase difference, and send the quadrature signals to the two feeding points respectively.

In one embodiment, the support structure is a reflective cavity, an opening is formed in the top of the reflective cavity, the radiation module is mounted at the opening, and the feeding module is mounted inside the reflective cavity.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a circularly polarized antenna array, where the circularly polarized antenna array includes a plurality of circularly polarized antenna units as set forth in any one of the above, the plurality of circularly polarized antenna units are divided into N groups, the N groups of circularly polarized antenna units are distributed at intervals along a first direction, and each group of circularly polarized antenna units is distributed at intervals around the first direction.

The application has the beneficial effects that: the application provides a circularly polarized antenna unit and an array thereof, wherein a feed module is used for generating two orthogonal signals, the two orthogonal signals are respectively transmitted to a radiation module through two feed points, so that the radiation module emits circularly polarized waves to realize a communication function, and meanwhile, a grounded current perturbation structure is coupled with the radiation module, so that the magnitude and the direction of unbalanced grounding current of the radiation module can be adjusted, the magnitude of current in each direction and position of the radiation module can be balanced, the wide beam angle axis ratio performance is improved, the technical problem that the wide beam angle axis ratio performance of the existing two feed point circularly polarized antenna unit needs to be improved is solved, and the circularly polarized antenna unit has a simple structure and high productivity.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are needed in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below, it being obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and that other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a circularly polarized antenna unit according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the circularly polarized antenna element of fig. 1;

fig. 3 is an exploded view of a circularly polarized antenna element according to an embodiment;

fig. 4 is a diagram of wide beam angular axis ratio performance of a circularly polarized antenna element in an embodiment;

fig. 5 is a standing-wave ratio bandwidth diagram of a circularly polarized antenna element according to an embodiment;

fig. 6 is a front projection view of the circularly polarized antenna unit along the thickness direction of the first substrate in the embodiment;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a circularly polarized antenna unit according to an embodiment, in which a first substrate and a radiator are omitted;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a circularly polarized antenna unit according to an embodiment with a support structure omitted;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a circularly polarized antenna array in an embodiment.

Wherein, each reference sign in the figure:

10. a circularly polarized antenna unit; 20. a mounting base;

100. a support structure; 110. a reflective cavity; 111. an opening; 120. a connecting column;

200. a radiation module; 201. a feed point; 210. a first substrate; 211. a first surface; 212. a second surface; 213. a first opening; 214. a second opening; 215. a lug; 220. a radiator; 221. a third opening; 222. a fourth opening; 230. a coupling piece;

300. a feed module; 310. a second substrate; 320. a feed circuit; 330. a probe; 340. an insulating sleeve;

400. a current perturbation structure; 410. a grounded conductive member; 420. a first coupling structure; 430. a second coupling structure;

500. a fastener.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present application are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to like or similar elements or elements having like or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are illustrative and intended to explain the present application and should not be construed as limiting the application.

In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "length," "width," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the drawings, merely to facilitate describing the present application and simplify the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a specific orientation, be configured and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the present application.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such feature. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more, unless explicitly defined otherwise.

In the present application, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly, and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; can be mechanically or electrically connected; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communicated with the inside of two elements or the interaction relationship of the two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to the specific circumstances.

The axial ratio is the ratio of the orthogonal components of the electric field. The circularly polarized field consists of two orthogonal electric field components of equal amplitude. For example, if the magnitudes of the electric field components are unequal or nearly equal, the result is an elliptically polarized field. The axial ratio is calculated by taking the logarithm of the first electric field in the first direction divided by the second electric field orthogonal to the first electric field. The axial ratio is an important performance index of a circularly polarized antenna, and represents the purity of circular polarization, and the axial ratio is not more than 3dB of bandwidth, which is defined as the circular polarization bandwidth of the antenna. It is an important indicator for measuring the difference of the signal gains of the antenna unit 10 for different directions.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, a circularly polarized antenna unit 10 (hereinafter referred to as "antenna unit 10") according to the present application includes a support structure 100, a radiation module 200, a feeding module 300, and a current perturbation structure 400.

