EP2571098B1 - Rekonfiguerierbare strahlende dephasierende Zelle, die auf Spaltresonanzen und komplementären Mikrostreifen basiert - Google Patents

Rekonfiguerierbare strahlende dephasierende Zelle, die auf Spaltresonanzen und komplementären Mikrostreifen basiert Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2571098B1
EP2571098B1 EP12183120.0A EP12183120A EP2571098B1 EP 2571098 B1 EP2571098 B1 EP 2571098B1 EP 12183120 A EP12183120 A EP 12183120A EP 2571098 B1 EP2571098 B1 EP 2571098B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
phase
cell
shifting
slots
loads
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EP12183120.0A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP2571098A1 (de
Inventor
Hervé Legay
Etienne Girard
Daniel Bresciani
Raphaël Gillard
Hassan Salti
Tony Makdissy
Erwan Fourn
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS
Thales SA
Institut National des Sciences Appliquees de Rennes
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS
Thales SA
Institut National des Sciences Appliquees de Rennes
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/26—Arrangements 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
    • H01Q3/30—Arrangements 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
    • H01Q3/34—Arrangements 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
    • H01Q3/36—Arrangements 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
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01P—WAVEGUIDES; RESONATORS, LINES, OR OTHER DEVICES OF THE WAVEGUIDE TYPE
    • H01P1/00—Auxiliary devices
    • H01P1/18—Phase-shifters
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/44—Arrangements 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 electric or magnetic characteristics of reflecting, refracting, or diffracting devices associated with the radiating element
    • H01Q3/46—Active lenses or reflecting arrays

Definitions

  • the field of the invention is that of reconfigurable radiative phase-shifting cells. It applies in particular to reflector networks for an antenna intended to be mounted on a spacecraft such as a telecommunications satellite or on a terrestrial terminal for telecommunication or satellite broadcasting systems.
  • a reflecting array antenna (“reflectarray antenna”) comprises a set of radiant phase-shifter cells assembled in one or two-dimensional array and forming a reflective surface for increasing the directivity and gain of the antenna.
  • the radiative phase-shifting cells of the reflector network, of the metal-pellets (also called “metal patches”) and / or slot-type, are defined by parameters which can vary from one cell to another, these parameters being for example the geometric dimensions of the etched patterns (length and width of "patches” or slits) that are set to obtain a desired radiation pattern.
  • the radiative phase-shifting cells may consist of metal patches charged with radiating slots and separated from a metal mass plane of a typical distance between ⁇ g / 10 and ⁇ g / 6, where ⁇ g is the guided wavelength in the spacer medium.
  • This spacer medium may be a dielectric material, but also a composite stack produced by a symmetrical arrangement of a honeycomb type separator and dielectric skins of thin thicknesses.
  • the elementary cell can precisely control the phase shift it produces on an incident wave, for the different frequencies of the bandwidth. It is also necessary that the manufacturing process of the reflector network is as simple as possible.
  • a cell according to the figure 1 comprises a substrate SB having a rear face secured to a ground plane.
  • This phase-shifting cell only works for a single linear polarization of the incident wave.
  • the size of the cell is relatively large, of the order of 0.7 ⁇ , where ⁇ denotes the wavelength.
  • the mesh of the reflective network ie the spatial periodicity according to which the cells are arranged in a network, is therefore much greater than 0.5 ⁇ . This results in a non-optimal behavior for very oblique incidences of the wave, related to the possibility of excitation of a mode of Floquet higher order. This effect results in degradation of the secondary lobes of the radiation pattern, also designated by the person skilled in the art as the "image lobe".
  • the phase shifter cell functions primarily as a "patch" type resonance, modulated by the electrical length of the slot or slots.
  • the realization of a phase cycle greater than 360 ° by the modulation of this single resonance is a critical point, and certain phase states are made by very resonant configurations of the phase-shifter cell. These highly resonant configurations are also characterized by higher losses, as well as higher sensitivities of electrical characteristics to manufacturing uncertainties of the cell and variable and controlled localized loads.
  • the Applicant filed a second French patent application entitled "Optimally Arranged Reflector Network and Antenna With Such Reflector Network”. It presents a phase cycle carried out by phase-shifting cells having a progressively progressive internal structure from a phase-shifting cell to another phase-shifting cell. adjacent, and thus not introducing strong ruptures of periodicity on the reflecting surface. This type of cell thus makes it possible to avoid, in the radiation pattern, the disturbances induced by a parasitic diffraction phenomenon on areas with sudden rupture of periodicity.
  • the figure 1 bis represents an example of a periodic pattern comprising a one-dimensional arrangement of a plurality of elementary radiating elements and making it possible to obtain a phase rotation of 360 °. It has the property of having the same extreme phasing cells of the phase cycle.
  • a progressive phase cycle has also been proposed from a phase-shifting cell with variable and controlled localized loads.
