Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
  • H01Q1/52—Means for reducing coupling between antennas; Means for reducing coupling between an antenna and another structure
  • H01Q1/521—Means for reducing coupling between antennas; Means for reducing coupling between an antenna and another structure reducing the coupling between adjacent antennas
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q15/00—Devices for reflection, refraction, diffraction or polarisation of waves radiated from an antenna, e.g. quasi-optical devices
  • H01Q15/0006—Devices acting selectively as reflecting surface, as diffracting or as refracting device, e.g. frequency filtering or angular spatial filtering devices
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q15/00—Devices for reflection, refraction, diffraction or polarisation of waves radiated from an antenna, e.g. quasi-optical devices
  • H01Q15/0006—Devices acting selectively as reflecting surface, as diffracting or as refracting device, e.g. frequency filtering or angular spatial filtering devices
  • H01Q15/0086—Devices acting selectively as reflecting surface, as diffracting or as refracting device, e.g. frequency filtering or angular spatial filtering devices said selective devices having materials with a synthesized negative refractive index, e.g. metamaterials or left-handed materials

Definitions

• This invention relates to techniques for improving isolation between antennas by using metamaterials, to the metamaterials themselves, and to antenna devices comprising such metamaterials.
• a metamaterial is an artificial material engineered to have properties that are not found in nature. Naturally occurring materials exhibit electromagnetic behaviour determined by their atomic and molecular structures. With metamaterials, the electromagnetic behaviour is modified by introducing structural features into the material that are smaller than the wavelength electromagnetic wave propagating through the material. Typically these features will have a size ⁇ /10 to ⁇ /20. In their simplest form, these structural features are distributed capacitive and inductive elements fabricated on a dielectric substrate such as FR4 (commonly used in printed circuit boards (PCBs)). More complex structures are possible and the use of discrete components, such as commercial capacitors, has also been explored.
• FR4 commonly used in printed circuit boards
• n ⁇ ( ⁇ ).
• FR4 which is naturally translucent at microwave radio frequencies
• This can have applications for shielding an antenna from nearby conducting surfaces and for improving the isolation between antennas.
• Negative refractive index metamaterials can be constructed at microwave frequencies using arrays of electrically conductive elements engineered to have a suitable capacitance C and inductance L.
• One of the earliest and most commonly used elements is the Split Ring Resonator (SRR) [Pendry, J B.; AJ Holden, DJ Robbins, and WJ Stewart. "Magnetism from Conductors and Enhanced Nonlinear Phenomena" IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech 47 (1 1 ): 2075-2084, 1999].
• SRR element comprises two or more concentric rings, each having a split. The capacitance of each element arises from the close spacing between the concentric rings and the inductance from the thin printed traces used to create the rings.
• the L-shaped resonators are formed of copper wire on an FR4 substrate, with each unit cell comprising a pair of L-shaped resonators arranged with one rotated by 180° to the other.
• metamaterials include those with split-ring resonator unit cells, as described, for example, in Moser, H O et al. ["Electromagnetic metamaterials over the whole THz range - achievements and perspectives"; ELECTROMAGNETIC MATERIALS Proceedings of the Symposium R, ICMAT 2005 (World Scientific Publishing Co.): 18].
• a commonly used microwave radio frequency is 2.4 GHz, which is employed for BluetoothTM links, wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc.
• the wavelength at 2.4 GHz is around 120 mm and so each LC element in the array might be expected to have a size typically in the order of 6-12 mm.
• a metamaterial comprising an array of unit cells each formed by at least one conductive track, wherein the at least one conductive track of at least one of the unit cells has a different length or width or thickness to the at least one conductive track of the other unit cells.
• the metamaterial may comprise a 2D array of unit cells formed on or in a dielectric substrate.
• the metamaterial may comprise a stack of 2D arrays of unit cells, each 2D array of unit cells formed on or in a respective dielectric substrate. At least one of the dielectric substrates in the stack may be made of a material having a different dielectric constant to at least one other of the dielectric substrates in the stack. This can help to improve the bandwidth over which the metamaterial provides isolation between two or more antennas.
