JP2014075682A - Substrate integrated antenna module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate integrated antenna module in which the number of shielding members can be reduced, and the unwanted radiation of which can be reduced.SOLUTION: There is provided the substrate integrated antenna module in which a dielectric substrate 1 and a conductor member 11 covering the whole surface of the dielectric substrate 1 are integrally configured. A high-frequency device 20 for transmission, a high-frequency device 21 for reception and substrate wiring 4 are mounted in the dielectric substrate 1, a power feeding waveguide 8 for a transmission antenna 60 and reception antennas 61 and 62 is formed in the conductor member 11. The conductor member 11 includes a transmission cavity 90 formed by a cavity covering the high-frequency device 20 for transmission mounted on the dielectric substrate 1 and a substrate line 4 connected with the device 20, and a reception cavity 91 formed by a cavity covering the high-frequency device 21 for reception mounted on the dielectric substrate 1 and a substrate line 4 connected with the device 21.

Description

  The present invention relates to a high-frequency circuit including a high-frequency device and an antenna device (hereinafter referred to as a substrate-integrated antenna module) configured integrally with a dielectric substrate on which a circuit associated therewith is mounted.

In recent years, in-vehicle radar application systems (hereinafter simply referred to as applications) that apply radio waves such as microwaves and millimeter waves, which are not affected by the weather or day and night, have been put into practical use one after another.
As an antenna used in such an on-vehicle radio wave radar, an array antenna is arranged by arranging a plurality of microstrip patch antenna (hereinafter simply referred to as patch antenna) elements on a dielectric substrate. High gain as an antenna and shaping of a beam pattern are realized.
On the other hand, in order to be able to mount the on-vehicle radar in an automobile in a popular price range, it is required to reduce the cost of the radar device, and thus the antenna device itself.
Therefore, on the same substrate as the dielectric substrate on which the patch array antenna is formed, a high-frequency device for transmitting or receiving radio waves to the patch array antenna element, a power feeding circuit to the antenna, and a signal Since the processing circuit and the power supply circuit are also mounted, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced accordingly.

Here, in the patch array antenna, the power oscillated from the high-frequency device and the high-frequency circuit is distributed by a feed line such as a microstrip line, and is fed to each patch element constituting the patch array antenna. The performance as an antenna will be demonstrated.
However, when a patch array antenna and a high-frequency device or a high-frequency circuit associated with a high-frequency device are mixedly mounted on the same dielectric substrate as the patch array antenna, in addition to the radiation pattern originally required for the patch array antenna, Matching circuits such as bends and stubs, impedance discontinuities such as branch circuits necessary for distribution, and bonding wires and BGA (Ball Grid Array) and other spaces from the connection between high-frequency devices and substrate lines Unnecessary radiation is made.

Therefore, the unnecessary radiation interferes with the originally required radiation pattern by the patch array antenna, and as a result, the radiation pattern (amplitude and phase) is disturbed. As a result, “decrease in antenna gain” and “increase in sidelobe level” Cause deterioration of the antenna radiation pattern.
Therefore, as shown in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-167812), in order to suppress unnecessary radiation from a radiation source other than the above-described patch array antenna, an additional shield member is provided on the upper surface of the feed line and the high-frequency device connection portion. It is made to cover.

Here, FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structure of a conventional array antenna device as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-167812 (Patent Document 1), FIG. 1 (a) is a perspective view, and FIG. b) is a sectional view of an essential part. The configuration of a conventional array antenna apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 1A, a patch array antenna 3 is formed on the surface layer of a dielectric substrate 1 and also passes through a substrate line 4 for feeding from a high-frequency device 2 mounted on the surface layer of the dielectric substrate 1. High frequency power is supplied.
Here, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 1, as described above, in order to suppress unnecessary radiation from radiation sources other than the patch array antenna 3, a substrate line 4 for feeding and a high-frequency device 2 are provided.
And the shield member 5 is covered on the upper surface of the connection part.
The shape and size of the shield member 5 are determined according to the area to be shielded and the size of the member.

