WO2017197997A1

WO2017197997A1 - Metamaterial, reflective surface of antenna, and method and apparatus for controlling metamaterial

Info

Publication number: WO2017197997A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/079574
Authority: WO
Inventors: 刘若鹏; 季春霖; 谭艳清; 聂晶
Original assignee: 深圳超级数据链技术有限公司
Priority date: 2016-05-19
Filing date: 2017-04-06
Publication date: 2017-11-23
Also published as: CN107404004A

Abstract

A metamaterial, a reflective surface of an antenna, and a method and apparatus for controlling the metamaterial. The metamaterial comprises at least one metamaterial structure unit. The metamaterial structure unit comprises a substrate material and a conductive geometric structure attached to the substrate material. The conductive geometric structure comprises a metal ring having at least two notches. The at least two notches are of a symmetrical structure. A varactor is added on each of the notches. The technical problem in the prior art of difficulty in controlling the working frequency of a metamaterial is resolved.

Description

Super material, antenna reflecting surface, super material control method and device

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of electromagnetic communication, and in particular to a method and apparatus for controlling a metamaterial, an antenna reflecting surface, and a metamaterial.

Background technique

Metamaterials are artificial composite structures with extraordinary physical properties not found in traditional natural materials. However, for metamaterials, their special electromagnetic properties have a frequency range beyond which the special electromagnetic properties are weakened. Even disappeared. In order to realize the ability of artificial electromagnetic structure to dynamically control electromagnetic waves, it is usually necessary to control the electromagnetic properties of metamaterials in real time.

So far, controllable metamaterials mainly include three categories: (1) mechanically controlled supermaterials; (2) loading microwave switches; (3) loading controllable materials (ferrite, liquid crystal materials, graphene, etc.) ).

technical problem

The mechanically controllable metamaterial has a relatively large volume and is difficult to operate due to the precise control of the amount of movement; the state of the controllable metamaterial loaded with the microwave switch is related to the number of switches, and it is necessary to achieve a sufficient number of states. It is necessary to add enough switches, which leads to an increase in the complexity of the structure; while the metamaterial loaded with the controllable material has a small frequency range of regulation, and an anti-bias field is required to cause the structure of the metamaterial to be complicated. In view of the difficulty in adjusting the operating frequency of metamaterials in the prior art, an effective solution has not yet been proposed.

Problem solution

Technical solution

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for controlling a metamaterial, an antenna reflecting surface, and a metamaterial to solve at least the technical problem that the working frequency of the metamaterial in the prior art is difficult to adjust.

According to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a metamaterial is provided, comprising: at least one metamaterial structural unit, wherein the metamaterial structural unit comprises: a base material and a conductive geometric structure attached to the base material, the conductive geometric structure comprising A metal ring having at least two notches, wherein at least two of the notches are symmetrical; any one of the notches is loaded with a varactor.

According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an antenna reflecting surface comprising any one of the above-described embodiments.

According to still another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a method for controlling a metamaterial includes the super material of any of the above embodiments, and the method for controlling the metamaterial includes: obtaining a capacitance of a varactor and a metamaterial. The relationship model of the working frequency; find the working capacitance corresponding to the target working frequency in the relational model according to the target working frequency; adjust the working frequency of the metamaterial by adjusting the capacitance of the varactor to the working capacitance.

According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a super material control device, the metamaterial comprising any one of the above embodiments, the super material control device comprising: an acquisition module for acquiring a varactor a model for calculating the relationship between the capacitance and the operating frequency of the metamaterial; a finding module for finding a working capacitance corresponding to the target operating frequency in the relational model according to the target operating frequency; and an adjusting module for adjusting the capacitance of the varactor to the working Capacitor to adjust the operating frequency of the metamaterial.

Advantageous effects of the invention

Beneficial effect

The solution provided by the present application utilizes the characteristics of the varactor in that the varactor is fabricated by the principle of variable capacitance between the PN junctions, and can be used as a variable capacitor to make the metamaterial work when the capacitance of the varactor changes. The frequency changes accordingly, thereby achieving the technical effect of controlling the operating frequency of the metamaterial, solving the technical problem that the working frequency of the metamaterial in the prior art is difficult to adjust, and realizing the real-time control of the electromagnetic properties of the metamaterial.