  • the figure 2 presents the diagram of a radiant phase-shifting cell for such a reflector grating.
  • This phase-shifting cell is, according to one embodiment, in the form of a cross with two perpendicular branches.
  • the cross has three concentric annular slots 81, 82 and 83 made in a metal patch.
  • Variable localized and controlled loads 85 are arranged in a chosen manner in the slots and make it possible to vary the electrical length of the slots and therefore the phase of a wave reflected by the phase-shifting cell.
  • phase cycle greater than 360 °, and having the same initial and final phase-shifting cell of the cycle, it is very difficult to obtain these phase states with poorly resonant cells.
  • a large number of resonant modes may be potentially excited, due to the presence of several resonators.
  • the appearance of these resonant modes can lead to a sudden variation of the phase as a function of frequency. Rapid phase changes result in significant losses especially when ohmic MEMS are used and sensitivity to MEMS fabrication dispersions.
  • An object of the invention is to propose a variable phase and controlled localized phase shifter cell (microswitches) making it possible to cover a range of phase shift with a reduced frequency variation of the phase, in other words with a more linear, more stable behavior of the phase according to the frequency of the incident signal.
  • an object of the invention is to minimize the resonant nature of the cell.
  • the subject of the invention is a radiant phase-shifting cell comprising a plurality of conductive elements formed on the surface of a substrate, above and away from a ground plane, said conductive elements being separated by slots , the arrangement of the slots forming an equivalent resonator whose electrical shape configures the phase shift applied on a wave to be reflected, characterized in that the cell comprises controlled variable loads able to vary the length and / or the electrical width of said slots, the conductive elements and the variable loads controlled are arranged so that, according to at least a first configuration of said charges, a conductive surface of microwave signals is formed in order to create an inductively dominant resonator, and so that, according to at least one second configuration, a slot is formed around at least one conductive element to create a resonator dominated said capacitive surface, said conductive surface formed in the first configuration surrounding said conductive element around which a slot is formed in the second configuration.
  • the management of the resonances of the slots and the resonators of the microstrip type is carried out so as to rather excite an equivalent resonance of the "slits" type in a first part of the phase cycle, and rather equivalent resonance of the "microstrip” type (also called “microstrip”). patch ”) in a second part of the phase cycle.
  • the first part of the cycle phase corresponds to a resonator whose predominant behavior is inductive, in other words, whose equivalent resonator is more that of a parallel LC resonator than that of a serial LC.
  • the second part of the phase cycle corresponds to a resonator whose predominant behavior is capacitive, that is, whose equivalent resonator is more that of a series LC resonator than that of a parallel LC.
  • the equivalent resonators of the variable and controlled localized phase-shifting cell can describe a cycle similar to that presented in figure 1bis . This property makes it possible, for example, to perform a phase cycle greater than 360 °, and to have similar equivalent resonators for the extreme values of the phase cycle.
  • phase range of 360 ° can indeed be segmented into two sub-ranges of about 180 °. This segmentation into two sub-ranges is made possible by the complementarity of the resonant modes of slot or patch type.
  • the periodic arrangement of the radiant phase shifter cell according to the invention defines a reflector panel of an antenna assembly.
  • the assembly may, in addition, comprise a plurality of reflector panels comprising phase-shifting cells according to the invention.
  • the conductive surface on the front face is separated from the ground plane by a distance equal to a quarter of the wavelength of the incident signal.
  • the resonances in slot mode (first configuration) and in microstrip mode (second configuration) can be separated by 180 °.
  • the conductive element around which a slot is formed in the second configuration is located substantially in the center of the cell, the conductive elements forming the conductive surface being located at the periphery, said conductive surface being annular, each of said peripheral conductors being connected to the central conductor and neighboring peripheral conductors via controlled capacitive loads.
  • annular is meant a slot shaped closed loop. This is formed by the interconnection of different peripheral conductive elements. Its shape may be, for example, rectangular, circular, hexagonal or any other polygonal shape, or closed curve.
  • the conductive elements may take the form of a cross with four branches aligned in several rows, the crosses belonging to two successive rows being offset relative to each other, the crosses being connected via controlled variable capacitive loads.
  • the shape of the conductive elements may be different, for example, square patches, disc-shaped areas.
  • said annular conductive surface is formed by conducting ribbons framed by annular slots, said ribbons being connected by capacitive charges able to modify the length and / or the electrical width. interconnecting slots of said annular slots.
  • the cell may comprise a conductive surface in which at least two first substantially concentric slots are spaced apart from one another, the conductive surface being disposed above a ground plane, arrangement of the slots forming an equivalent resonator whose electrical shape configures the phase shift applied to an incident wave, the cell being characterized in that it comprises interconnection slots connecting said first slots to each other, and a plurality of variable charges controllers adapted to vary the length and / or the electrical width of said first slots and said interconnection slots, said charges being activatable to configure the cell according to a resonator substantially equivalent to a parallel LC circuit, said charges being also activatable according to at least another configuration to configure the cell according to a substantially equivalent resonator to a LC series circuit.
