TWI482358B - Antenna with slot - Google Patents

Description

Slotted antenna

The present invention relates to an antenna, and more particularly to an antenna for wirelessly transmitting and/or receiving radio signals.

Antennas for wireless transceivers need to be light, thin, short, and small. In order to be able to mass produce and reduce costs, the design of the antenna has been changed from a non-planar antenna applied to a mobile phone such as a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) to a planar PCB antenna such as a monopole antenna. In addition, wafer antennas have become commonplace for small handheld wireless devices. However, wafer antennas still have problems with efficiency and area compared to PCB antennas.

The present invention provides an antenna for wireless transmission and/or reception of radio signals, and the present invention provides an antenna for use in wirelessly transmitting and/or receiving radio signals.

The invention provides an antenna comprising a signal feed structure, an antenna conductor and a corresponding portion of a ground plane. The antenna conductor is coupled to the signal feed structure, and the antenna conductor has at least one slot formed therein. A corresponding portion of the ground plane capacitively covers at least one of the open ends of the slot.

The invention further provides an antenna comprising a signal feeding structure, an antenna conductor and a corresponding covering portion. The antenna conductor is coupled to the signal feed structure, and the antenna conductor has at least one slot formed therein. The respective cover portion capacitively covers at least one slot at a mechanical open end.

The present invention further provides a method for transmitting or receiving at least one of radio signals, the method comprising: feeding a first signal to an antenna conductor, forming at least one slot in the antenna conductor, and transmitting the first signal from the antenna conductor . Additionally, the method includes receiving a second signal to the antenna conductor and feeding the second signal from the antenna conductor. An antenna having a spectrum includes a first frequency response corresponding to a length of one of the antennas and at least a second frequency response corresponding to the length of at least one slot.

Based on the above, the present invention is capable of providing a plurality of different embodiments, and the various details can be modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The vast majority of the passive components in a wireless communication module are typically occupied by antennas, so minimizing the size of the antenna and maximizing efficiency over a limited area of the wireless device has become a requirement. Compared to other antenna types, the monopole antenna occupies a less positive surface, especially when formed into a folded, spiral or meander shape. A matching network (also a matching circuit) that matches the impedance of a driver/receiver circuit to the antenna of the antenna is connected to the antenna. The matching network uses one of the substrate faces of the passive component. In addition, the gain value and the bandwidth of the monopole antenna are fixed values.

1 is a perspective view of an antenna 100 including a slotted antenna conductor 105 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The antenna 100 minimizes the area of the substrate used, does not include matching passive components, and has adjustable gain values and bandwidth. 2 and 3 are a top view and a bottom view, respectively, of the antenna 100 of FIG. 1 including a slotted antenna conductor 105.

The slotted antenna conductor 105 is a folded monopole object. The total effective length L _{t of the} antenna conductor 105 (Fig. 2) is approximately 1/4 of the wavelength of the antenna 100 to be transmitted. The antenna conductor 105 is coupled to the base 150 of the slotted antenna conductor 105 coupled to the antenna feed line 140. The slot 110 has a mechanical open end 155 which is a physical gap within the antenna conductor 105. 110 slotted end 155 extends a length L _t L _s along the length of the antenna conductor 105 (FIG. 2) from the opening machine, the antenna conductor is formed on one side of slot 110 and 156 in the portion 105 of slot 110 A portion of the antenna conductor 105 formed on the other side extends from the helical portion 157. The portion of the partially extended spiral portion 157 near the mechanical opening end 155 is wide, and the portion away from the open end 155 is narrow. The partially extended helical portion 157 thus forms a gradually flattened spiral in a direction away from the slot 110.

The ground plane 160 is formed on the opposite side of the substrate 130 away from the slotted antenna conductor 105. The cover portion 170 of the ground plane 160 extends from the ground plane 160 and overlaps the slotted antenna conductor 105 on the substrate 150 to electrically shield the slot 110 from the substrate 150 by capacitive coupling.

