CN116914387A - Lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter - Google Patents

Lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter Download PDF

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Publication number
CN116914387A
CN116914387A CN202310976564.8A CN202310976564A CN116914387A CN 116914387 A CN116914387 A CN 116914387A CN 202310976564 A CN202310976564 A CN 202310976564A CN 116914387 A CN116914387 A CN 116914387A
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CN
China
Prior art keywords
liquid crystal
phase shifter
metal floor
fast response
medium substrate
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Pending
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CN202310976564.8A
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Chinese (zh)
Inventor
梁锋
梁永光
甘玲
赵德双
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Yangtze River Delta Research Institute of UESTC Huzhou
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Yangtze River Delta Research Institute of UESTC Huzhou
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Priority to CN202310976564.8A priority Critical patent/CN116914387A/en
Publication of CN116914387A publication Critical patent/CN116914387A/en
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    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01PWAVEGUIDES; RESONATORS, LINES, OR OTHER DEVICES OF THE WAVEGUIDE TYPE
    • H01P1/00Auxiliary devices
    • H01P1/18Phase-shifters
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01QANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/26Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system 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
    • H01Q3/30Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system 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 varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array
    • H01Q3/34Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system 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 varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array by electrical means
    • H01Q3/36Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system 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 varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array by electrical means with variable phase-shifters

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  • Waveguide Switches, Polarizers, And Phase Shifters (AREA)

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of microwave millimeter waves, and relates to a lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter, which comprises: the micro-strip type integrated circuit comprises a first medium substrate, a micro-strip line, a liquid crystal layer, a metal floor and a second medium substrate, wherein the first medium substrate and the second medium substrate are respectively located at the uppermost layer and the lowermost layer of the structure, the micro-strip line is arranged on the lower surface of the first medium substrate, the metal floor is arranged on the upper surface of the second medium substrate, the liquid crystal layer is filled between the micro-strip line and the metal floor, the metal floor is located between the liquid crystal layer and the second medium substrate, and lumped elements are periodically arranged on the metal floor. Compared with the existing phase shifter, the phase shifter works in the millimeter wave frequency band, has the advantages of high quality factor, quick response time, low loss, compact structure, low cost and low weight, and is convenient for miniaturized application and array integration in practical application.