The radiation module 200 is mounted to the support structure 100, the radiation module 200 having two feed points 201. The feeding module 300 is mounted to the support structure 100, and the feeding module 300 is coupled and/or electrically connected to the radiation module 200 through two feeding points 201 so that the radiation module 200 emits circularly polarized waves. One end of the current perturbation structure 400 is grounded, and the other end of the current perturbation structure 400 is coupled with the radiation module 200 to adjust the unbalanced grounding current of the radiation module 200.

The feeding module 300 is configured to generate two orthogonal signals, where the two orthogonal signals are directly electrically connected or coupled to the radiating module 200 through two feeding points 201, and the circularly polarized wave is emitted outwards through the radiating module 200 to implement a communication function, and meanwhile, the grounded current perturbation structure 400 is coupled with the radiating module 200, so that the magnitude and direction of unbalanced grounding current of the radiating module 200 can be adjusted, thereby balancing the magnitude of current in each direction and position of the radiating module 200, improving the wide beam angular axis ratio performance (see fig. 4), solving the technical problem that the wide beam angular axis ratio performance of the antenna unit 10 of the existing two feeding points 201 is to be improved, and having simple structure and high productivity.

The conventional two-feed point 201 scheme can only have an axial ratio lower than 3dB in the range of-40 ° to +40°, if the wide beam angle axial ratio performance is to be improved, a four-feed point 201 scheme is generally adopted, but the four-feed point 201 scheme requires two stages of feeding, resulting in feeding loss and more complex structure. Referring to fig. 4, in the antenna unit 10 of the two-feed-point 201 scheme provided by the application, the axial ratio represented by the ordinate is lower than 3dB between-60 ° and +60° on the abscissa, only two feed points 201 are needed, only one-stage feed is needed, the wide beam angle axial ratio performance can be improved, the equivalent wide beam axial ratio performance of the four-feed-point 201 scheme is achieved, and compared with the four-feed-point 201 scheme, the antenna unit has the advantages of simple structure, high productivity, high stability, small feed loss and high gain.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 1-3, the support structure 100 is a reflective cavity 110, and the feed module 300 is mounted inside the reflective cavity 110. Thus, the supporting structure 100 is a cavity structure, the feeding module 300 positioned in the reflecting cavity 110 is protected, meanwhile, the feeding module 300 is positioned in the reflecting cavity 110, the outer space of the reflecting cavity 110 is not occupied, the antenna unit 10 has a small structure outside the reflecting cavity 110, the outer space occupied by the antenna unit 10 is effectively reduced, the size of the antenna unit 10 is reduced, the miniaturization of electronic equipment using the antenna unit 10 is facilitated, and the installation, transportation and storage of the antenna unit 10 are also facilitated.

Optionally, the top of the reflective cavity 110 has an opening 111, and the radiation module 200 is mounted at the opening 111. The radiation module 200 is exposed outside the reflective cavity 110, and can emit circularly polarized waves outwards without shielding, which is beneficial to improving the forward radiation performance of the antenna unit 10.

Specifically, one side of the reflective cavity 110 is opened to form an opening 111, so that an area of the opening 111 is maximized, and a contact area of the radiation module 200 with an external space is increased. For example, referring to fig. 3, the reflective cavity 110 has a cylindrical shape, and the top of the reflective cavity 110 is opened to form an opening 111.

It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the opening 111 of the reflective cavity 110 may be located in a portion of one side, not occupying the entire side, or the opening 111 of the reflective cavity 110 may be located on both sides of the reflective cavity 110. The reflective cavity 110 may be rectangular, truncated cone or pyramid in shape. The shape of the opening 111 may be circular, polygonal, elliptical, or irregular.

Specifically, the reflective cavity 110 is a metal cavity, and can reflect the signal that is not emitted by the radiator 220, so that the radiation efficiency is further improved, the back lobe energy of the antenna is effectively reduced, and the forward radiation performance of the antenna unit 10 is further improved.

For example, the reflective cavity 110 is a steel cavity, a copper cavity, a ferrous cavity, or an aluminum cavity.

It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the reflective cavity 110 may also be a plastic cavity or a ceramic cavity.