JP-A-8-167812

In the case of the antenna device used in the on-vehicle radar device as described above, the radar function, in particular, the angle measurement function cannot be established only by arranging the transmission antenna and the reception antenna for each one channel.
In order to establish the angle measuring function, at least two channel receiving antennas are required in addition to one channel transmitting antenna. Accordingly, the number of antenna channels is required to be 3 or more.
Therefore, when the antenna power feeding layout is complicated, the shield member 5 described above has a complicated shape. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 1, it is necessary to cover all unnecessary radiation sources using a plurality of shield members 5 subdivided into necessary portions.
Therefore, in the case of the conventional example as shown in FIG. 1, in order to ensure the characteristics of the patch array antenna that suppresses the influence of unnecessary radiation, the number of parts (for example, shield members) increases and the cost increases. An increase cannot be avoided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, when the substrate line 4 for feeding is covered by the shield member 5, the patch array antenna 3 and the substrate line 4 for feeding are hardly completely separated from each other.
For this reason, the shield member 5 covering the feed line portion naturally comes close to the patch array antenna 3 itself.
Therefore, the radiation pattern by the patch array antenna 3 that is originally required is disturbed by scattering, re-radiation, blocking, etc. at the shield member 5, and eventually causes the deterioration of the antenna radiation pattern as described above.
Further, if the patch array antenna is to be disposed sufficiently away from the feed line so as not to be affected by the shield member 5, the size of the antenna device increases as the entire substrate (that is, the dielectric substrate) increases. Furthermore, the loss increases (performance degradation) with the increase in the substrate line length.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and is essential without increasing the number of parts, increasing costs, or increasing the size of the antenna device due to the addition of a shield member or the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a “board-integrated antenna module” that can reduce unnecessary radiation that impairs the antenna radiation pattern.

A substrate-integrated antenna module according to the present invention includes a dielectric substrate on which a high-frequency device for transmission, a high-frequency device for reception and substrate wiring are mounted, a transmission antenna that is a waveguide slot array antenna for transmission, and a reception antenna A board-integrated antenna module in which a feeding waveguide for a receiving antenna, which is a waveguide slot array antenna, is formed and a conductor member having a shielding function covering the entire surface of the dielectric substrate is integrally formed. And
The conductor member includes a transmission cavity formed by a gap covering a transmission high-frequency device mounted on the dielectric substrate and a substrate line connected to the transmission high-frequency device, and a reception component mounted on the dielectric substrate. A receiving cavity formed by a gap covering the high-frequency device and the substrate line connected to the receiving high-frequency device is provided.

  According to the present invention, unnecessary radiation that impairs an originally required antenna radiation pattern is reduced without increasing the number of components, adding cost, or increasing the size of the antenna device due to the addition of a shield member or the like. It is possible to provide a “substrate integrated antenna module”.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional board | substrate integrated antenna module. It is a figure which shows the structure of the board | substrate integrated antenna module in Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of a waveguide slot array antenna in the first embodiment. 3 is a diagram showing a structure when electronic circuit elements other than a high-frequency device are housed in the same cavity in the board-integrated antenna module according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure when an electronic circuit element other than a high-frequency device is housed in an individual cavity in the board integrated antenna module according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a structure of a waveguide slot array antenna in the second embodiment. 6 is a diagram showing a structure of a substrate integrated antenna module according to Embodiment 2. FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent ones.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
The structure of the substrate integrated antenna module according to the first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
2A is a perspective view, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the main part.
As shown in FIG. 2, in the antenna module, a dielectric substrate 1 and a conductor member 11 are integrally formed.
The conductor member 11 is formed with waveguide slot array antennas 60, 61, 62 composed of a plurality of radiation slots 7 and a feeding waveguide 8 arranged in an array.
Here, as the channel configuration of the antenna, a necessary channel configuration is applied according to an application to which an antenna module such as a radar device or a communication device is applied.
The first embodiment shows a channel configuration when applied to an on-vehicle radar device as an example, and a waveguide slot array antenna 60 is a transmission antenna for transmitting a radar wave. The array antennas 61 and 62 are a first receiving antenna and a second receiving antenna for receiving an echo from the target, respectively.

