TWM609827U - Transparent antenna element used for 5g based station - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a transparent antenna element used for 5G based station, which comprises: a glass substrate; a transparent flexible substrate attached to the glass substrate; and a transparent conductive pattern formed on a surface of the flexible substrate. The transparent antenna element of the present invention can easily realize a mobile communication base station.

Description

Transparent antenna elements for 5G base stations

This creation is about transparent antenna elements, and more particularly about transparent antenna elements used in mobile base stations.

The new generation of mobile communication technology, 5G network will meet the communication needs of end users and economic development after 2020. With the support of this technology, the Internet of Everything, including mobile phones, tablets, automobiles, home appliances, and factory production facilities, will be realized, forming the Internet of Things (IoT). At the same time, 5G will also become the foundation for building a mobile and interconnected society, and it is also a key technology for realizing digitization in various fields of life and economy.

The base station antenna is the information conversion between the base station equipment and the end user. In the signal transmission process, the modulated radio frequency current is converted into electromagnetic waves by the base station antenna and radiated to a predetermined area (such as a mobile phone); in the receiving process, use The modulated electromagnetic wave of the information is received by the base station antenna, effectively converted into radio frequency current, and transmitted to the central office equipment. That is, the base station antenna plays an important role in the transmission of mobile communications, which directly affects the service quality and coverage of the communication network. Base station antenna design techniques include Multi-Beam, Active Phased Array, Beamforming, Massive MIMO, etc.

As the design of 5G antennas becomes more systematic and complicated, such as beam arrays (reach Space division multiplexing), multiple beams and multiple and high frequency bands put forward higher requirements for antennas, and involve the entire system and compatibility issues. In particular, the design of array antennas will affect the transmission capacity, coverage and efficiency. For telecom operators Said, affect operating costs and capital expenditures. It is difficult to transmit 5G signals over long distances. The base station is best placed on the middle floor of the building, rather than on the top of the building far from the ground. The glass antenna uses a transparent and inconspicuous design, and it is expected that many building owners will allow the installation of such antennas.

The high transmission rate of 5G technology will also have a significant impact on the design of smart phones. As antennas using 5G technology require more space, the metal materials currently applied to the back cover of mobile phones will be replaced by ceramics, glass or plastics. The series of material requirements for transparent antenna elements include: outdoor low-temperature impact resistance technology, antenna housing weight reduction technology, radio frequency signal transmission research, thermal management solutions, electronic integration solutions, post-consumer recycling materials, etc. Flexible transparent film materials have been widely used in the field of electronics and electrical appliances due to their excellent properties, and are also one of the ideal materials for 5G technology. Transparent film products can realize fitting or protruding according to the environment and population density to match the specific environment. In this way, the function of the technical facilities will be maximized, which not only meets the needs of technology, but also ensures that products can be more integrated or strengthened in the construction of 5G cities.

However, the transparent antennas in the past are all based on a single substrate, that is, design and manufacture of glass substrates or flexible substrates. However, the production of antennas on glass substrates requires more complicated processes, such as oxide sputtering and etching; while the production of transparent antennas on flexible substrates requires low-temperature processes, and because the thickness of the flexible substrate is relatively thin, the antenna The line widths are thinner. This makes it difficult to realize the transparent antenna on the glass substrate.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to provide a transparent antenna element applicable to mobile base stations, which can solve the above-mentioned problems.

The main purpose of this creation is to propose a transparent antenna element. The transparent antenna element can be applied to a mobile 5G base station, and has the advantages of high mobility, convenient carrying, resistance to outdoor low-temperature impact, and post-consumer recycling of materials. By laminating the transparent flexible substrate on the glass substrate, it is possible to realize fitting or protruding transparent antenna elements according to the environment and population density to match specific environmental signal reception.

In order to achieve the main purpose of this creation, this creation provides a transparent antenna element, which includes: a glass substrate; a transparent flexible substrate attached to the glass substrate; a transparent conductive pattern formed on a surface of the flexible substrate .