Description

Lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter
Technical Field
The invention belongs to the technical field of microwave millimeter waves, and relates to a lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter.
Background
In modern wireless communication systems, antennas play a critical role in the overall wireless communication system as part of transmitting and receiving signals. However, because a single antenna often has insufficient gain in the practical application process, and cannot scan beams, more and more researches are turned to phased arrays. The phased array of the electromagnetic reconfigurable microwave millimeter wave frequency band becomes a hot spot due to the advantages of small volume, multifunction, flexibility and the like, and the phase shifter is a key part for realizing the reconfigurable function. The conventional phase shifters including PIN diodes, MEMS switches, field effect transistors, varactors, etc. mostly have problems of large volume, high cost, high power consumption, phase discontinuity adjustment, etc., and with the increase of the operating frequency, the loss is extremely large and the mass production is difficult when operating in a high frequency band.
In recent years, liquid crystal materials are gradually popularized from the application of the photoelectric display field to the microwave field and are made into various reconfigurable devices, and the liquid crystal materials are increasingly paid attention to. Liquid crystal is a medium between liquid and solid crystal states, and has fluidity of liquid, so that a liquid crystal cell is required to be packaged in actual use. The dielectric constant of the liquid crystal can be regulated and controlled through voltage, the frequency range of application of the liquid crystal can be from a well-known optical wave band to a microwave wave band or even a terahertz frequency band, the liquid crystal has the advantages of small loss and low driving voltage, and the liquid crystal material is mature in the processing technology and low in price, so that the liquid crystal phase shifter is formed by using the liquid crystal material in the phase shifter technology, and compared with the traditional phase shifter technology, the phase shifter with the tunable structure has the advantages of higher working frequency, low cost, continuous and adjustable phase and easiness in miniaturization integration.
At present, many researchers have studied the application of a liquid crystal phase shifter in microwave and millimeter wave frequency bands, for example, chinese patent application CN115995660A, a miniaturized liquid crystal microwave phase shifter, discloses a design of the liquid crystal phase shifter, and adjusts the microwave propagation constant by horizontally aligning liquid crystal molecules and horizontally applying a control signal to control the horizontal deflection of the liquid crystal molecules. However, the thickness of the liquid crystal layer adopted by the current microwave millimeter wave liquid crystal phase shifter is generally larger than 50 μm, so that the response time of the phase shifter is longer (in seconds), and a certain difference is provided from the actual application requirement. The response time of the liquid crystal phase shifter is proportional to the square of the thickness of the liquid crystal, and the response time of the device can be shortened by reducing the thickness of the liquid crystal, but in the conventional design scheme, if the thickness of the liquid crystal is thinner, the binding capacity of the liquid crystal phase shifter to electromagnetic waves is poor, transmission loss is caused, and the quality factor is reduced. It is a challenge to compromise fast response and high quality factor.
Disclosure of Invention
In order to solve the technical problems in the prior art, the invention provides a fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter loaded with lumped elements, which has the following specific technical scheme:
a lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter comprising: the micro-strip type integrated circuit comprises a first medium substrate, a micro-strip line, a liquid crystal layer, a metal floor and a second medium substrate, wherein the first medium substrate and the second medium substrate are respectively located at the uppermost layer and the lowermost layer of the structure, the micro-strip line is arranged on the lower surface of the first medium substrate, the metal floor is arranged on the upper surface of the second medium substrate, the liquid crystal layer is filled between the micro-strip line and the metal floor, the metal floor is located between the liquid crystal layer and the second medium substrate, and lumped elements are periodically arranged on the metal floor.
Furthermore, gaps are etched on the metal floor at equal intervals and are periodically arranged, and lumped elements are loaded in each gap to form a slow wave structure.
Furthermore, the lumped elements are capacitive elements or inductive elements, the number of the lumped elements loaded in the gaps is single or multiple, and when the number of the lumped elements is multiple, the connection mode among the lumped elements is serial or parallel.
Further, the gaps are etched at overlapping positions of the metal floor and the vertical projection of the microstrip line, each gap is perpendicular to the microstrip line, and the center of each gap is aligned with the center of the microstrip line.
Further, the slot is rectangular, and the lumped element is loaded on a connecting line of midpoints of two short sides of the rectangular slot and is placed parallel to the long side of the rectangular slot.
Further, the length and width of the rectangular slits and the distance between the respective slits are set according to the thickness of the liquid crystal layer and the characteristic impedance of the microstrip line.
Further, the first dielectric substrate and the second dielectric substrate are made of glass.
Further, a sealing frame is arranged at the peripheral edge of the liquid crystal layer to bond the first medium substrate and the second medium substrate together to form a sealed liquid crystal box.
Further, the thickness of the metal floor is the same as that of the microstrip line, and the metal floor is made of metal copper.
Further, the microstrip line is connected with a bias line, and the bias line regulates and controls the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer by controlling the voltage between the microstrip line and the metal floor.
The beneficial effects are that: compared with the existing phase shifter, the fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter loaded with the lumped element works in the millimeter wave frequency band, has the advantages of high quality factor, fast response time, low loss, compact structure, low cost and low weight, and is convenient for miniaturized application and array integration in practical application.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic three-dimensional structure diagram of a fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter loaded with lumped elements according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a top view of a lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows transmission coefficients S of a lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter under different dielectric constants 21 A result graph;
FIG. 5 is a graph showing the phase shift amount of a fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter loaded with lumped elements according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a graph showing the quality factor FoM of a lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter in the microwave millimeter wave band according to an embodiment of the present invention;