Next, the power to the waveguide slot array antenna 60 (transmitting antenna), the waveguide slot array antenna 61 (first receiving antenna), and the waveguide slot array antenna 62 (second receiving antenna) is Describe the delivery method.
First, the transmission system will be described.
The transmission wave is generated by the transmission high-frequency device 20 and transmitted through the substrate line 4 formed on the dielectric substrate 1, and then the feed waveguide 8 and further the waveguide slot which is a transmission antenna. Power is supplied to the array antenna 60.
Here, the transmission mode of the electromagnetic wave transmitted through the substrate line 4 is transmitted between the waveguide line and the substrate line by passing through the transmission mode conversion circuit 10 for converting into the transmission mode of the feeding waveguide 8. Conversion is performed, and power transmission / reception is realized between the transmission high-frequency device 20 and the transmission antenna (waveguide slot array antenna 60).

Further, the transmission high-frequency device 20 mounted on the surface layer (surface) of the dielectric substrate 1 is housed in a transmission cavity 90 formed by a gap between the concave portion of the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1. It has become.
Therefore, the unnecessary radiation component from the connection portion of the transmission high-frequency device 20 and the substrate line 4 formed by being mounted inside the transmission cavity 90 and the substrate line 4 are shielded by the conductor member 11, and thus radiated to the outside of the conductor member 11. Not.
For this reason, the radiation component from the radiation slot that is originally necessary does not receive interference from the aforementioned unwanted radiation component. Therefore, desired antenna radiation characteristics can be maintained.

The reception system is the same as the transmission system, and the reception waves received by the first reception antenna (waveguide slot array antenna 61) and the second reception antenna (waveguide slot array antenna 62) are transmitted. By passing through the mode conversion circuit 10, it is converted from the waveguide transmission mode to the transmission mode of electromagnetic waves transmitted through the substrate line 4, and input to the receiving high-frequency device 21.
Further, the receiving high-frequency device 21 and the substrate line 4 mounted on the surface layer of the dielectric substrate 1 have a receiving cavity 91 formed by a gap between the concave portion of the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1 as in the case of the transmission system. Therefore, it is shielded.

Therefore, the incoming wave of the radio wave that should originally be received by the receiving antenna is not received at the connecting portion between the receiving high-frequency device 21 and the substrate line 4 mounted inside the receiving cavity 91 and the substrate line 4. .
In other words, the reception high-frequency device 21 and the substrate line 4 are surrounded and shielded by the reception cavity 91 and the conductor on the surface of the dielectric substrate 1, so that the external radio wave that should be received via the reception antenna is received. There is no reception from the connecting portion between the high-frequency device 21 and the substrate line 4 or the substrate line 4.
For this reason, a desired radiation characteristic can be maintained as a receiving antenna.

As described above, in this embodiment, the transmission high-frequency device 20 is separately stored in the transmission cavity 90 and the reception high-frequency device 21 is separately stored in the reception cavity 91. Therefore, leakage of radio waves between transmission and reception, particularly spatial coupling on the dielectric substrate 1 can be suppressed.
Therefore, for example, in a radar apparatus, it is possible to improve the isolation characteristic between transmission and reception that is directly connected to the detection performance at a short distance.

In the above description, the case where the transmission channel is 1 channel and the reception channel is 2 channels has been described, but the channel configuration is not limited to this.
Further, in FIG. 2, the case where the number of antenna elements is configured by the radiation slots 7 of 6 elements for each channel is illustrated, but the configuration of the number of antenna elements is not limited to this.
Moreover, although the case where each channel has a one-row configuration is illustrated, it may be multi-rowed as necessary.
Further, although the case where the high-frequency device is separated into the transmission high-frequency device 20 and the reception high-frequency device 21 has been described, the basic effect of the present invention can be enjoyed even with a transmission / reception integrated high-frequency device.

Next, the structure of the waveguide slot array antenna according to Embodiment 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3A shows a part of a top view of the waveguide slot array antenna according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view of the main part.
Here, a case where a rectangular cross-section waveguide is placed vertically as the feed waveguide 8 will be described as an example.
3A shows a part of the waveguide slot array antenna in the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the radiation slot 7 is arranged along the tube axis direction of the waveguide on the narrow wall surface side of the feed waveguide 8 short-circuited at the tip.
Further, since the feed waveguide 8 is short-circuited at the tip, a standing wave is generated inside the feed waveguide 8, and thereby the feed waveguide 8 is formed on the narrow wall surface of the feed waveguide 8. The maximum current flows in the direction perpendicular to the tube axis at intervals of 8 1/2 in-tube wavelengths.
Therefore, the radiation slot 7 is first arranged from the tip short-circuited position to the quarter-wavelength position of the feed waveguide 8 and at the half-wavelength interval of the feed waveguide 8. As a result, the energy propagating through the feed waveguide 8 can be coupled to each radiation slot 7.
Further, by setting the length of the radiation slot 7 to approximately a half free space wavelength, the radiation slot 7 resonates and an electromagnetic wave is radiated into the space.