• the metamaterial may comprise a first 2D array of unit cells on a first surface of a dielectric substrate, and a second 2D array of unit cells on an opposed, second surface of the dielectric substrate. At least one further 2D array of unit cells may be formed as in interstitial layer within the dielectric substrate between the first and second 2D arrays.
• the unit cells of at least one 2D array may each be formed by at least one conductive track having a different length or width or thickness to the at least one conductive track of the unit cells in at least one other 2D array. This can help to improve the bandwidth over which the metamaterial provides isolation between two or more antennas.
• At least one and generally each unit cell may comprise at least one conductive track configured as a split-ring resonator.
• the split-ring resonator may be symmetrical about a mirror plane, or may be asymmetrical.
• asymmetrical denotes a split-ring resonator that does not have a mirror symmetry plane perpendicular to the plane of the conductive track.
• Asymmetrical arrangements may provide isolation over a wider bandwidth than symmetrical arrangements.
• At least one unit cell may comprises first and second L-shaped conductive members disposed back-to-back in a plane with a gap between the members, and connected together by a perimetral conductive track that runs from an arm of the first L- shaped conductive member to an arm of the second L-shaped conductive member so as substantially to surround both L-shaped conductive members in the plane.
• the L-shaped conductive members, the split-ring resonators and/or the perimetral conductive track are formed on a dielectric substrate, for example a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate such as Duroid® or FR4, or on a flexible plastics substrate such as that used for flexi-circuits.
• a dielectric substrate for example a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate such as Duroid® or FR4, or on a flexible plastics substrate such as that used for flexi-circuits.
• the L-shaped conductive members, the split-ring resonators and/or the perimetral conductive track may be printed or formed on a dielectric substrate in the form of an adhesive tape, which can then be applied to a PCB substrate as required.
• the perimetral conductive track may be generally rectangular in outline. Alternatively, generally circular, elliptical, oval or other polygonal outlines may be employed.
• a gap may be defined in the perimetral conductive track corresponding to the gap between the back-to-back L-shaped conductive members.
• the perimetral conductive track may be split between the two L-shaped members.
• the perimetral conductive track is not split between the two L- shaped members, but forms a continuous perimeter.
• the array of elements may be configured as an n x m array having a generally 2- D configuration.
• the array of elements may be configured as an I x n x m array having a generally 3-D configuration.
• several layers of metamaterial may be stacked on top of each other, with each layer having the same or different 2-D arrays of elements formed thereon.
• the elements within any given array may be generally of the same shape and size. Alternatively, one or more elements within any given array may have slightly different sizes or shapes so that the elements are resonant at slightly different frequencies. Alternatively or in addition, one of the L-shaped conductive members in at least one of the elements may be differently sized and/or shaped than the other L-shaped conductive member. These arrangements may help to improve bandwidth.
• each array of elements it is not necessary for each array of elements to be a filled array. Indeed, one or more elements may be omitted from an array, and this has been found to improve the degree of isolation across a wider bandwidth. Moreover, it is possible to provide a degree of tuning by altering a position of one or more elements where space is made available through not filling the array. For example, an incompletely filled array may comprise a left hand column of two elements, a right hand column of two elements, and a middle column with only one element. By moving the element in the middle column up or down the column, the bandwidth of the metamaterial can be fine-tuned as required.
• the metamaterial may be used to improve isolation between two or more antennas. This is of particular advantage in antenna systems using antenna diversity or MIMO technology, since these employ several antennas operating simultaneously within a small space.
• the present invention provides an antenna system comprising at least two antennas disposed on a substrate and a portion of metamaterial of the first aspect disposed between the at least two antennas.
• a metamaterial comprising a dielectric substrate with first and second opposed surfaces, with a first pattern of elements formed on the first surface and a second pattern of elements formed on the second surface.
• the first and second patterns of elements may be tuned to different frequencies or frequency bands, and the dual surface metamaterial, when disposed between a pair of dual-band antennas, can improve antenna isolation on both bands.
• a similar result may be achieved by forming a first metamaterial comprising a dielectric substrate with a first pattern of elements, forming a second metamaterial comprising a dielectric substrate with a second pattern of elements, and then positioning the second metamaterial on top of the first metamaterial between a pair of antennas.