  • phase-shifting cell can also be considered as the arrangement of microstrip resonators, namely a metal frame, an intermediate metal ring cut at several points, and a metal central patch.
  • the connections made by variable and controlled localized loads - also called micro-actuators, microswitches or short-circuiting means - make it possible to modify the length and / or the electrical width of the equivalent microstrip resonator.
  • the cell comprises more than two concentric slots. It comprises for example three slots, with interconnection slots between each successive concentric slot.
  • the charges connecting the peripheral conductive elements to each other are activated, the charges connecting the central conductive element to the peripheral conductive elements being deactivated. , so as to form a resonant slot whose main contribution is equivalent to that of a parallel LC circuit.
  • the charges connecting the peripheral conductive elements to each other are adapted to take multiple values between two extreme values in order to be able to vary the dimensions of the resonant slot according to said values progressively.
  • the charges connecting the peripheral conductive elements to each other are deactivated, the charges connecting the central conductive element to the peripheral conductive elements being activated. , so as to form a resonant microstrip whose main contribution is equivalent to that of a series LC circuit.
  • the charges connecting the central conductive element to the peripheral conductive elements are adapted to take multiple values between two extreme values in order to be able to vary the dimensions of the gradually equivalent resonant microstrip according to said values.
  • the charges connecting the central conductive element to the peripheral conductive elements are adapted to vary independently of the value of the charges connecting the peripheral conductive elements to each other, so that the phase difference range applied to the incident wave is decomposed into two phase shift intervals, the phase shifts applied in the first interval being obtained with a resonant slot type configuration, the phase shifts applied in the second range being obtained with a microstrip type configuration resonant.
  • variable charges and the dimensions of the conductive elements are determined so that the configuration of the cell making it possible to apply the phase shift corresponding to the first end of the phase-shift range is identical to the configuration of the cell for applying the phase shift corresponding to the second end of the range.
  • the phase-shift range is 360 °.
  • the conductive elements, the slots and the capacitive charges are arranged on the cell according to a center of symmetry placed at the center of the cell.
  • the capacitive charges are diodes, MEMS, or ferroelectric capacitors.
  • the subject of the invention is also a reflector array comprising a plurality of radiative phase-shifting cells as described above, said cells forming the reflecting surface of the grating.
  • the invention also relates to an antenna comprising a reflector network as described above.
  • the figure 3 presents an embodiment of a radiant phase shifter cell 200 according to the invention.
  • the cell 200 comprises a planar structure as described in the phase-shifting cells of the state of the art and the figure 3 represents the front view of the planar structure.
  • a planar structure comprises a substrate having a rear face secured to a ground plane and a front face.
  • the materials used to form the substrate, the dielectric layers and the conductive layers do not limit the scope of the invention. For example, mention may be made of the materials named in the documents of the state of the art described above.
  • the phase shifter cell 200 is preferably of rectangular shape. However, other embodiments are possible and may be mentioned by way of non-limiting example a hexagonal shaped surface or circular shape.
  • the cell comprises at least two first slots, a first slot 202 and a second slot 203 concentric.
  • the first slot 202 is positioned at the outer periphery with respect to the second slot 203, that is to say at a greater distance from the center of the patch relative to the second slot 203.
  • the phase-shifter cell 200 may comprise two slots 202 and 203 or more, as illustrated on the figure 3 .
  • the slots 202 and 203 have a shape extending longitudinally to the shape of the metal frame 201.
  • the slots 202 positioned at the outer periphery of the patch surround the slots 203 at the inner periphery.
  • phase-shifting cells are intended to operate for a single linear polarization, it is possible to short-circuit the concentric slots at a point where the electric field is zero, as shown in FIG. figure 7 .
  • This possibility is not available when the cell is intended to operate in double linear polarization, because at the point where the electric field is zero in the concentric slot for a linear polarization, it is maximum for the other linear polarization orthogonally.
  • the periphery 201 of the cell is separated from the outer concentric slot 202 by a conductive strip 208, also known as the "frame".
  • the slots 202 and 203 are connected by at least four interconnection slots 204.
  • This slot arrangement defines metal strips 207 placed in interface between the concentric slots 201, 202.
  • localized variable and controlled loads 206 are arranged at selected locations on the first slots 202 and 203, and on the interconnection slots 204. These are for example on / off switches for making short circuits, or variable capacitive loads. The purpose of the switches is to change the length and / or electrical width of the equivalent "slot" resonator or equivalent "microstrip" resonator.
  • the various variable and controlled localized loads 206 of the phase-shifting cell are controlled to configure the length and / or the electrical width of the first slots 202 and 203 so that the equivalent resonator of the phase-shifting cell acts as a phase-shifting cell. introducing a selected phase shift onto an incident wave.