It will be appreciated that the support structure 100 may be a plate-like structure or a bracket structure, etc. in addition to the cavity structure, the support structure 100 may be used to provide support for the radiation module 200, the feeding module 300 and the current perturbation structure 400. For example, the support structure 100 is a plate-like structure, the radiation module 200 is mounted on top of the plate-like structure, and the feeding module 300 and the current perturbation structure 400 are respectively mounted on opposite sides of the plate-like structure.

In some embodiments, the orthographic projection of the radiation module 200 at the opening 111 may be larger than the area of the opening 111, or may be equal to or smaller than the area of the opening 111, or may cover the entire opening 111, or may cover a portion of the opening 111.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 1 and 3, the radiation module 200 includes a first substrate 210 and a radiator 220. The first substrate 210 is mounted on the support structure 100, the first substrate 210 has a first surface 211 and a second surface 212 opposite to each other along a thickness direction of the first substrate 210, the radiator 220 is disposed on the first surface 211, the radiator 220 is provided with two feeding points 201, and the feeding module 300 is respectively coupled or electrically connected with the two feeding points 201. In other words, the two orthogonal signals generated by the feeding module 300 are directly transmitted or coupled to the two feeding points 201, and the two feeding points 201 may be directly transmitted or coupled to the radiator 220, and the radiator 220 radiates the two orthogonal signals outwards. The radiator 220 is located on the first surface 211, and has a large area, so that the forward radiation performance of the antenna unit 10 can be improved.

Alternatively, the radiator 220 is printed on the first surface 211, and the productivity is high. That is, the first substrate 210 is a printed circuit board, and the radiator 220 is formed on the first substrate 210 by pattern transfer. It is understood that in other embodiments, the radiator 220 may be fixed to the first surface 211 by bonding or welding.

Alternatively, the outer diameter of the radiator 220 is 1/2 of the medium wavelength.

Alternatively, the first substrate 210 is mounted to the reflective cavity 110 and covers the opening 111 of the reflective cavity 110. The first surface 211 faces the outside of the reflective cavity 110 so that the radiator 220 can radiate circularly polarized waves outwards without shielding, and the second surface 212 faces the inside of the reflective cavity 110.

Specifically, the first substrate 210 is adhered, welded or mounted to the reflective cavity 110 by the fastener 500.

In one possible embodiment, in combination with fig. 1 and 3, the size of the first substrate 210 is adapted to the size of the opening 111 of the reflective cavity 110, and the first substrate 210 is fixed to the reflective cavity 110 by the fastener 500. Specifically, the support structure 100 further includes a connection post 120 disposed on an outer sidewall of the reflective cavity 110, and the first base is provided with a lug 215 corresponding to the connection post 120, and the fastener 500 is disposed through the lug 215 and the connection post 120 to fix the first substrate 210 on the reflective cavity 110. The connection post 120 is located outside the reflective cavity 110, does not occupy the internal space of the reflective cavity 110, and the fastener 500 does not interfere with the internal signal transmission of the reflective cavity 110. Optionally, the reflective cavity 110 and the connection post 120 are integrally formed. Alternatively, the number of the connection posts 120 may be one or more, and the plurality of connection posts 120 are spaced apart along the circumference of the reflective cavity 110. For example, in the particular embodiment shown in fig. 1, the plurality of connection posts 120 are uniformly spaced about the thickness of the first substrate 210, and correspondingly, the plurality of lugs 215 are uniformly spaced about the thickness of the first substrate 210.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 3, the feeding module 300 is located on a side of the second surface 212 away from the first surface 211, and the first substrate 210 is provided with two first openings 213 corresponding to the two feeding points 201, where the first openings 213 penetrate through the first substrate 210. That is, the feeding module 300 and the radiator 220 are respectively located at two sides of the first substrate 210, and the first substrate 210 is perforated, so that the feeding module 300 is connected with the feeding point 201 in a coupling manner through the first perforation 213, and the standing-wave ratio bandwidth of the antenna unit 10 is expanded.