A cross-sectional structure of the power supply waveguide 8 in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view when the feeding waveguide 8 is cut along the line AA ′ in FIG.
In FIG. 3 (b), the wall surface of the feed waveguide 8 is formed with a narrow wall surface opposite to the surface on which the radiation slot is formed by the surface layer conductor of the dielectric substrate 1, and the other three surfaces are conductors. The groove 11 is formed in the member 11.
Therefore, the inner wall of the feeding waveguide 8 through which the electromagnetic wave propagates, in other words, the inner wall of the feeding waveguide 8 in which the current is distributed is divided by the conductor member 11 and the surface layer conductor of the dielectric substrate 1. The surfaces are also required to be electrically connected to each other.
On the other hand, if the two members (that is, the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1) are simply screwed, there is a possibility that a gap may be generated due to the warpage of the member itself, so that electrical conduction cannot be achieved. A site arises. For this reason, the transmission performance of the feed waveguide 8 and the radiation performance of the waveguide slot array antenna are deteriorated.

In order to prevent the antenna performance from being deteriorated due to the gap in the dividing surface, as shown in FIG. 3B, the open ends of the waveguide groove on both sides of the waveguide groove provided in the conductor member 11 A choke groove 12 having a depth greater than or equal to approximately 1/2 free space wavelength is provided at a position separated by approximately 1/2 free space wavelength. The waveguide groove is a “groove having a U-shaped cross section” that can be formed by forming the feeding waveguide 8 in the conductor member 11.
As a result, it is possible to suppress degradation of antenna performance due to the gap 150 described above to some extent.
However, the division gap at the waveguide end may not be able to suppress performance degradation due to the gap 150 even if the choke groove 12 is provided. In particular, when the feeding waveguide 8 is not a simple waveguide line but includes a structure that causes some reflection, some conduction means may be required. For this reason, in addition to the countermeasure against the gap by the choke groove 12, the conduction by the conduction member is ensured.
For example, after fixing or applying a conductive member that is expected to be flexible or followable, such as a conductive sheet, solder plating, or solder leveler, to the joint between the conductive member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1, By fixing the dielectric substrate 1, a gap generated between the conductive members (that is, between the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1) can be minimized.

Further, after mounting or applying a discrete conductive member such as a solder ball or a solder pile on the joint between the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1, the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1 are fixed, It is possible to suppress performance degradation due to a gap that may be generated between the divided surfaces of the conductive member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1.
Further, the conduction of the divided surfaces can be ensured by conducting and fixing the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1 by bonding with a conductive adhesive or bonding with a solder material or a solder ball.
However, when bonding with the conductive paste or bonding with a solder material is performed, depending on the size of the application area, material selection, temperature conditions, etc., the bonded portion may be caused by a difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1. Thermal stress is applied to the joints, and the joints may be broken.
However, when the conductive adhesive is heat-cured and fixed by screwing or the like without bonding the two members together, the stress due to thermal distortion is directly applied to the conducting member in the previous period compared to the case of bonding. Since this is not the case, the risk of breakage of the connecting portion can be reduced.

Further, among the circuit elements mounted on the dielectric substrate 1, electronic circuit elements other than the high-frequency device are accommodated in the cavity structure formed by the gap between the concave portion in the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1, It is possible to prevent the noise signal output from the circuit element from radiating or leaking to the external space.
Contrary to the above, in an electronic circuit (particularly, a receiving circuit element) mounted on the dielectric substrate 1, reception of incoming waves and noise signals from the external space can be suppressed.
The cavity space is connected to the external space via the waveguide slot array antenna, but the feed waveguide 8 constituting the waveguide slot array antenna is lower than the frequency of the electromagnetic wave to be radiated originally. Since the frequency radio wave does not propagate below the cutoff frequency of the feed waveguide 8, noise radio waves propagate through the propagation path of the high frequency radio wave in the waveguide slot array antenna and are radiated to the external space, or No noise will be received from outside space.