According to a feature of this creation, the flexible substrate is selected from liquid crystal polymer plates or polycarbonate-based materials, and its thickness is less than 1 micron.

According to a feature of this creation, the material of the transparent conductive pattern is selected from one of: oxide materials, silver nanowires, conductive polymers, or conductive metal grids.

According to a feature of this creation, the transparent conductive pattern further includes a protective film.

According to a feature of this creation, the transparent conductive pattern is a coplanar waveguide pattern.

The transparent antenna element of this creation has the following functions: 1. The transparent antenna element can be applied to mobile 5G base stations, with high mobility and easy to carry; 2. The transparent antenna element can resist outdoor low-temperature impact, and has the advantages of recycling materials after consumption. 3. The transparent antenna element can realize a fitting or protruding transparent antenna element according to different environments and population densities to match specific environmental signal reception.

10: Transparent antenna element

20: Glass substrate

30: Transparent flexible substrate

32, 34: surface

40: Transparent conductive pattern

50: Protective film

In order to make the above and other purposes, features, and advantages of this creation more obvious and understandable, several preferred embodiments are listed below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are described in detail as follows. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the creative transparent antenna element.

Although the present creation can be expressed in different forms of embodiments, those shown in the drawings and described herein are the preferred embodiments of the creation. Those familiar with the art will understand that the devices and methods specifically described in this article and illustrated in the drawings are considered as examples of this creation, non-limiting illustrative embodiments, and the scope of this creation is only within the scope of the patent application. Be defined. The features illustrated or described in combination with an exemplary embodiment can be combined with features of other embodiments. These modifications and changes will be included in the scope of this creation.

Please refer to Figure 1, which is a creation of a transparent antenna element 10, which includes: a glass substrate 20; a transparent flexible substrate 30 attached to the glass substrate 20; a transparent conductive pattern 40 formed on the transparent On one surface 32 of the flexible substrate 30.

The glass substrate 20 can withstand high thermal load, can withstand temperatures exceeding 600°C without being damaged, has a thickness of less than 200μm, has flexibility, good optical properties, weather resistance, heat resistance and chemical resistance, and It has excellent barrier properties for gas molecules, that is, it does not affect its optical, thermal reflection and electrical properties. It can also be used for bonding other conductive film layers with lower thermal resistance. The glass substrate 20 is preferably glass containing microcrystalline components or quartz components, and the glass substrate 20 has a total light transmittance of at least greater than or equal to 90%.

The transparent flexible substrate 30 is a multi-layer film substrate with polyimide, polycarbonate or polyethylene terephthalate as the main body. The light transmittance is greater than 90%, and the haze is 0.7~3; there will be opportunities for use in the manufacturing process. Continuous roll-to-roll process. The flexible substrate 30 is preferably selected from liquid crystal polymer plates or polycarbonate-based materials, and its thickness is less than 1 micron.

The material of the transparent conductive pattern 40 is selected from one of oxide materials, silver nanowires, conductive polymers, or conductive metal grids. The transparent conductive pattern 40 is an antenna structure pattern. The transparent conductive pattern 40 may use a microstrip line pattern, a strip line pattern, or a coplanar waveguide line pattern. Since it is fabricated on the transparent flexible substrate 30 and then attached to the glass substrate 20, the transparent conductive pattern is preferably a coplanar waveguide pattern.

In the past, the design and manufacture of transparent antennas were all based on a single substrate, that is, it was designed and manufactured on a flexible substrate or a glass substrate. However, the production of antennas on the glass substrate requires more complicated processes, such as sputtering and etching of oxides; and the production of transparent antennas on the flexible substrate 30 requires low-temperature processes, and because the thickness of the flexible substrate is relatively thin, Therefore, the line width of the antenna is relatively thin.