Specifically, the second surface 212 is provided with coupling tabs 230 corresponding to the two first openings 213, and the coupling tabs 230 are electrically connected to the feeding module 300. In this way, the feeding module 300 is electrically connected with the coupling piece 230, the coupling piece 230 is coupled with the feeding point 201 for feeding, the coupling stage number is increased, and the standing-wave ratio bandwidth is further expanded. With reference to fig. 5, the antenna unit 10 provided by the application realizes broadband matching in the frequency range of 2.07 GHz-2.67 GHz, and is close to the absolute bandwidth of 600 MHz.

Specifically, the orthographic projection of the feed point 201 in the thickness direction of the first substrate 210 covers the orthographic projection of the first opening 213 in the thickness direction of the first substrate 210, so as to improve the coupling strength. Alternatively, the feed point 201 and the first opening 213 are both circular, and further, the feed point 201 and the first opening 213 have equal diameters.

It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the front projection of the feed point 201 may cover all of the front projection of the first aperture 213, or may cover part of the front projection of the first aperture 213. The feed point 201 may have an outer diameter that is greater than, equal to, or less than the aperture of the first aperture 213.

Specifically, the feed point 201 has a diameter of 1.0mm to 1.6mm, optionally 1.0mm, 1.2mm, 1.4mm or 1.6mm. The first aperture 213 has a pore diameter of 1.0mm to 1.6mm, alternatively 1.0mm, 1.2mm, 1.4mm or 1.6mm.

Specifically, the orthographic projection of the first opening 213 in the thickness direction of the first substrate 210 falls within the orthographic projection of the coupling piece 230 in the thickness direction of the first substrate 210, increasing the coupling strength between the coupling piece 230 and the feed point 201. Alternatively, the diameter of the coupling piece 230 may be 1mm to 4mm larger than the aperture of the first opening 213, and a specific value may be 1mm, 2mm, 3mm or 4mm. Alternatively, the diameter of the coupling piece 230 is 2mm to 5mm, and a specific value may be 2mm, 3mm, 4mm or 5mm.

In one possible example, the feed point 201 is coupled to the radiator 220 to increase the number of coupling stages. The feed may optionally be attached to the first substrate 210 in a patch-like manner. The radiator 220 has a third opening 221, the feed point 201 is located in the third opening 221, and a gap is formed between the feed point 201 and a wall of the third opening 221. The size of the gap can be selected to be 0.5 mm-1 mm, and specific values can be 0.5mm, 0.6mm, 0.8mm or 1mm. Alternatively, the aperture of the third opening 221 is 2.0mm to 3.0mm, alternatively 2.0mm, 2.2mm, 2.6mm or 3.0mm.

Optionally, the orthographic projection of the third opening 221 in the thickness direction of the first substrate 210 falls within the orthographic projection of the coupling piece 230 in the thickness direction of the first substrate 210 to improve coupling strength. In other words, the diameter of the coupling piece 230 is larger than the aperture of the third opening 221. Alternatively, the diameter of the coupling piece 230 is 1mm to 2mm larger than the aperture of the third opening 221, and a specific value may be 1mm, 1.2mm, 1.6mm, or 2mm.

In some embodiments, with reference to FIG. 6, the radiator 220 is sized about 1/2 of the medium wavelength.

Alternatively, the outer diameter of the radiator 220 is 40mm to 60mm. Specifically, the outer diameter of the radiator 220 is 40mm, 45mm, 50mm, 55mm or 60mm.

In some embodiments, in conjunction with fig. 6, the outer shape of the radiator 220 is circular, and the two feed points 201 are not located at the geometric center of the radiator 220, i.e., are not located at the center of the radiator 220. Specifically, impedance matching of the feed module 300 with the radiator 220 may be achieved by adjusting the positions of the two feed points 201. For example, the angle a formed by the line connecting the centers of the two feed points 201 and the center of the radiator 220 is adjusted to be 90 °.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 3 and 7, the feeding module 300 includes a second substrate 310 and a feeding circuit 320, where the feeding circuit 320 is disposed on the second substrate 310, and the feeding circuit 320 includes a microstrip bridge, and the microstrip bridge is used to generate two quadrature signals with equal amplitude and 90 ° phase difference, and send the two quadrature signals to the two feeding points 201 respectively. Two orthogonal signals are generated by the microstrip bridge in the feed circuit 320 and transmitted to the radiation module 200, thereby emitting circularly polarized waves outwards. In this way, the microstrip bridge can make the phase difference between signals to be fed to the respective two feed points 201 90 ° to support circularly polarized waves, achieving synchronous operation of right and left circular polarization. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the feed circuit 320 may also employ balun implementations to generate two orthogonal signals.