The capacitance formed between the two sides of the slot 110 and the cover portion 170 depends on the cover area on the sides of the slot 110 of the slotted antenna conductor 105 including the ground plane 160 and the dielectric constant of the substrate 130. Considering the marginal electric field of the side of the slotted antenna conductor 105 and the cover portion 170, a more accurate capacitance approximation between the two sides of the slot 110 and the cover portion 170 can be known. When capacitively covering the trenches 110 to the substrate 150, the capacitively-masked trenches form an LC (or resonant) circuit. Suitably selected length L _s of the slot determines the inductance of the slot 110. The capacitance can be determined by appropriately selecting the size of the covering portion 170, the thickness of the substrate 130, and the dielectric constant of the substrate 130. Therefore, the frequency of the LC circuit is a parameter depending on the above selection. LC selecting a value which corresponds to a wavelength having a total length of the slot 105 of the antenna conductor of the definition of L _t, in order to increase the gain of the antenna 100. LC selecting a value which corresponds to a wavelength, the wavelength shift of the wavelength of the wavelength of the total length of the antenna conductor having a slot 105 of the definition of L _t, in order to maintain the value of the antenna gain and the increased bandwidth of 100. In addition, the equivalent LC circuit of the slotted structure also enables a drive/receive circuit 120 to be mated to the slotted antenna conductor 105.

The antenna feed line 140 is coupled to the substrate 130 with a drive/receive circuit 120 having a slotted antenna conductor 105. The drive/receive circuit 120 drives or receives a signal to the antenna conductor 105 through the antenna feed line 140. The antenna feed line 140 is designed to be tapered to match the drive circuit to the antenna 100.

Substrate 130 is a dielectric material that conforms to various embodiments of the present disclosure and has a dielectric constant suitable for forming a capacitor that capacitively covers trench 110 to substrate 150. Suitable materials include, for example, FR4, fiberglass PCB, aluminum, tantalum, ceramic, glass, ceria, ruthenium, ferroelectric materials such as PZT, elastomeric substrates such as Teflon, polyimide PI, polyetheretherketone PEEK or Polyester. Additionally, in some embodiments, the substrate is not used and the cover 170 is separated from the slotted antenna conductor 105 by a vacuum or rated gas. When the gap between the partition cover portion 170 and the slotted antenna conductor 105 is non-vacuum, the gap between the cover portion 170 and the slotted antenna conductor 105 is filled with air, nitrogen, and SF ₆ .

In some embodiments, the slotted antenna conductor 105 is formed on the substrate 130. The ground plane 160 and the cover portion 170 are formed over the slotted antenna conductor 105. An insulator is formed between the slotted antenna conductor 105, the ground plane 160, and the cover portion 170 by one of the dielectric materials described above. In this way, the antenna 100 is formed on one side of the substrate 130.

The slotted antenna conductor 105, the antenna feedthrough 140, the cover 170 and the ground plane 160 are fabricated from a conductive material and are compatible with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The conductive material comprises a metal material such as aluminum, copper, gold, silver, chromium, nickel, lead, tin, an alloy or multilayer of the metal, a polymeric conductive material, a conductive paste, a low temperature or high temperature superconductor material.

4 is a graph 400 of the reflected power of antenna 100 as a function of frequency from a drive/receive circuit 120. The X-axis 410 is the frequency, the unit is GHz, and the Y-axis 420 is the reflected power in units of dB. Power is fed by the drive/receive circuit 120 to the slotted antenna conductor 105, which has two reflected zeros 430, 440. The two reflected zeros 430, 440 correspond to the radio frequency transmitted from the antenna 100. 430 corresponding to the reflection zero is the total length of the antenna conductor having a slot 105 of the L _t. Corresponding to the reflection zero point 440 is the length L _r of the slot 110 that is not covered by the cover portion 170 and the capacitance that capacitively covers the slot 110. Therefore, the total bandwidth of the slotted antenna 100 will be increased compared to the same antenna without slots.

The reflection zeros 430 and 440 are caused by the power radiated from the antenna 100 from the drive/receive circuit 120. Thus, the monopole portion of the slotted antenna conductor 105 and the portion of the slotted antenna conductor 105 and the slot 110 both emit radio waves.

When the power point of 1/10 of the reflection zero point 430 is at the same frequency as the power point of 1/10 of the reflection zero point 440, the bandwidth of the antenna 100 will increase to about twice. An antenna having two separate transmission bandwidths can be generated if it is attempted to locate reflection zeros 430 and 440 further than the opposite 1/10 power point. Moreover, if the reflection zeros 430 and 440 are located far apart, the matching function of the slot 110 will be lost.

In some embodiments, reflection zeros 430 and 440 are designed to overlap. If the reflection zeros 430 and 440 are designed to overlap substantially, the gain value of the antenna 100 at the zero point is increased compared to the gain value of the monopole antenna. Moreover, the bandwidth of this antenna 100 is reduced compared to antenna conductors without slots.