  • the variation of the electrical length of the interconnected slots 202, 203 and 204 modifies the electrical dimensions of the equivalent slot or patch resonator.
  • phase shift values of the same cell can vary continuously or discontinuously.
  • Electronic control means described below with regard to figures 8a , 8b , and 9 are able to control variable localized loads and controlled so as to vary the phase shift continuously or discontinuously.
  • the first is to dispose of the microswitches ON / OFF along the slot, and to vary the length of the section of the slot between two switches performing a short circuit (ON).
  • the ground plane is separated from the front surface of the antenna by a thickness equal to a quarter of the guided wavelength, then it is possible to cover the entire phase of 360 °.
  • the microswitches are activated according to a progression making it possible to approach the cycle of equivalent cells.
  • An example is proposed: the first cell 401 of the cycle illustrated in figure 4 is where all the micro-switches are in the low state. The phase difference is 180 °, corresponding to the response of a metallized plate. Gradually, from the second cell illustration 402 to the fifth cell illustration 405, the microswitches are released in the center of the cell, to perform a function equivalent to an opening in the metallized plate, the size of which increases. .
  • the microswitches are progressively closed again from the center, to have an operation equivalent to that of a central patch which expands, until finding for the ninth illustration 409 a identical configuration to the first illustration of cell 401.
  • the cycle travels a phase shift over a range of value delimited by a first extreme value and by a second extreme value, with a configuration of micro-switches identical for the first and for the second extreme value, without having to operate around a resonance frequency.
  • This first method of modifying the electric parameters of the slots requires a significant number of micro-switches. It is possible to reduce the number, and optimize the cycle to cover a range of sufficient phase shift. However, if the number of micro-actuators is significantly reduced, it will not be possible to avoid the excitation of higher modes inside this cell. These higher modes make it possible to carry out a phase shift, but are often associated with greater frequency variations of the phase. They can also induce cross polarization radiation.
  • the micro-switches are reconfigurable localized loads, for example MEMS type (acronym for Micro Electro-Mechanical System), diodes, or variable ferroelectric capacitors.
  • a phase-shifting cell producing the same phase for the two linear polarizations is invariable by rotation. This property of symmetry avoids exciting higher modes contributing to the cross polarization, and also can alter the stability of the phase in the main polarization. A minimum of four MEMS per command must generally be used to respect this symmetry constraint.
  • a phase-shifting cell operating in linear double polarization and producing independent phases in each of the linear polarizations has two axial symmetries. This property avoids exciting higher modes contributing to the cross polarization, and also can alter the stability of the phase in the main polarization. Such a property requires the use of a minimum of two MEMS per command and bias.
  • a cell operating in simple linear polarization has two axial symmetries. This property avoids exciting higher modes contributing to cross polarization and may also alter the stability of the phase in the main polarization. Such a property requires the use of a minimum of two MEMS per command.
  • Degraded embodiments can also be realized, for example with the aim of reducing the number of MEMS, or of increasing the number of phase states for the same number of MEMS.
  • the second method for managing the phase cycle by successively exciting a slot-like or patch-type equivalent resonator is to vary the capacitive loading of the slots.
  • a slot is loaded by a capacity, for example at its center. This capacitive loading of the slot makes it possible to vary the speed of the phase in the slot, and thus to modify their resonance frequency.
  • the capacity variation can be performed using several digital capabilities.
  • the concept is derivative of distributed capacitive loading transmission lines DMTL (Distributed MEMS Transmission Line).
  • phase-shifting cell operates in the same way as a slot whose length and electrical width parameters are varied.
  • the concentric slits are non-resonant.
  • the capacitive loads of the interconnection slots are varied, thus connecting the four pieces of tape 207 (cf. figure 2 ) of the intermediate microstrip ring.
  • the phase-shifting cell operates in the same way as a microstrip resonator whose length and electrical width parameters are varied.
  • variable capacitive loads are used to short-circuit the slots
  • these charges can be realized by means of a micro-switch in series with a capacitance.
  • the usual loading capacity values for changing slot resonances are between 20 and 200 fF for operation around 10 GHz. Nevertheless, it is not always easy to achieve varying capacities, and it is possible to vary the capacity in digital increments.
  • the load consists of several parallel capabilities connected to a switch.
  • the 360 ° phase shift range begins and ends optionally with an identical equivalent resonator.
  • the cell according to the invention can thus cover a range of 360 ° by a loopback of the equivalent resonator shape.
  • a reflecting surface may consist of several periodic patterns, a pattern consisting of several adjacent phase shifters each configuring a near phase shift, to avoid a significant break in the shape of the equivalent resonator of two adjacent cells. This reduces the parasites formed in the beam reflected by the reflective surface.