in the figure, a first dielectric substrate 1, a microstrip line 2, a liquid crystal layer 3, a metal floor 4, a second dielectric substrate 5, a rectangular slit 401 and a lumped element 402.
Detailed Description
In order to make the objects, technical solutions and technical effects of the present invention more apparent, the present invention will be further described in detail with reference to the drawings and examples of the specification.
The embodiment of the invention provides a lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter, which is shown in fig. 1, and comprises the following structures: the microstrip line comprises a first dielectric substrate 1, a microstrip line 2, a liquid crystal layer 3, a metal floor 4 and a second dielectric substrate 5, wherein the first dielectric substrate 1 and the second dielectric substrate 5 are respectively positioned at the uppermost layer and the lowermost layer of the structure, the microstrip line 2 is arranged on the lower surface of the first dielectric substrate 1, the liquid crystal layer 3 is filled between the microstrip line 2 and the metal floor 4, the metal floor 4 is positioned between the liquid crystal layer 3 and the second dielectric substrate 5, and lumped elements 402 are distributed on the metal floor 4.
Specifically, the thickness of the first dielectric substrate 1 and the second dielectric substrate 5 is 0.7mm, the material is BF33 glass, the dielectric constant is 4.74, the material of the dielectric substrate is not limited to the glass substrate adopted in the liquid crystal display technology, but can be other materials, and the glass substrate adopted in the embodiment can be used for more conveniently observing the situation of the liquid crystal layer filled between the first dielectric substrate 1 and the second dielectric substrate 5.
The thickness of the microstrip line 2 is 2 μm, and the liquid crystal layer 3 is filled around and under the microstrip line 2 and is attached to the under surface of the first dielectric substrate 1, as shown in fig. 3, wherein the thickness of the liquid crystal layer 3 is 10 μm, so that the actual electroalignment liquid crystal layer thickness is 8 μm.
The metal floor 4 is arranged on the upper surface of the second medium substrate 5, the metal floor 4 is grounded, the thickness of the metal floor 4 is 2 mu m as the thickness of the microstrip line 2, all materials are metal copper, the lower surface of the liquid crystal layer 3 is connected with the upper surface of the metal floor 4, and a sealing frame is arranged at the peripheral edge of the liquid crystal layer 3 to bond the first medium substrate 1 and the second medium substrate 5 together to form a sealed liquid crystal box, so that liquid crystal can not overflow.
Fig. 2 is a top view of the lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter, rectangular slits 401 are etched on a metal floor 4 at equal intervals, and are arranged periodically, and lumped elements 402 are loaded in each slit to form a slow wave structure. The length of each rectangular slot is twice the width of the microstrip line 2, the width of the slot is one fifth of the width of the microstrip line 2, each lumped element 402 is a 1 μf capacitive element, other schemes such as loading a single inductor or a combination of multiple capacitors and inductors can be adopted, and the connection modes between the lumped elements can be serial connection or parallel connection. Rectangular slits 401 are etched on the metal floor 4 at overlapping positions projected perpendicularly to the microstrip line 2, and each rectangular slit is disposed perpendicularly to the microstrip line 2 with the slit center aligned with the center of the microstrip line 2. In addition, each lumped element 402 is periodically loaded on the line of the midpoints of the two short sides of the rectangular slot and placed parallel to the long sides of the rectangular slot. The length and width of the rectangular slit 401 etched on the metal floor 4 and the distance between the respective slits described above in this embodiment can be adaptively changed according to the thickness of the liquid crystal layer 3, the characteristic impedance of the microstrip line 2, and the like. In practical development, the slit formed in the metal floor 4 may be rectangular, or may be any other polygonal shape such as triangle.
The liquid crystal layer 3 is subjected to alignment treatment, when no bias voltage is applied, liquid crystal molecules are consistent in orientation, a liquid crystal material has minimum or maximum dielectric constant, and the dielectric constant of the used liquid crystal changes along with the voltage applied to a bias line within the range of 2.7-3.8. In this embodiment, the length of the microstrip line 2 is 10mm, the microstrip line 2 is connected with a bias line, and waveguide ports are arranged at two ends of the microstrip line 2 and are respectively used for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves, when bias voltage is applied to the microstrip line 2 through the bias line, the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal material can be changed by controlling the voltage between the microstrip line 2 and the metal floor 4, and the regulation and control of the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal can be realized, so that the phase velocity of the electromagnetic waves propagating in a composite medium formed by glass and a liquid crystal layer can be regulated. Under different dielectric constants of liquid crystals, electromagnetic waves transmitted from one end of the microstrip line waveguide port to the other end have a phase change, so that a phase shifting effect is achieved. The microstrip line 2 may be fed by using the waveguide port, or may be fed by using another form such as a coplanar waveguide.
Fig. 4 and fig. 5 are the insertion loss and the phase shift amount of the lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter, respectively, and at 25.52GHz, the insertion loss of the phase shifter is below 2dB, the loss is very small, and the phase shift amount can reach 270 °.
The quality factor FoM is a key index for measuring the performance of the phase shifter, and fom=ΔΦ l,max /IL max Wherein Δφ l,max IL is the maximum differential phasor max Indicating maximum insertion loss, so a larger value of FoM represents better performance of the phase shifter. The loading of the lumped element on the metal floor changes the equivalent capacitance and the equivalent inductance value of the liquid crystal phase shifter, so thatBecome smaller, wherein->For the phase velocity of electromagnetic waves during transmission in a composite medium consisting of glass and a liquid crystal layer, the phase shift is +.>Thus->The reduction means that the maximum differential phase shift quantity is increased and the binding capacity of the liquid crystal phase shifter to electromagnetic waves is improved, thereby remarkably improving the quality factor of the phase shifter. Fig. 6 is a figure of merit FoM for the lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter, where the FoM of the phase shifter is greater than 120 °/dB at 25.52 GHz. At present, a plurality of phase shifters which adopt a thinner liquid crystal thickness and work in a microwave millimeter wave frequency band are adopted, and the quality factor FoM is usually about 50-60 degrees/dB, compared with the phase shiftersThe following scheme of the invention has greater advantages.
The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Although the foregoing detailed description of the invention has been provided, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the embodiments described in the foregoing examples, and that certain features may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein. Modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and principles of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