The length L _s of the slot 110 is consistent with the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of embodiments. In some embodiments, the length of the slot 110 is from 1/16 to 1/8 of the wavelength which corresponds to the wavelength of the transmission or reception frequency of the antenna 100.

The cover portion 170 extends over either side of the slot 110 and along a portion of the slotted antenna conductor 105 and on the opposite side of the substrate 130. In other embodiments, the cover portion 170 also extends along the slot 110 on either side of the slot 110. In other embodiments, the cover portion 170 is shaped on the base 150 of the slotted antenna conductor 105 to provide a suitable value for electrical capacitance between the base 150 and the cover portion 170 of the slotted antenna conductor 105. A shape.

The ground plane 160 is of sufficient size to enable the slotted antenna conductor 105 to transmit or receive signals. In some embodiments, the shape and location of the ground plane 160 corresponding to the slotted antenna conductor 105, the cover portion 170, and the feed line 140 are shaped or positioned to conform to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Moreover, in some embodiments, the ground plane 160 is formed on the same side of the substrate 130 as the slotted antenna conductor 105 or on both sides of the substrate 130.

In the embodiment of Figures 1 through 3, the slot 110 is formed in a mechanically open end 155 on the base 150 of the slotted antenna conductor 105. In other embodiments, the mechanically open end 155 of the slot 110 is not located on the base 150 of the slotted antenna conductor 105 at a distance along the antenna 100. The location of the slot 110 of the antenna 100 consistent with the various embodiments of the present disclosure along the beginning and end of the antenna 100 is within the scope of the present disclosure.

In the embodiment of Figures 1-3, the antenna 100 includes a single slot. In other embodiments, the plurality of slots 110 are formed by slotted antenna conductors 105, each slot 110 being formed with a respective cover portion 170 that is differently covered and capacitively covered. In some embodiments, the plurality of slots 110 each having a mechanically open end and a correspondingly capped portion of the cover are formed adjacent to each other and also adjacent to the base 150 of the slotted antenna conductor 105. For example, FIG. 5 is a top view of the antenna 300. Antenna 300 is similar to antenna 100 but has a modified antenna conductor 305 that includes an additional, in addition to the tapered helical portion 157 as shown in FIG. 2, the antenna conductor portion 156, and the slot 110. Slot 310. Slot 310 has an additional mechanical open end 356. An additional slot 310 is formed between the portion 156 of the antenna conductor 305 and the additional portion 357. The length of the additional slot 310 is different from the length of the slot 110 so that an additional reflection zero is produced which corresponds to a length L _r2 (as shown in Figure 5). The additional slot 310 is capacitively covered by the modified cover 370.

In some embodiments, the plurality of slots are formed at different locations along the slotted antenna conductor, having a plurality of different respective mechanically open ends formed at different locations along the slotted antenna conductor 105, and The slot is covered by the corresponding cover.

In a plurality of slotted embodiments, the frequency of the reflected zeros of each slot can be selected to more broaden the bandwidth of the antenna 100, increase the gain value of the antenna, or produce a combination of increased bandwidth and gain values of the antenna. Combinations of slot lengths and capacitances formed by corresponding cover portions 170 consistent with various embodiments of the present disclosure are within the scope of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the slotted antenna conductor 105 has a shape other than a folded monopole antenna. In some embodiments, the slotted antenna conductor is helical, meandered, straight, meandered, or other shape consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. In the embodiment formed in the above shape, the total length of the slotted antenna conductor 105 is about 1/4 of the desired transmission or reception frequency. Shape of the antenna above the slot from the base along the length of the antenna of the antenna and extending along the path of the shape of the antenna by a distance L _s. Thus, for example, a meander-shaped antenna has a slot that follows the shape of the meander.