  • the electrical dimensions of the equivalent resonator depend on the length and / or the electrical width of the slots 202 and 203. Calculation and control means adapted to control the variable localized loads of the cells of the reflective surface allow to configure the desired phase shift.
  • there is no loopback of the equivalent resonator shape in other words, the 360 ° phase shift range can start and end with two different configurations.
  • the phase-shifting cell behaves with respect to the incident wave, as a parallel LC circuit 501.
  • the equivalent diagram is presented in figure 5b .
  • the phase-shifting cell behaves with respect to the incident wave, like a series LC 502 circuit.
  • the ground plane separated from the conductive surface on the front face can be represented by a transmission line 504. .
  • the double resonance phase shifter cell can be likened to two parallel LC circuits 503, 505 placed in series.
  • the cell can be placed in a "slot" mode as illustrated in FIG. figures 5a and in the configurations 402, 403, 404, 405 of the figure 4 or in a "patch” mode, as illustrated in figure 5b and in the configurations 406, 407, 408, 409, 401.
  • the phase-shifting cell according to the invention provides a significant advantage over a phase-shifting cell of the prior art, based on a single resonance (slit or microstrip type).
  • a phase-shifting cell of the prior art it is necessary to make a 360 ° excursion by modifying the only parameters of the electric length and width of the resonator. This constraint leads to very resonant behaviors.
  • the resonance stresses are significantly reduced, and it is thus possible to significantly widen the bandwidth of the phase-shifter cell.
  • the figure 5c represents an equivalent diagram of the phase-shifting cell according to the invention. Depending on the configuration of the reconfigurable charges of the cell, it can adopt a behavior close of the "slot" configuration illustrated in figure 5a , or a behavior close to the "microstrip” configuration illustrated in figure 5b .
  • the figure 6a and the figure 6b represent phase shifters according to the invention with capacitive MEMS.
  • the figure 6a represents the case where the interconnection slots 640 are lightly charged and the capacitive loads of the slots 650 are varied.
  • the cell in such a configuration is equivalent to a slot-type resonator whose length and electrical width would be varied.
  • the figure 6b represents the case where the interconnection slots 640 are capacitively charged and the capacitive loads of the slots are varied.
  • the cell in such a configuration is equivalent to a "microstrip" resonator whose length and electrical width would be varied.
  • the radiant phase-shifter cell 700 is of rectangular shape with four first slots 702 and 703 and four second slots 704.
  • Two first slots 702 and 703, interconnected by two second slots 704, are positioned in a first half of the conductive surface 708.
  • the two other first slots 702 and 703, interconnected by the other two second slots 704, are positioned in the second half of the conductive surface of the patch.
  • the first slots 702 and 703 have a physical width advantageously chosen to be of the same order as that of the intermediate metal strips 707. Nevertheless, according to other embodiments, the widths of the slots 702 and 703 and the intermediate metal strips 707 can be different.
  • the phase-shifter cell 700 of the figure 7 is particularly suitable for the reflection of linear polarized incident waves.
  • a portion 705 of the conductive layer separates the first slots 702 and 703 from the upper half of the first slots 702 and 703 of the lower half of the patch.
  • the routing of the control signals to the microswitches arranged on a phase-shifting cell is also a problem. This routing must not disturb the radiation of the reflector network.
  • the invention also proposes an answer to the resolution of this problem.
  • control information is transmitted for example digitally to a specialized integrated circuit (ASIC) 801 placed near the variable loads controlled on the rear face 810 of the antenna panel.
  • ASIC specialized integrated circuit
  • This circuit transforms the information received into a control signal adapted for each controlled load.
  • a difficulty therefore consists in routing these control signals from the rear face to each load located on the front face 820 of the reflector network, by not disturbing the electromagnetic operation of the radiating cells.
  • the panel consists of a multilayer dielectric substrate on which is shown on the front face of the radio frequency (RF) chips, comprising the metallic pattern of the cell, and the MEMS.
  • RF radio frequency
  • These RF chips are then called monolithic, and for example made of quartz, fused silica or alumina.
  • the dielectric substrate for example in RO 4003, carries out the spacer function between the RF chips 803 and the ground plane, and carries out the traverses of the control signals towards the DC chips reported on the rear face of the substrate.
  • the routing of the control signals on the front panel is then performed within the RF chips.
  • the microelectronic methods can be used to make the resistive lines, at least in sections, where these lines intersect slots.
  • the panel consists of a multilayer dielectric substrate on which is engraved the metal pattern 851 of the cell, and on which are reported MEMS 853 components. This is a hybrid concept.
  • vias 901 commands at the periphery of the cell (in the frame 908), or in its center, without fundamentally altering its operation.
  • the periodic arrangement of peripheral metal bushings may have the same effect as a metallic peripheral wall connecting the frame 908 and the ground plane.
  • Several of these vias can then be used to route control signals from the back to the front.
  • a control via 902 can therefore also be implemented here. When this via is used for the control, it must be isolated from the pattern to avoid any risk of electrical short circuit.