1. A lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter comprising: the novel micro-strip antenna comprises a first medium substrate (1), a micro-strip line (2), a liquid crystal layer (3), a metal floor (4) and a second medium substrate (5), wherein the first medium substrate (1) and the second medium substrate (5) are respectively located at the uppermost layer and the lowermost layer of the structure, the micro-strip line (2) is arranged on the lower surface of the first medium substrate (1), the metal floor (4) is arranged on the upper surface of the second medium substrate (5), the liquid crystal layer (3) is filled between the micro-strip line (2) and the metal floor (4), then the metal floor (4) is located between the liquid crystal layer (3) and the second medium substrate (5), and lumped elements (402) are periodically distributed on the metal floor (4).
2. A lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the metal floor (4) is etched with slits at equal intervals, arranged periodically, and lumped elements (402) are loaded in each slit to form a slow wave structure.
3. A lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the lumped elements (402) are capacitive elements or inductive elements, the number of lumped elements (402) loaded in the slot being single or multiple, and when multiple, the connection between the lumped elements (402) being in series or parallel.
4. A lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the slits are etched in the metal floor (4) at overlapping positions of the vertical projection of the microstrip line (2) and each slit is arranged perpendicular to the microstrip line (2), with the slit center aligned with the center of the microstrip line (2).
5. A lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter as claimed in claim 4 wherein the slot is rectangular and the lumped element (402) is loaded on the line at the midpoint of the two short sides of the rectangular slot and placed parallel to the long sides of the rectangular slot.
6. A lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the length and width of the rectangular slits (401) and the distance between the respective slits are arranged in dependence of the thickness of the liquid crystal layer (3) and the characteristic impedance of the microstrip line (2).
7. A lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the first dielectric substrate (1) and the second dielectric substrate (5) are glass.
8. A lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the peripheral edge of the liquid crystal layer (3) is provided with a sealing frame to bond the first dielectric substrate (1) and the second dielectric substrate (5) together to form a sealed liquid crystal cell.
9. A lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the thickness of the metal floor (4) is the same as the thickness of the microstrip line (2) and the material is metallic copper.
10. The lumped element loaded fast response electrically tunable liquid crystal phase shifter of claim 1, wherein the microstrip line (2) is connected with a bias line, and the bias line regulates and controls the liquid crystal dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer (3) by controlling the voltage between the microstrip line (2) and the metal floor (4).
CN202310976564.8A 2023-08-04 2023-08-04 Lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter Pending CN116914387A (en)

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CN202310976564.8A CN116914387A (en) 2023-08-04 2023-08-04 Lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202310976564.8A CN116914387A (en) 2023-08-04 2023-08-04 Lumped element loaded fast response electrically-tunable liquid crystal phase shifter

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CN116914387A true CN116914387A (en) 2023-10-20

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