In some embodiments, the feed line is not a tapered shape as shown in FIG. 1, but other shapes consistent with the various embodiments disclosed herein. For example, the feed line has a constant width, an exponentially shaped cone, a polynomial cone or other shape. As shown in FIG. 1, feed line 140 is in contact with substrate 150 with slotted antenna conductor 105. In other embodiments, the feeding line 140 and the slot antenna having a plurality of conductor contact 105 of the present invention is disclosed in Example consistent point, for example, from the base 150 and the total length L _t 1/4. In some embodiments, the feed line 140 is coupled to the slotted antenna conductor 105 by capacitive coupling, for example, an antenna formed on the opposite side of the substrate to the slotted antenna conductor 105 and slotted. Part of the conductor is covered to form a coupling capacitor. In other embodiments, the capacitance is formed by arranging the feed line 140 on the same side of the substrate as the slotted antenna conductor 105, wherein the feed line 140 is formed only adjacent to the slotted antenna conductor 105 but not contact.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of an antenna 500 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Antenna 500 is similar to antenna 100 and has a slotted antenna conductor 505 and slot 510. The ground plane 560 and the cover portion 570 are disposed on the same side of the substrate 530 which is the same as the slotted antenna conductor 505. To form the capacitance of the cover on the base 550 of the antenna, the cover 570 is formed adjacent to where the substrate 550 surrounds the slotted metal and the slotted antenna conductor 505 is coupled to the feed line 540. In some embodiments, the cover 570 surrounding the slot 510 at the base of the slotted antenna conductor 505 is shaped to provide a suitable capacitance between the base of the slotted antenna conductor 505 and the cover 570. The shape. As shown in FIG. 6, the cover portion 570 extends along the center of the slot 510 and is not in contact with the slotted antenna conductor 505.

In the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, 5, 6, the cover portion is in contact with the ground plane. In some embodiments, the cover portion is not in contact with the ground plane but capacitively couples both sides of the slotted mechanical open end. In some embodiments having multiple slots, the plurality of respective covers are not interconnected and are not connected to the ground plane, but are capacitively coupled to both sides of the respective mechanical open ends of the slots. Combinations of the combination of the cover portion to the ground plane and the combination of the cover portion not connected to the ground plane are compatible with the various embodiments of the present disclosure, which are within the scope of the present invention.

7 is a flow chart 600 of a method of transmitting a radio signal using antenna 100. The method begins with step 610 and continues with step 620.

In step 620, a signal is fed from the drive/receive circuit 120 through the feed line 140 to the antenna conductor 105. In other embodiments, the feed line used is one of the plurality of feed lines described above that are consistent with the various embodiments of the present disclosure. Next, proceed to the next step 630.

In step 630, the signal is transmitted by the slotted antenna conductor 105. Antenna 100 having a spectrum includes a first frequency response relative to the length of the slotted antenna conductor and a second frequency response relative to the length of slot 110 having slotted antenna conductor 105. In other embodiments, the slotted antenna conductor used is one of a plurality of slotted antenna conductors as described above in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, any number of frequency responses corresponding to the length of the additional slot and which are consistent with the various embodiments disclosed herein are within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, in other embodiments, any of the above-described embodiments of capacitively covering the slot 110 conforms to the various embodiments disclosed herein, and are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Next, proceed to the final step 640 of this method.

8 is a flow chart 700 of a method of receiving a radio signal using antenna 100. The method begins in step 710 and proceeds to the next step 720.

In step 720, the slotted antenna conductor 105 receives a signal. Antenna 100 having a spectrum includes a first frequency response relative to the length of the slotted antenna conductor and a second frequency response relative to the length of slot 110 having slotted antenna conductor 105. In other embodiments, the slotted antenna conductor used is one of a plurality of slotted antenna conductors as described above in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, any number of frequency responses corresponding to the length of the additional slot and which are consistent with the various embodiments disclosed herein are within the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, in some embodiments, any of the above-described single or multiple capacitively masking slots 110 are consistent with the various embodiments disclosed herein, which are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Next, proceed to the next step 730.

In step 730, a signal is transmitted from the antenna conductor 105 through the feed line 140 by the drive/receive circuit 120. In other embodiments, the feed line used is one of the plurality of feed lines described above that are consistent with the various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Next, proceed to the final step 740 of this method.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed embodiments will satisfy the single or multiple advantages described above. From the above-mentioned features, it is to be understood that any of the ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope defined by the patent scope shall prevail.

100, 300, 500. . . antenna

105, 305, 505. . . Antenna conductor

110, 310, 510. . . Slotting

120. . . Drive/receiver circuit

130, 530‧‧‧ substrate

140, 540‧‧‧ feed line

150, 550‧‧‧ base

155, 357‧‧‧ open end

156‧‧‧Parts of the antenna conductor

157‧‧‧ spiral part

160, 560‧‧‧ ground plane

170, 370, 570‧‧‧ Covering Department

400‧‧‧ Chart

410‧‧‧X-axis

420‧‧‧Y axis

430, 440‧‧‧ reflection zero

600, 700‧‧‧ method

610, 620, 630, 640, 710, 720, 730, 740 ‧ ‧ steps

L _s , L _r , L _t , L _r2 ‧‧‧ length

1 is a perspective view of an antenna including an antenna conductor having a slot in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a top view of the antenna of FIG. 1 including an antenna conductor having a slot.