  • a difficulty then consists in routing on the front face this control signal without altering the operation of the phase-shifting cell.
  • the technology makes it possible to produce very resistive lines (typically 10 k ⁇ /)
  • the commands can be conveyed to the MEMS without particular precautions.
  • the control tracks can for example pass through resonant slots without altering their behavior.
  • the command line may be resistive by section, these sections corresponding to the penetrations of the slots.
  • the figure 10 presents another embodiment of a radiant phase-shifting cell according to the invention.
  • the cell comprises a plurality of conductive elements 1001, 1002 in the form of, for example, printed patterns on a dielectric substrate.
  • the cell comprises a central conductive element 1001 and four peripheral conductive elements 1002 placed around this first conductive element 1001, the centers of the four peripheral conductive elements 1002 forming a square in the center of which the central conductive element 1001 is placed.
  • interconnection 1004 are interposed between each of the conductive elements 1001, 1002.
  • the conductive elements 1001, 1002 are connected with the interconnecting conductive elements 1004 by variable and controlled capacitive loads 1006.
  • a conductive element 1001 does not, on its own, create a resonant mode. It is the interconnection of these conductive elements that can make it possible to establish such a mode.
  • each conductive element has a cross-shaped pattern with four orthogonal branches, so that for aligned conductive elements, the ends of the branches of the crosses belonging to two adjacent crosses are close and easily connectable by an interconnecting conductive element 1004.
  • Variable and controlled capacitive loads 1005 are arranged in interface between the interconnecting conductor elements 1004 and the ends of the branches of the crosses forming the conductive elements 1001, 1002.
  • the figure 11 illustrates a plurality of configurations taken successively by the same phase-shifting cell as that presented in FIG. figure 10 .
  • a first configuration 1101 the cell behaves like a solid metal patch. All conductive elements are connected by capacitive loads.
  • This first configuration 1101 may, for example, be used to effect a phase shift of the incident wave around 180 °.
  • a second configuration 1102 the central capacitive charges 1110 - those which in the example are placed in interface between the central conductive element and the interconnecting conductive elements - are reduced, so that the cell behaves like an opening in the plane of mass, in other words, like an annular cleft 1150.
  • the cell has an inductive behavior.
  • This second configuration 1102 may correspond to a phase shift progressively moving away from 180 ° to reach, for example, about 80 ° when the central capacitors are totally discharged.
  • a third configuration 1103 the peripheral capacitive loads 1120 - i.e. those which in the example are interfaced between the peripheral conductive elements and the interconnecting conductive elements - are decreased, so that the behavior inductive is attenuated in favor of a capacitive behavior of the radiating cell.
  • This third configuration 1103 may correspond to a phase shift variation of between 80 ° (second configuration 1102) and -20 ° when the peripheral capacitors have totally discharged.
  • a fourth configuration 1104 the central capacitive loads 1110 are increased, while the peripheral capacitive loads are still discharged.
  • the cell has, in this fourth configuration 1104, a capacitive behavior.
  • This fourth configuration 1104 may correspond to a phase shift variation of between -20 ° and -50 °.
  • a fifth configuration 1105 the central capacitive loads are increased until the state of the first configuration 1101 is restored, this configuration being able to correspond, in the example, to a phase shift applied to the incident signal between -50 ° and -180. °.
  • the cell returns to its initial state corresponding to a solid metal patch.
  • the figure 12 illustrates means for routing the control signals to a phase-shifting cell such as that of the figure 10 .
  • Vias 1210 are made at the centers of the crosses forming the conductive elements.
  • the routing of commands can be done at a level below the surface of the cell.
  • phase-shifting cell according to the invention has several advantages with regard to the solutions of the state of the art.
  • a first advantage is that the phase-shifting cell is able to have two complementary resonances, a first resonance with a slot-like equivalent resonator and a second resonance with a patch-type equivalent resonator. This makes it possible to avoid the presence of highly resonant modes, and thus to limit the sensitivity of the cells to frequency variations. The phase value thus evolves much more linearly as a function of the frequency of the source signal, thus avoiding sudden phase jumps.
  • the phase-shifter cell according to the invention is usable over a wider frequency band (for example 30% band).
  • a second advantage is the reduction of parasitic effects of a reflector network as described in the patent application.
  • FR 0450575 because there is no strong break between two adjacent cells constituting the reflector array. This is possible thanks to the possibility of covering a 360 ° phase shift range by a variable localized load control cycle making it possible to minimize the frequency variation of the phase.
  • the invention it is possible to design a reflector network for an antenna whose surface is covered with radiating phase-shifting cells according to the invention. These are controlled to introduce a selected phase shift on an incident wave, each of the adjacent cells is controlled so that the equivalent resonator is in a configuration close to that of an adjacent cell.