A transmission cavity 90 that houses the transmission high-frequency device 20 and the electronic circuit element 30 other than the high-frequency device, and a transmission cavity 91 that houses the reception high-frequency device 21 and the electronic circuit element 30 other than the high-frequency device are included in the conductor member 11. The structure of the case is shown in FIG.
The transmission cavity 90 and the reception cavity 91 are formed by a gap between the concave portion of the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1.
4A is a perspective view, and FIG. 4B is a top view.
As shown in FIG. 4, the electronic circuit element 30 other than the high-frequency device is bundled with the transmission cavity 90 and the reception cavity 91, so that the structure of the conductor member 11 can be simplified and the component mounting of the dielectric substrate 1 can be performed. The degree of freedom in layout can be increased.

Here, when the electronic circuit element 30 other than the high-frequency device is accommodated in another cavity formed by the gap between the concave portion of the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1, in particular, the transmission cavity in which the high-frequency device 20 for transmission is accommodated. FIG. 5 shows a structure in which the electronic circuit element 30 other than the high frequency device is accommodated in a cavity 92 different from the reception cavity 91 in which the high frequency device 21 for reception 90 is accommodated.
5A is a perspective view, and FIG. 5B is a top view.
As shown in FIG. 5, the transmission and reception isolation can be improved by separating the transmission cavity and the reception cavity.
Also, by providing multiple cavity spaces according to the dielectric substrate layout (for each functional block), isolation between various electronic circuits (functional blocks) mounted on the dielectric substrate or external space is improved (combined) Can be reduced).
Further, the walls formed to isolate the cavities (that is, the walls provided orthogonal to the dielectric substrate 1 to constitute the cavities) improve the rigidity of the conductor member 11 and reduce the amount of warpage. It can also be used as a rib structure.

The waveguide slot array antenna and the conductor member 11 in which the cavity structure is formed may be configured by laminating screws or diffusion bonding metal plates formed by etching, sheet metal or press working, In order to minimize the position of the gap that deteriorates the antenna performance (that is, the gap 150 formed between the conductor member 11 and the dielectric substrate 1), it is preferably formed by metal injection molding or die casting. It is.
Further, by forming the conductor member 11 by resin molding and plating the surface with a conductive material or applying a conductive paint, it is possible to cope with a finer antenna structure.

Hereinafter, the configuration and effects of the substrate integrated antenna module according to the first embodiment will be described.
In the first embodiment, the antenna is a waveguide slot array antenna in which a radiation slot excited (fed) by a waveguide line is used as an antenna element, and the radiation slots are arranged in an array, and is necessary as an antenna. Realize the radiation characteristics.
The waveguide slot array antenna is formed by using a part of a conductor of a dielectric substrate as a constituent member of a single or a plurality of conductor members or as another member of the conductor member.
Therefore, the feed line (substrate line) routed to the antenna is composed of a waveguide line shielded by a conductor (almost composed of a conductor member but also including a substrate surface layer conductor), and radiates into the space. There is no. Therefore, unnecessary radiation that disturbs the originally required radiation pattern from the antenna does not occur in principle.
In the conventional example, since the feed line (substrate line) routed to a plurality of antennas is not shielded by a conductor, it has to be shielded by a plurality of shield cases.

In addition, the single or plural conductor members described above cover the entire surface of the dielectric substrate on which the conductor member is mounted, and the high-frequency device and the substrate line mounted on the surface layer of the dielectric substrate are the conductor members forming the antenna. It will be in the state accommodated in the cavity structure formed of the space | gap of a recessed part and a dielectric substrate.
Therefore, the conductor member in which the waveguide slot array antenna is formed exhibits an effect equivalent to that of a shield casing (that is, a shield member) conventionally covered on a substrate for suppressing unnecessary radiation. For this reason, the unnecessary radiation | emission from a board | substrate track | line or a high frequency device connection part is suppressed.

In the substrate integrated antenna module according to the first embodiment, the substrate line and the high frequency device on the dielectric substrate can be integrally wrapped and shielded by the conductor member on which the waveguide slot array antenna is formed.
Therefore, as in the past, unnecessary radiation that impairs the originally required antenna radiation pattern without increasing the number of parts such as the shield member or increasing the cost by complicating the shape of the shield member. It can be reduced.
In addition, since the feed line that feeds power to the antenna is realized by the waveguide line provided inside the conductor member, it is possible to bring the feed line close to the antenna, and the size of the antenna module including the dielectric substrate is increased. Without this, it is possible to reduce unnecessary radiation that impairs the originally required antenna radiation pattern.