3 is a bottom view of the antenna of FIG. 1 including an antenna conductor having a slot.

Figure 4 is a graph of the reflected power from a drive circuit of Figures 1 through 3 as a function of frequency.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of an antenna in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of an antenna in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flow diagram of a method of transmitting a radio signal using a slotted antenna, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a flow diagram of a method of receiving a radio signal using a slotted antenna in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

100. . . antenna

105. . . Antenna conductor

110. . . Slotting

120. . . Drive/receiver circuit

130. . . Substrate

140. . . Feed line

150. . . Base

155. . . Open end

156. . . Part of the antenna conductor

157. . . Spiral part

160. . . Ground plane

170. . . Cover

Claims (17)

An antenna includes: a signal feeding structure; an antenna conductor coupled to the signal feeding structure, wherein the antenna conductor has at least one slot formed therein; and a corresponding portion of a ground plane capacitively covering the at least An open end of the slot, wherein the antenna conductor is not electrically connected to the ground plane, wherein a length of one of the at least one slot is selected and a capacitance of the open end is capacitively covered to widen the antenna A bandwidth, increasing a gain value of the antenna or matching the antenna to at least one of a drive/receive circuit. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the corresponding portion of the ground plane is formed on an opposite side of the substrate to the antenna conductor. The antenna of claim 2, wherein the corresponding portion of the ground plane is formed at the open end of the at least one slot. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the corresponding portion of the ground plane is formed on the same side from one of the substrates to the antenna conductor. The antenna of claim 2, wherein the corresponding portion of the ground plane is formed adjacent to the open end of the at least one slot. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the antenna conductor forms a monopole antenna having a length corresponding to substantially one quarter of a wavelength of one of the transmission or reception frequencies of the antenna. The antenna of claim 1, wherein the antenna conductor forms a spiral shape. An antenna includes: a signal feeding structure; an antenna conductor coupled to the signal feeding structure, the antenna conductor is not electrically connected to a ground plane, and the antenna conductor has at least one slot formed therein; a corresponding cover portion capacitively covering the at least one slot at a mechanical open end, wherein a length of one of the at least one slot is selected and a capacitance of the open end is capacitively covered to Broadening a bandwidth of the antenna, increasing a gain value of the antenna or matching the antenna to at least one of a drive/receive circuit. The antenna of claim 8, wherein the corresponding cover portion is formed from an opposite side of the insulator to the antenna conductor, and the at least one slot is opposite the open end. The antenna of claim 8, wherein the corresponding cover portion is formed on the same side from one of the insulators to the antenna conductor, and adjacent to the open end of the at least one slot. The antenna of claim 10, wherein the material of the insulator forms a dielectric of the capping capacitor. The antenna of claim 8 wherein the length of one of the at least one slot corresponds to substantially one-sixteenth to one-eighth of a wavelength of one of the transmission or reception frequencies of the antenna. A method of transmitting or receiving at least one of a radio signal, comprising: feeding at least one first signal to an antenna conductor, the antenna conductor to Forming one less slot, the antenna conductor is coupled to the signal feeding structure, the antenna conductor is not electrically connected to a ground plane; and the first signal is transmitted from the antenna conductor, the antenna conductor having a spectrum including: a frequency response corresponding to one of the lengths of the antenna; and at least a second frequency response corresponding to the length of at least one slot; or receiving a second signal to the antenna conductor having the spectrum; and from the antenna The conductor feeds the second signal, wherein a value of the first frequency response and a value of the at least one second frequency response are selected to broaden a bandwidth of the antenna, increase a gain value of the antenna, or the antenna Matches at least one of a drive/receive circuit. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one slot is capacitively covered by a corresponding cover. The method of claim 14, wherein the corresponding covering portion is formed from an opposite side of the substrate to the antenna conductor, and the at least one slot is opposite to a mechanical opening end. The method of claim 14, wherein the corresponding cover portion is formed on the same side from one of the substrates to the antenna conductor, and adjacent to one of the mechanical open ends of the at least one slot. The method of claim 13, wherein the length of one of the at least one slot corresponds to substantially one-sixteenth to one-eighth of a wavelength of one of transmission or reception frequencies of the antenna.