  • the invention applies in particular to reflector array antennas on mobile equipment, such as for example a telecommunication satellite antenna.
  • the cell can be used in satellite panels for use in Ku-band or Ka-band both in transmission and reception.
  • the phase-shifter cells according to the invention can be used around 20 GHz for the emission and around 30 GHz for the reception.

Landscapes

  • Waveguide Aerials (AREA)
  • Aerials With Secondary Devices (AREA)
  • Variable-Direction Aerials And Aerial Arrays (AREA)

Claims (15)

  1. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle, die mehrere leitende Elemente (207, 209, 1001, 1002) umfasst, die auf der Oberfläche eines Substrats über und in einem Abstand von einer Masseebene ausgebildet sind, wobei die leitenden Elemente durch Schlitze (202, 203, 204) getrennt sind, wobei die Anordnung der Schlitze (204) einen äquivalenten Resonator bildet, dessen elektrische Form die auf eine zu reflektierende Welle angewandte Phasenverschiebung konfiguriert, wobei die Zelle gesteuerte variable Ladungen (206, 1005) umfasst, die die elektrische Länge und/oder Breite der Schlitze variieren können, wobei die leitenden Elemente (207, 209, 1001, 1002) und die gesteuerten variablen Ladungen (206, 1005) so ausgelegt sind, dass in wenigstens einer ersten Konfiguration der Ladungen eine ringförmige leitende Fläche von Mikrowellensignalen gebildet wird, um einen Resonator mit induktive Dominanz zu erzeugen, und so dass in wenigstens einer zweiten Konfiguration ein Schlitz um wenigstens ein mittleres leitendes Element (209, 1001) gebildet wird, um einen Resonator mit kapazitiver Dominanz zu erzeugen, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die leitende Fläche durch mehrere leitende Elemente (207, 1002) gebildet wird, die das zentrale leitende Element (209, 1001) umgeben und durch die Schlitze (204) voneinander getrennt sind, die eine radiale Orientierung relativ zu dem mittleren leitenden Element haben.
  2. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle nach Anspruch 1, wobei sich die die leitende Fläche bildenden Elemente (207, 1002) auf der Peripherie befmden, wobei jeder der peripheren Leiter (207, 1002) mit dem zentralen Leiter (209, 1001) und mit den benachbarten peripheren Leitern durch gesteuerte kapazitive Ladungen (206, 1005) verbunden ist.
  3. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, wobei die leitenden Elemente (1001, 1002) die Form eines Kreuzes mit vier entlang mehreren Reihen ausgerichteten Armen haben, wobei die zu zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Reihen gehörenden Kreuze relativ zueinander versetzt sind, wobei die Kreuze durch gesteuerte variable kapazitive Ladungen verbunden sind.
  4. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle (200) nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, wobei die leitende Fläche durch leitende Streifen (207) gebildet wird, die von ringförmigen Schlitzen (202, 203) umrahmt werden, wobei die Streifen durch kapazitive Ladungen (206) verbunden sind, die die elektrische Länge und/oder Breite der Schlitze (204) verändern können, die eine radiale Orientierung haben, zum Bilden von Schlitzen zum Verbinden der ringförmigen Schlitze (202, 203).
  5. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle nach einem der Ansprüche 2 bis 4, wobei, wenn die Zelle in der ersten Konfiguration ist, die die peripheren leitenden Elemente (207, 1002) miteinander verbindenden Ladungen aktiviert werden, wobei die das zentrale leitende Element (209, 1001) mit den peripheren leitenden Elementen (207, 1002) verbindenden Ladungen deaktiviert werden, um einen Resonanzschlitz zu bilden, dessen Hauptbeitrag mit dem einer parallelen LC-Schaltung äquivalent ist.
  6. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle nach Anspruch 5, wobei die die peripheren leitenden Elemente (207, 1002) miteinander verbindenden Ladungen zum Annehmen mehrerer Werte zwischen zwei extremen Werten ausgelegt sind, um die Abmessungen des äquivalenten Resonanzschlitzes in Abhängigkeit von den Werten progressiv verändern zu können.
  7. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle nach einem der Ansprüche 2 bis 6, wobei, wenn die Zelle in der zweiten Konfiguration ist, die die peripheren leitenden Elemente (207, 1002) miteinander verbindenden Ladungen deaktiviert werden, wobei die das zentrale leitende Element (209, 1001) mit den peripheren leitenden Elementen (207, 1002) verbindenden Ladungen aktiviert werden, um einen Resonanz-Microstrip zu bilden, dessen Hauptbeitrag mit dem einer seriellen LC-Schaltung äquivalent ist.
  8. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle nach Anspruch 7, wobei die das zentrale leitende Element (209, 1001) mit den peripheren leitenden Elementen (207, 1002) verbindenden Ladungen zum Annehmen mehrerer Werte zwischen zwei extremen Werten ausgelegt sind, um die Abmessungen des äquivalenten Resonanz-Microstrips in Abhängigkeit von den Werten progressiv verändern zu können.