Specifically, the feeding module 300 further includes two probes 330, one end of each probe 330 is electrically connected or coupled to the corresponding feeding point 201, and the other end of each probe 330 is connected to the feeding circuit 320, so as to realize transmission of an electrical signal between the feeding circuit 320 and the feeding point 201. Optionally, the feeding module 300 further includes two insulating sleeves 340, where the two insulating sleeves 340 are in one-to-one correspondence with the two probes 330, the insulating sleeves 340 are sleeved with the corresponding probes 330, the insulating sleeves 340 are located between the first substrate 210 and the second substrate 310, and the insulating sleeves 340 are used to ensure that the probes 330 stably transmit electrical signals.

Optionally, the probe 330 is electrically connected to the coupling piece 230, and the coupling piece 230 on the second surface 212 further couples and feeds the electrical signal to the feeding point 201 on the first surface 211, and then emits the electrical signal through the radiator 220.

Optionally, the feeding circuit 320 is printed on the second substrate 310. The second substrate 310 is fixedly installed at the bottom of the reflective cavity 110.

In the present application, the current perturbation structure 400 is used for performing a tiny phase adjustment on two transmitted orthogonal signals to obtain better radiation performance.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 3 and 8, the current perturbation structure 400 includes a ground conductor 410 and a first coupling structure 420. The first coupling structure 420 is disposed on the first surface 211, the first coupling structure 420 is coupled to the radiator 220, one end of the grounding conductive member 410 is electrically connected to the first coupling structure 420, and the other end of the grounding conductive member 410 is grounded. In this way, the first coupling structure 420, which is also located on the first surface 211, is coupled to the radiator 220, and the first coupling structure 420 is grounded, so that the unbalanced ground current of the radiator 220 can be adjusted, so that the ground currents of various positions of the radiator 220 are approximately balanced.

Specifically, the current perturbation structure 400 is configured to generate a ground current opposite to the excitation current after the excitation current of the radiation module 200 is received, so that the ground current of the radiation module 200 can be balanced.

Optionally, the grounding conductive member 410 is a metal rod, a metal wire, or a metal sheet. Generally, a metal rod is selected to support the radiation module 200, and the resistance is small, so that the first coupling structure 420 can quickly generate a grounding current.

Specifically, in the orthographic projection of the thickness direction of the first substrate 210, the first coupling structure 420 is located at the geometric center of the radiator 220. In other words, the current perturbation structure 400 is located at the center point of the azimuth plane of the whole antenna unit 10, and adds a current loop, so as to quickly adjust the coupling ground current at each position of the center of the radiator 220.

Specifically, the current perturbation structure 400 further includes a second coupling structure 430, the second coupling structure 430 is disposed on the second surface 212, and the first substrate 210 is provided with a second opening 214 corresponding to the second coupling structure 430, so that the ground conductive member 410 is electrically connected to the first coupling structure 420 and the second coupling structure 430 through the second opening 214, respectively. The second coupling structure 430 adds a new coupling path for grounding current, so that the magnitude of the coupling grounding current at different positions in the center of the radiator 220 can be quickly adjusted, the grounding current at each position on the whole radiator 220 is in a nearly balanced state in real time, and the wide beam angular axis ratio performance is quickly improved.

Alternatively, the first coupling structure 420 may be circular and may be fixed to the first surface 211 in a patch form. The first coupling structure 420 covers the orthographic projection of the second opening 214 in the thickness direction of the first substrate 210 in the orthographic projection of the thickness direction of the first substrate 210, and improves the coupling strength. For example, the diameter of the first coupling structure 420 is equal to the aperture of the second aperture 214. Of course, in other embodiments, the front projection of the first coupling structure 420 may cover the entire front projection of the second opening 214, or may cover a portion of the front projection of the second opening 214, and the diameter of the first coupling structure 420 may be greater than or equal to the aperture of the second opening 214.