• This principle may be extended to multiple metamaterial layers or surfaces so as to improve isolation between two antennas in several bands.
• the metamaterial can also be used to improve isolation between several (more than two) antennas, including several antennas disposed in a co-planar fashion and in geometries other than co-planar.
• the conductive structures of the metamaterial are printed or otherwise formed on one or both surfaces of a dielectric substrate material, for example FR4.
• the conductive structures are printed or otherwise formed on an interstitial layer of dielectric substrate material, such as FR4.
• FR4 dielectric substrate material
• other common PCB substrate materials including Duroid®, may also be used. Multiple layers of dielectric substrate with the same or different dielectric constant may be used.
• the novel metamaterial structure of certain embodiments can be used to increase the isolation between a pair of closely spaced antennas.
• the metamaterial structure of some embodiments may be low cost as it can be printed on a layer of FR4, a low cost substrate material often use in the radio industry.
• Some embodiments have a further advantage that, for dual band antennas and antenna arrangement, the metamaterial can be engineered to improve the isolation between both bands. This can be achieved by introducing an additional layer of dielectric substrate, printed with a different array of LC elements, above or below the first layer. Indeed, isolation between more bands is possible by introducing more layers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• Figure 1 shows a prior art arrangement comprising a pair of closely spaced dual- band WLAN antennas on a PCB;
• Figure 2 is a plot showing the isolation between the two WLAN antennas of the Figure 1 arrangement
• Figure 3 shows a first embodiment comprising a metamaterial on a PCB
• Figure 4 shows a second embodiment comprising a metamaterial on a PCB
• Figure 5 shows a third embodiment comprising a dual-band composite metamaterial comprising a first layer of the Figure 3 embodiment and a second layer of the Figure 4 embodiment;
• Figure 6 shows the metamaterial of Figure 5 disposed between a pair of WLAN antennas similar to those shown in Figure 1 ;
• Figure 7 is a plot showing the isolation between the two WLAN antennas of the Figure 6 arrangement
• Figure 8 shows how the metamaterial of the Figure 5 embodiment can be tuned by moving a middle element on one layer of metamaterial
• Figure 9 is a plot showing the isolation between the two WLAN antennas of the Figure 6 arrangement when a middle element on one layer of metamaterial is moved;
• Figure 10 shows a metamaterial comprising a 2D array of split-ring resonators on a dielectric substrate with one or more of the split-ring resonators having a different size to the others;
• Figure 1 1 shows a metamaterial comprising a 2D array of split-ring resonators on a dielectric substrate with one or more of the split-ring resonators having a different shape to the others;
• Figure 12 shows a metamaterial comprising a 2D array of split-ring resonators having a first configuration on one surface of a dielectric substrate, and a 2D array of split- ring resonators having a second, different configuration on the other surface of the dielectric substrate; and
• Figure 13 shows a metamaterial comprising a 2D array of split-ring resonators having a first configuration on one surface of a dielectric substrate, a 2D array of split-ring resonators having a second, different configuration on the other surface of the dielectric substrate, and an interstitial 2D array of split-ring resonators having a third, different configuration between the surfaces of the dielectric substrate.
• Figure 1 shows two coplanar 2.4/5 GHz dual-band quarter-wave monopole antennas 1 , 2 are closely spaced in a generally parallel arrangement on a PCB 3 comprising a dielectric substrate 4 with a conductive groundplane 5 over part of the substrate 4, and an area 6 free of groundplane 5 where the antennas 1 , 2 are located.
• a PCB 3 comprising a dielectric substrate 4 with a conductive groundplane 5 over part of the substrate 4, and an area 6 free of groundplane 5 where the antennas 1 , 2 are located.
• the width of the PCB 3 is 20 mm and the antenna area 6 clear of groundplane 5 is 15 mm long.
• the long lower portion 7 of the antenna is generally responsible for the radiation of 2.4 GHz and the elevated portions 1 , 2 for the 5 GHz radiation.
• the height of the antenna at its tallest part is 3.2 mm.
• the monopole antennas 1 , 2 are spaced only about ⁇ /6 apart and so the isolation between them is poor at around -6 dB, see Figure 2.
• the monopole antennas 1 , 2 are electrically further apart, but even so, the worst-case the isolation remains poor at around -8 dB.