  9. Phasenverschiebungszelle nach einem der vorherigen Ansprüche, wobei die das zentrale leitende Element (209, 1001) mit den peripheren leitenden Elementen (207, 1002) verbindenden Ladungen zum Varüeren unabhängig von dem Wert der Ladungen ausgelegt sind, die die peripheren leitenden Elemente (207, 1002) miteinander verbinden, so dass der Bereich der auf die einfallende Welle angewandten Phasenverschiebung in zwei Phasenverschiebungsintervalle unterteilt wird, wobei die im ersten Intervall angewandten Phasenverschiebungen mit einer Konfiguration des Resonanzschlitztyps erhalten werden, wobei die im zweiten Intervall angewandten Phasenverschiebungen mit einer Konfiguration des Resonanz-Microchip-Typs erhalten werden.
  10. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle nach einem der vorherigen Ansprüche, wobei die variablen Ladungen und die Abmessungen der leitenden Elemente (207, 209, 1001, 1002) so bestimmt werden, dass die Zellenkonfiguration, die die Anwendung der entsprechenden Phasenverschiebung auf das erste Ende des Phasenverschiebungsbereichs zulässt, mit der Zellenkonfiguration identisch ist, die die Anwendung der entsprechenden Phasenverschiebung auf das zweite Ende des Bereichs zulässt.
  11. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle nach einem der vorherigen Ansprüche, wobei der Phasenverschiebungsbereich 360° beträgt.
  12. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle nach einem der vorherigen Ansprüche, wobei die leitenden Elemente, die Schlitze und die kapazitiven Ladungen auf der Zelle gemäß einer Symmetriemitte angeordnet sind, die sich in der Mitte der Zelle befindet.
  13. Strahlende Phasenverschiebungszelle nach einem der vorherigen Ansprüche, wobei die kapazitiven Ladungen Dioden, MEMS oder ferroelektrische Kondensatoren sind.
  14. Reflektornetz, das mehrere strahlende Phasenverschiebungszellen nach einem der vorherigen Ansprüche umfasst, wobei die Zellen die reflektierende Fläche des Netzes bilden.
  15. Antenne, die eine Reflektoranordnung nach Anspruch 14 umfasst.
EP12183120.0A 2011-09-14 2012-09-05 Rekonfiguerierbare strahlende dephasierende Zelle, die auf Spaltresonanzen und komplementären Mikrostreifen basiert Not-in-force EP2571098B1 (de)

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FR1102786A FR2980044B1 (fr) 2011-09-14 2011-09-14 Cellule dephaseuse rayonnante reconfigurable basee sur des resonances fentes et microrubans complementaires

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CN103474775B (zh) * 2013-09-06 2015-03-11 中国科学院光电技术研究所 一种基于动态调控人工电磁结构材料的相控阵天线
EP3062392A1 (de) * 2015-02-24 2016-08-31 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. Reflektor mit einer elektronischen Schaltung und Antennenvorrichtung mit einem Reflektor
US20170301475A1 (en) * 2016-04-15 2017-10-19 Kymeta Corporation Rf resonators with tunable capacitor and methods for fabricating the same
CN108666756B (zh) * 2018-06-21 2023-07-28 福州大学 一种应用于gnss的低剖面宽带定向缝隙天线
CN109802244B (zh) * 2019-01-24 2020-08-04 西安电子科技大学 一种宽带微带反射阵列天线
CN110364819A (zh) * 2019-07-09 2019-10-22 东南大学 一种对入射角不敏感的2比特可编程数字超表面
KR102646542B1 (ko) * 2019-07-30 2024-03-11 삼성전기주식회사 안테나 장치
KR102207836B1 (ko) * 2019-10-28 2021-01-25 세종대학교산학협력단 반사 셀과 이를 구비하는 빔 조향 안테나 및 무선 통신 기기
CN112490655B (zh) * 2020-11-20 2023-06-06 榆林学院 一种多频双层介质板馈源贴片与辐射缝隙互补微带天线
CN113097710B (zh) * 2021-03-30 2022-09-06 大连理工大学 一种双模圆极化频率可重构天线
CN113258307B (zh) * 2021-05-28 2022-06-07 西安电子科技大学 E面宽窄波束切换可重构天线
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KR101981800B1 (ko) 2019-05-23
US20130241770A1 (en) 2013-09-19
ES2620766T3 (es) 2017-06-29
JP6116839B2 (ja) 2017-04-19
CA2788308A1 (en) 2013-03-14
JP2013062802A (ja) 2013-04-04
EP2571098A1 (de) 2013-03-20
US9647336B2 (en) 2017-05-09
KR20130029362A (ko) 2013-03-22
FR2980044A1 (fr) 2013-03-15
CA2788308C (en) 2018-11-20

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