Specifically, the diameter of the first coupling structure 420 is 2mm to 4mm, and specific values may be selected to be 2mm, 3mm or 4mm. The second opening 214 has a diameter of 2mm to 4mm, and the specific value may be 2mm, 3mm or 4mm.

In one possible example, the radiator 220 has a fourth aperture 222, the first coupling structure 420 is located in the fourth aperture 222, and a gap is provided between the first coupling structure 420 and a wall of the fourth aperture 222. The size of the gap can be selected to be 1 mm-1.5 mm, and specific values can be 1mm, 1.1mm, 1.2mm or 1.3mm. Alternatively, the fourth aperture 222 has a diameter of 4mm to 5mm, alternatively 4mm, 4.2mm, 4.5mm or 4.8mm.

Specifically, the orthographic projection of the first coupling structure 420 in the thickness direction of the first substrate 210 falls within the orthographic projection of the second coupling structure 430 in the thickness direction of the first substrate 210, increasing the coupling strength between the second coupling structure 430 and the first coupling structure 420. Alternatively, the diameter of the second coupling structure 430 is 1mm to 2mm larger than the diameter of the first coupling structure 420, and the specific value may be 1mm, 1.2mm, 1.5mm, or 2mm.

Alternatively, the diameter of the second coupling structure 430 is 4mm to 5mm, and specific values may be 4mm, 4.2mm, 4.5mm, or 4.8mm.

Alternatively, the orthographic projection of the fourth hole 222 in the thickness direction of the first substrate 210 falls within the orthographic projection of the second coupling structure 430 in the thickness direction of the first substrate 210 to improve the coupling strength. Alternatively, the diameter of the second coupling structure 430 is 0.1mm to 0.5mm larger than the aperture of the third aperture 221, and a specific value may be 0.1mm, 0.2mm, 0.3mm, or 0.4mm.

In one possible example, the outer diameters of the first and second coupling structures 420 and 430 are matched to the ground current flow of the radiator 220 to balance the ground current flow at various locations in the center of the radiator 220. For example, by simulation, the outer diameters of the first coupling structure 420 and the second coupling structure 430 are obtained by optimizing the outer diameters of the first coupling structure 420 and the second coupling structure 430 until the currents at the respective positions of the center of the radiator 220 are balanced based on the operating frequency and the bandwidth requirements.

Optionally, one end of the grounding conductive member 410 is fixed at the bottom of the reflective cavity 110, and the other end of the grounding conductive member 410 is inserted into the second opening 214 through the inside of the reflective cavity 110 and is electrically connected to the first coupling structure 420 located on the first surface 211 and the second coupling structure 430 located on the second surface 212, respectively, so as to ground the first coupling structure 420 and the second coupling structure 430.

Alternatively, the outer diameter of the ground conductive member 410 is 1mm to 2mm, and specific values may be 1mm, 1.5mm, 1.8mm, and 2mm.

Further, in connection with fig. 9, the present application provides a circularly polarized antenna array comprising a plurality of circularly polarized antenna elements 10 of any one of the above, the plurality of circularly polarized antenna elements 10 being divided into N groups, the N groups of circularly polarized antenna elements 10 being spaced apart along a first direction, each group of circularly polarized antenna elements 10 being spaced apart around the first direction. In this way, the positions of the circularly polarized antenna elements 10 are different and are staggered, so that a conformal antenna array pattern with omnidirectional and high-width beam angular axis ratio performance can be realized.

Specifically, N may take on a positive integer of 2, 3, 4 or greater than 4. Each group of circularly polarized antenna elements 10 may be distributed at 360 ° intervals around the first direction, or may be distributed at 90 °, 180 ° or 270 ° intervals around the first direction, and the specific distribution angle is not limited. Each set of circularly polarized antenna elements 10 may or may not be uniformly spaced around the first direction. The orthographic projections of two adjacent groups of circularly polarized antenna elements 10 in the first direction may be staggered with each other, or may overlap.