Similarly, other electronic circuit components mounted on the dielectric substrate are covered with a conductor member forming a waveguide slot array antenna so that noise emitted from the electronic circuit components is not radiated to the outside. At the same time, it is possible to prevent external noise.
Thus, the conductor member in which the waveguide slot array antenna is formed can have the function of the shield member in the electronic circuit component.
In addition, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, since most sections of the feed lines necessary to feed power to a plurality of antennas can be realized by a hollow waveguide formed inside the conductor member, In addition to ensuring lower transmission performance, the line section on the dielectric substrate where dielectric loss is expected can be minimized.
Therefore, it is possible to use a low-cost dielectric substrate such as a glass epoxy resin substrate without using an expensive low-loss substrate with a low dielectric loss tangent as the dielectric substrate, thus realizing a low-cost antenna module. It becomes possible to do.

As described above, the substrate-integrated antenna module according to Embodiment 1 includes the dielectric substrate 1 on which the transmission high-frequency device 20, the reception high-frequency device 21 and the substrate wiring 4 are mounted, and the transmission waveguide. A transmission antenna 60 that is a slot array antenna and a feed waveguide 8 for reception antennas 61 and 62 that are reception waveguide slot array antennas are formed, and a conductor having a shielding function that covers the entire surface of the dielectric substrate 1 A board-integrated antenna module in which the member 11 is integrally formed,
The conductor member 11 is mounted on the dielectric substrate 1 and the transmission cavity 90 formed by a gap covering the transmission high-frequency device 20 mounted on the dielectric substrate 1 and the substrate line 4 connected to the transmission high-frequency device 20. The reception high-frequency device 21 and the reception cavity 91 formed by a gap that covers the substrate line 4 connected to the reception high-frequency device 21 are provided.

The board-integrated antenna module according to the present embodiment includes a transmission mode conversion circuit 10 that converts a transmission mode of electromagnetic waves propagating through the substrate line 4 into a transmission mode of electromagnetic waves propagating through the feed waveguide 8. The transmission mode conversion circuit 10 includes a groove structure formed in the conductor member 11 and a conductor pattern of the substrate wiring 4 formed in the dielectric substrate 1.
Further, the substrate integrated antenna module according to the present embodiment is a cavity different from the transmission cavity 90 and the reception cavity 91, and is provided with a cavity formed by a gap that covers the electronic circuit element 30 other than the high-frequency device. .
Further, in the board integrated antenna module according to the present embodiment, the conductor member 11 is a single conductor member, and the feed waveguide 8 which is a waveguide line forming a waveguide slot array antenna includes: A groove structure provided in the conductor member 11 and a conductor pattern of the dielectric substrate 1 are formed.

In the board-integrated antenna module according to the present embodiment, the transmission cavity 90 and the reception cavity 91 are formed separately from each other.
In the substrate integrated antenna module according to the present embodiment, the conductor member 11 is obtained by plating the surface of a resin-molded member with a conductive material or applying a conductive paint.
Moreover, in the board integrated antenna module according to the present embodiment, the conductor member 11 is formed by metal injection molding or die casting.
In the board-integrated antenna module according to the present embodiment, the conductor member 11 is formed by stacking or diffusion bonding metal plates formed by etching, sheet metal, or press working.

Embodiment 2.
FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the structure of the waveguide slot array antenna of the board-integrated antenna module according to the second embodiment.
6A shows a cross-sectional structure of the feed waveguide, and FIG. 6B shows a cross-section of the feed structure from the high-frequency device for transmission to the transmission antenna.
As shown in FIG. 6A, the cross-sectional structure of the power supply waveguide 8 according to the second embodiment includes a first conductor member (upper member) 100, a second conductor member (lower member) 200, and a dielectric. The power supply waveguide 8 is divided by a first conductor member (upper member) 100 and a second conductor member (lower member) 200 at a substantially central portion of the cross section of the waveguide. Composed.
Here, since no current flows in the approximate center of the wide wall surface of the waveguide, the gap 160 formed by the division between the first conductor member (upper member) 100 and the second conductor member (lower member) 200 is guided. The current distribution flowing through the inner wall of the wave tube is not interrupted. Therefore, the characteristics of the waveguide are not greatly deteriorated.