• a metamaterial structure of an embodiment of the present application is shown in Figure 3.
• a plurality of conductive LC (inductive capacitive) elements 8 are printed on a single surface of FR4 substrate 9 and require no vias to ground (used in some metamaterial structures).
• the elements 8 are not conductively connected to each other.
• the inductance of each element 8 arises from the narrow conductive tracks 10 and the capacitance primarily from the closely spaced back- to-back L-shaped elements 1 1 .
• the use of double L-shaped metamaterials has been described in the literature [J. H. Lv, X. W. Hu, M.H. Liu, B. R. Yan and L. H.
• FIG. 4 An alternative metamaterial design is shown in Figure 4, and is tuned to the 5 GHz band.
• a plurality of conductive LC elements 8' are printed on a single surface of FR4 substrate 9, but in the Figure 4 embodiment, the elements 8' are conductively linked to each other and arranged as a pair of closely spaced columns. Other arrangments are possible.
• a 5 GHz surface of the Figure 4 embodiment can be mounted on top of and appropriately registered or aligned with a 2.4 GHz surface of the Figure 3 embodiment, as shown in Figure 5, to provide a dual-band metamaterial 14.
• Figure 6 shows a complete structure of a pair of monopole antennas 1 , 2 on a PCB 3, with a dual-band combined metamaterial 14 of Figure 5 disposed between the monopole antennas 1 , 2.
• the isolation between the antennas 1 , 2 is improved in both bands, as shown in Figure 7.
• the isolation In the lower 2.4 GHz band the isolation has a very deep null and even at the band edges it is around -12 dB. This could be improved by careful tuning of the metamaterial 14 to put the null exactly in the centre of the band.
• the isolation around 5 GHz In the high frequency band the isolation around 5 GHz is -20 dB. This notch may be moved to any part of the 4.9 - 5.9 GHz band by retuning the metamaterial 14.
• the lower layer of the dual-band metamaterial 14 is an unfilled array and has one element missing in the centre column (see Figure 3). Moving the position of the element within the column, see Figure 8, can be used to change the bandwidth of isolation in the 5GHz band without much affecting the isolation frequency of the 2.4 GHz. This effect is shown in Figure 9.
• the 2.4 GHz metamaterial has been shown as a 3x2 element array, whereas the 5 GHz metamaterial has been shown as a 2x3 array. It will be appreciated that other array configurations are possible with greater or smaller number of elements. It will also be appreciated that more than one array element may be removed to tune the bandwidth of the isolation effect.
• FR4 has been used as the substrate material.
• substrate material Many other types may be used including low and high dielectric materials.
• the beneficial characteristics of a metamaterial improve with increasing numbers of elements in the array.
• the use of a high dielectric substrate may be used to shrink the element size and allow more elements to be used in the array.
• n-band metamaterials can be created using n-layer substrates.
• isolation between two antennas has been described in the exemplary arrangement above, isolation between greater numbers is possible by suitably disposing metamaterial elements between all the pairs.
• Figure 10 shows a metamaterial comprising a 2D array of split-ring resonators 8 on a dielectric substrate 9 with one or more of the split-ring resonators 8 having a different size to the others. This may help to provide isolation over a wider bandwidth.
• Figure 1 1 shows a metamaterial comprising a 2D array of split-ring resonators 8 on a dielectric substrate 9 with one or more of the split-ring resonators 8 having a different shape to the others. This may help to provide isolation over a wider bandwidth.
• Figure 12 shows a metamaterial comprising a 2D array of split-ring resonators 8 having a first configuration on one surface of a dielectric substrate 9, and a 2D array of split-ring resonators 8' having a second, different configuration on the other surface of the dielectric substrate 9. This may help to provide isolation over a wider bandwidth.
• Figure 13 shows a metamaterial comprising a 2D array of split-ring resonators 8 having a first configuration on one surface of a dielectric substrate 9, a 2D array of split- ring resonators 8' having a second, different configuration on the other surface of the dielectric substrate 9, and an interstitial 2D array of split-ring resonators 8" having a third, different configuration between the surfaces of the dielectric substrate 9. This may help to provide isolation over a wider bandwidth.

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• 2011
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