For example, referring to fig. 9, the circularly polarized antenna array further includes a mount 20, and the plurality of circularly polarized antenna units 10 are mounted on the mount 20. The plurality of circularly polarized antenna elements 10 are divided into 3 groups, the 3 groups of circularly polarized antenna elements 10 are spaced apart from each other from bottom to top, and each group of circularly polarized antenna elements 10 is spaced apart around the vertical direction. Specifically, the number of the bottommost group of circularly polarized antenna elements 10 is 8, the circularly polarized antenna elements are uniformly distributed at intervals of 360 ° around the vertical direction, and the included angle between two adjacent circularly polarized antenna elements 10 is 45 °. The number of the middle group of circularly polarized antenna units 10 is 6, the circularly polarized antenna units are uniformly distributed at intervals of 360 degrees around the vertical direction, and the included angle between two adjacent circularly polarized antenna units 10 is 60 degrees. The number of the uppermost circularly polarized antenna units 10 is 4, the circularly polarized antenna units are uniformly distributed at intervals of 360 degrees around the vertical direction, and the included angle between two adjacent circularly polarized antenna units 10 is 90 degrees. Thus, the circular polarized antenna array can realize a conformal antenna array diagram with an omnibearing 90-degree pitching axial ratio less than 3 dB.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the application is not intended to be limiting, but rather is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and principles of the application.

Claims

1. A circularly polarized antenna element, the circularly polarized antenna element comprising:

a support structure;

2. The circularly polarized antenna unit of claim 1, wherein: the radiation module comprises a first substrate and a radiator, the first substrate is mounted on the supporting structure, the first substrate is provided with a first surface and a second surface which are oppositely arranged along the thickness direction of the first substrate, the radiator is arranged on the first surface, the radiator is provided with two feed points, and the feed module is respectively coupled or electrically connected with the two feed points.

3. The circularly polarized antenna unit of claim 2, wherein: the feed module is located on one side, far away from the first surface, of the second surface, two first openings are formed in the first substrate, corresponding to the two feed points, and the first openings penetrate through the first substrate.

4. A circularly polarized antenna unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein: the second surface is provided with coupling pieces corresponding to the two first openings, and the coupling pieces are electrically connected with the feed module.

5. The circularly polarized antenna unit of claim 4, wherein: the orthographic projection of the first opening in the thickness direction of the first substrate falls in the orthographic projection of the coupling piece in the thickness direction of the first substrate.

6. The circularly polarized antenna unit of claim 2, wherein: the current perturbation structure comprises a grounding conductive piece and a first coupling structure, the first coupling structure is arranged on the first surface, the first coupling structure is coupled with the radiator, one end of the grounding conductive piece is electrically connected with the first coupling structure, and the other end of the grounding conductive piece is grounded.

7. The circularly polarized antenna unit of claim 6, wherein: the current perturbation structure further comprises a second coupling structure, the second coupling structure is arranged on the second surface, and the first substrate is provided with a second opening corresponding to the second coupling structure in position so that the grounding conductive piece can be electrically connected with the first coupling structure and the second coupling structure respectively through the second opening;

and/or, in the orthographic projection of the thickness direction of the first substrate, the first coupling structure is positioned at the geometric center of the radiator.

8. The circularly polarized antenna unit of claim 1, wherein: the feed module comprises a second substrate and a feed circuit, wherein the feed circuit is arranged on the second substrate, the feed circuit comprises a microstrip bridge, and the microstrip bridge is used for generating two orthogonal signals with equal amplitude and 90-degree phase difference and respectively transmitting the two orthogonal signals to the two feed points.

9. The circularly polarized antenna unit of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: the supporting structure is a reflecting cavity, an opening is formed in the top of the reflecting cavity, the radiation module is installed at the opening, and the feed module is installed inside the reflecting cavity.

10. A circularly polarized antenna array, characterized by: the circularly polarized antenna array comprises a plurality of circularly polarized antenna elements according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the plurality of circularly polarized antenna elements are divided into N groups, the N groups of circularly polarized antenna elements are distributed at intervals along a first direction, and each group of circularly polarized antenna elements is distributed at intervals around the first direction.