Further, since the gap 150 between the conductor member 11 and the dielectric member 1 is completely unrelated to the structure of the power supply waveguide 8, the characteristics are not deteriorated even if the gap 150 is open.
However, if there is a matching element or a bent waveguide circuit in the power supply waveguide 8, reflection occurs, so that a current may also flow through the approximate center of the wide wall surface of the waveguide. Therefore, even if the substantially central portion of the waveguide cross section is divided, the performance deterioration due to the gap 160 may not be avoided.
In such a case, in the second embodiment, in order to suppress the antenna performance deterioration by the gap 160 in the dividing surface, as shown in FIG. 6A, both sides of the waveguide groove provided in the conductor member 11 are used. In addition, a choke groove 12 having a depth of approximately 1/2 free space wavelength or more is provided at a position separated from the opening end of the waveguide groove by approximately 1/2 free space wavelength. As a result, it is possible to suppress the antenna performance deterioration due to the gaps to some extent.

In the substrate integrated antenna module according to the second embodiment, FIG. 6B shows a cross-sectional view showing a feeding path from the transmitting high-frequency device 20 to the transmitting antenna 60.
In FIG. 6B, the case of the transmission antenna 60 will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 6B, the high-frequency signal output from the transmission high-frequency device 20 is converted into an electromagnetic wave transmission mode transmitted through the substrate line 4 and transmitted in the waveguide mode by the mode conversion circuit 10. After that, power is supplied to the transmission antenna 60 via a plurality of bend circuits 70.
As shown in FIG. 6B, the feeding waveguide 8 is divided by a first conductor member (upper member) 100 and a second conductor member (lower member) 200 at a substantially central portion of the waveguide cross section. Since it is configured, there is no significant characteristic degradation for the reasons described above.

However, a part of the mode conversion circuit 10 and the waveguide bend circuit 70 is divided at the end of the waveguide cross section, and the gap 150 at the end of the cross section of the waveguide forms the feed waveguide 8 and The performance of the mode conversion circuit 10 is greatly reduced.
For this reason, the gap 150 at the end of the waveguide cross-section is separately provided with a conduction measure using a conducting member, or the gap countermeasure using the choke groove 12 is taken in the same manner as in FIGS. 3 (b) and 6 (a). Necessary.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, the path lengths of the mode conversion circuit 10 and the bend circuit 70 divided at the waveguide cross-section end are made as short as possible, and the routing path between the antenna and the high-frequency device is as follows. As much as possible, it is desirable that wiring is performed by the feeding waveguide 8 divided and formed at the approximate center of the waveguide cross section.

FIG. 7 shows the structure of the board-integrated antenna module according to the second embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 7, the antenna module includes a dielectric substrate 1, a first conductor member (upper member) 100, and a second conductor member (lower member) 200.
In addition, the transmission high-frequency device 20 and the reception high-frequency device 21 mounted on the surface layer of the dielectric substrate 1 are formed by a gap between the concave portion of the first conductor member (lower member) 200 and the dielectric substrate 1. It is in a state of being housed inside the cavity 90 and the reception caisity 91.
And the unnecessary radiation component from the connection part of the transmission high frequency device 20 and the reception high frequency device 21 and the substrate line 4 mounted in the cavity is the second conductor member (lower member) 200 and the first conductor member. Since it is shielded by the (upper member) 100, unnecessary radiation components are not radiated to the outside.
For this reason, since the radiation component from the radiation slot that is originally necessary does not receive interference from the above-described unnecessary radiation component, the desired radiation characteristic can be maintained.

In addition, as described above, the power supply waveguide 8 is divided by the first conductor member (upper member) 100 and the second conductor member (lower member) 200 at a substantially central portion of the waveguide cross section. Therefore, the gap 160 does not greatly deteriorate the characteristics of the feed waveguide 8.
Therefore, according to the configuration of the board-integrated antenna module according to the second embodiment, the number of components is increased as compared with the first embodiment, but an antenna module having a robust characteristic with respect to the gap can be obtained. it can.
The board-integrated antenna module according to the second embodiment has the same basic features and effects as those of the first embodiment, and the conductor member is divided into two parts, thereby changing the divided configuration of the feed waveguide. Only thing is different.
Therefore, the features and effects described in the first embodiment can be applied as in the first embodiment.