Therefore, an important technique of this creation is to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings. The antenna structure is first manufactured on the transparent flexible substrate 30 and then attached to the glass substrate 20. In this way, the difficulty of fabricating a transparent antenna structure on the glass can be reduced. However, when the transparent conductive pattern 40 is designed into the antenna structure, it has been considered that the transparent flexible substrate 30 will be attached to the glass substrate 20. Therefore, when the impedance matching of the line width of the antenna structure is designed, the glass substrate is used. 20 and the thickness of the transparent flexible substrate 30 and the overall substrate thickness of the antenna structure. In this way, it can be avoided that fabricating the antenna structure on the thin transparent flexible substrate 30 will require the use of a very thin line width, especially when designing a 28 GHz centimeter wave antenna for a 5G communication system. Since the dielectric constants of the transparent flexible substrate 30 and the glass substrate 20 are different, but both are between 3 and 10, the impedance design of the line width can be easily calculated by electromagnetic simulation software. The impedance of the line width of the antenna structure of the transparent conductive pattern 40 is between 40 ohms and 90 ohms. The frequency of the antenna structure is preferably the frequency used in the 5G communication system, and the antenna structure preferably uses a patch antenna to obtain a higher power carrying capacity.

With the above-mentioned technology, the transparent flexible substrate 30 can be used with a very thin thickness, that is, less than 1 micrometer, and the line width of the antenna structure is not too thin to make it difficult to manufacture. The transparent conductive pattern 40 can be manufactured by using a low-cost manufacturing method to achieve the antenna structure. For example, a continuous roll-to-roll process is used to mass-produce the transparent conductive pattern 40 with an antenna structure. On the flexible substrate 30.

The transparent conductive pattern 40 further includes a protective film 50 to protect the transparent conductive pattern 40 from deterioration due to moisture. The protective film 50 may be an insulating dielectric film, such as aluminum oxide, with a thickness of less than 100 nanometers, which can avoid reducing the light transmittance.

The bonding surface of the transparent flexible substrate 30 and the glass substrate 20 further includes a transparent bonding layer (Figure 1 is not shown). The transparent bonding layer is a liquid transparent optical adhesive, which is mainly a special adhesive used for bonding transparent elements, and its thickness is less than 150 nanometers (nm).

Although this creation has been disclosed in the foregoing preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit this creation. Anyone who is familiar with this art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of this creation. As explained above, various modifications and changes can be made without destroying the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of this creation shall be subject to the scope of the attached patent application.

10: Transparent antenna element

20: Glass substrate

30: Transparent flexible substrate

32, 34: surface

40: Transparent conductive pattern

50: Protective film

Claims (10)

A transparent antenna element includes: a glass substrate; a transparent flexible substrate attached to the glass substrate; and a transparent conductive antenna structure formed on a surface of the transparent flexible substrate. The transparent antenna element according to claim 1, wherein the transparent flexible substrate is selected from liquid crystal polymer plates or polycarbonate-based materials, and its thickness is less than 1 micron. The transparent antenna element according to claim 1, wherein the material of the transparent conductive antenna structure is selected from one of: oxide materials, silver nanowires, conductive polymers, or conductive metal grids. The transparent antenna element according to claim 1, wherein the transparent conductive antenna structure further comprises a protective film, and the protective film is an insulating dielectric film. The transparent antenna element according to claim 1, wherein the transparent conductive antenna structure is a coplanar waveguide pattern. The transparent antenna element according to claim 1, wherein the transparent conductive antenna structure further includes a protective film whose thickness is less than 100 nanometers. The transparent antenna element according to claim 1, wherein the bonding surface of the transparent flexible substrate and the glass substrate further comprises a transparent bonding layer, and the transparent bonding layer is a liquid transparent optical glue. The transparent antenna element according to claim 1, wherein the bonding surface of the transparent flexible substrate and the glass substrate further includes a transparent bonding layer, the thickness of which is less than 150 nanometers (nm). The transparent antenna element according to claim 1, wherein the transparent conductive antenna structure is a one-piece antenna Patch antenna. The transparent antenna element according to claim 7, wherein the dielectric constant of the transparent flexible substrate is between 3 and 10.

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