As described above, the conductor member of the substrate integrated antenna module according to the second embodiment is composed of at least two conductor members 100 and 200, and the waveguide line forming the waveguide slot array antenna is 2 The two conductor members 100 and 200 are formed by a groove structure formed so as to face each other, and the division surface of the waveguide line divided by the two conductor members (that is, the gap between the upper and lower members of the conductor member) 160) is divided and formed substantially at the center in the cross section of the waveguide line.
Therefore, according to the configuration of the board-integrated antenna module according to the second embodiment, the number of components is increased as compared with the first embodiment, but an antenna module having characteristics robust to the gap can be obtained.

  In the present invention, it is possible to combine the respective embodiments within the scope of the invention or to appropriately modify and omit the respective embodiments.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for realizing a board-integrated antenna module that can reduce shielding members and reduce unnecessary radiation.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dielectric substrate 2 High frequency device 3 Patch array antenna 4 Substrate line 5 Shield member 7 Radiation slot 8 Feeding waveguide 10 Transmission mode conversion circuit 11 Conductive member 12 Choke groove 20 High frequency device for transmission 21 High frequency device for reception 30 Other than high frequency device Electronic circuit elements of 60 Waveguide slot array antenna (transmitting antenna)
61 Waveguide slot array antenna (first receiving antenna)
62 Waveguide slot array antenna (second receiving antenna)
70 Waveguide Bend Circuit 90 Transmission Cavity 91 Reception Cavity 92 Cavity Separated from Transmission Cavity and Reception Cavity 100 First Conductive Member (Upper Member)
200 Second conductor member (lower member)
150 Gap between conductor member and dielectric substrate 160 Gap between upper and lower members of conductor member

Claims (9)

A dielectric substrate on which a high-frequency device for transmission, a high-frequency device for reception and substrate wiring are mounted;
A transmission antenna that is a transmission waveguide slot array antenna and a feeding waveguide for a reception antenna that is a reception waveguide slot array antenna are formed, and has a shielding function that covers the entire surface of the dielectric substrate A board-integrated antenna module integrally configured with a conductor member,
The conductor member includes a transmission cavity formed by a gap covering a transmission high-frequency device mounted on the dielectric substrate and a substrate line connected to the transmission high-frequency device, and a reception component mounted on the dielectric substrate. A substrate-integrated antenna module, comprising: a receiving cavity formed by a gap that covers a high-frequency device and a substrate line connected to the receiving high-frequency device.   The transmission mode conversion circuit converts the transmission mode of the electromagnetic wave propagating through the substrate line to the transmission mode of the electromagnetic wave propagating through the feeding waveguide, and the transmission mode conversion circuit is formed on the conductor member. The board integrated antenna module according to claim 1, wherein the board-integrated antenna module is formed including a groove structure formed and a conductor pattern of a substrate wiring formed on the dielectric substrate.   3. The substrate integrated type according to claim 1, wherein a cavity is provided which is a cavity different from the transmission cavity and the reception cavity and is formed by a gap that covers an electronic circuit element other than the high-frequency device. Antenna module.   The conductor member is a single conductor member, and the feeding waveguide, which is a waveguide line forming a waveguide slot array antenna, includes a groove structure provided in the conductor member and the dielectric substrate. 3. The board integrated antenna module according to claim 1, wherein the antenna module is formed of a conductor pattern.   The conductor member is composed of at least two conductor members, and the waveguide line forming the waveguide slot array antenna is formed by a groove structure formed so that the two conductor members face each other. The division surface of the waveguide line divided by the two conductor members is divided and formed substantially at the center in the cross section of the waveguide line. 2. The board-integrated antenna module according to 1.   The board-integrated antenna module according to claim 1, wherein the transmission cavity and the reception cavity are formed separately from each other.   The conductive member according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a surface of a resin-molded member is plated with a conductive material or a conductive paint is applied. The board-integrated antenna module as described.   The board-integrated antenna module according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the conductor member is formed by metal injection molding or die casting.   The substrate according to claim 1, wherein the conductor member is formed by laminating screws or diffusion bonding a metal plate formed by etching, sheet metal, or press working. Integrated antenna module.

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