Brief description of the drawing

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are intended to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are intended to be a part of the invention. In the drawing:

1 is a schematic view of a metamaterial structural unit according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

2 is a schematic structural view of a metamaterial according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

3 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the working capacitance of a varactor and the operating frequency of a metamaterial according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

4 is a flow chart showing a method of fabricating a metamaterial according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a structural view showing a manufacturing apparatus of a metamaterial according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

Invention embodiment

Embodiments of the invention

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is an embodiment of the invention, but not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

It is to be understood that the terms "first", "second" and the like in the specification and claims of the present invention are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or order. It is to be understood that the data so used may be interchanged where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the invention described herein can be implemented in a sequence other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "comprises" and "comprises" and "the" and "the" are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product, or device that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to Those steps or units may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products or devices.

Example 1

An embodiment of a metamaterial is provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a metamaterial structural unit according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the metamaterial includes: at least one metamaterial. a structural unit, wherein the metamaterial structural unit comprises: a base material and a conductive geometric structure attached to the base material, wherein

The conductive geometry includes a metal ring having at least two indentations, wherein at least two of the notches have a symmetrical structure;

A varactor diode is provided at any of the notches.

In an optional embodiment, in combination with the example shown in FIG. 1, the metal ring is a metal ring, and a varactor is disposed on a left side of the two notches having a symmetrical structure, and the right side notch is a metamaterial. Providing the required capacitance at the operating frequency, wherein the method of setting the varactor can be soldering, blocking , but not limited to this. After the setting is completed, two "C" shaped metal pieces are formed, and the mouths of the two "C" are directly opposite each other, and are connected at one end of the two "C" shaped metal pieces by a varactor diode.

In another alternative embodiment, in conjunction with the structural schematic of the metamaterial shown in FIG. 2, the metamaterial has a plurality of metamaterial structural units as shown in FIG. Specifically, the metamaterial structures shown in FIG. 2 are arranged in an array.

It should be noted here that the characteristic of the varactor is that the varactor is fabricated by the principle that the capacitance between the PN junctions is variable, and thus can be used as a variable capacitor. The above embodiment of the present application utilizes the characteristics of the varactor. When the capacitance of the varactor changes, the operating frequency of the metamaterial changes correspondingly, thereby achieving the technical effect of the super-material electrical controllable, thereby realizing the real-time control of the electromagnetic properties of the metamaterial.

Optionally, the conductive geometry is arranged in a planar arrangement on the substrate material.

Specifically, the above substrate material may be F4B, FR4 or the like.

Optionally, in the case where the metamaterial comprises a plurality of conductive geometries, the gaps of the metal rings in each of the conductive geometries are aligned in a direction, that is, two "C" shaped metal sheets in each of the conductive geometries The arrangement is the same, wherein the varactors in each of the conductive geometries are on the same side.

In an alternative embodiment, in conjunction with the structural schematic diagram of the metamaterial shown in FIG. 2, the metamaterial has a plurality of metamaterial structural units as shown in FIG. 1, and the gaps of each conductive geometric structure are horizontally The orientation is arranged and the varactor diode of each conductive geometry is placed on the left side of the conductive geometry.

Alternatively, the metamaterial structural units are arranged in an equally spaced structure.

Optionally, the pitch of the metamaterial structural unit is a preset distance.

Optionally, the preset distance is in the range of 1/2 λ to λ, and λ is the wavelength corresponding to the central operating frequency of the metamaterial.

Optionally, the capacitance of the varactor has a predetermined relationship with the operating frequency of the metamaterial.

In an alternative embodiment, in conjunction with the example shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 3 shows the corresponding relationship of the operating capacitance of the varactor to the operating frequency of the metamaterial in this embodiment.

It should be noted here that usually the metamaterial has a frequency range in which it can work normally. After this range, the electromagnetic properties of the metamaterial may be weakened or even disappeared, so that the working demand cannot be achieved. The enclosure contains a central operating frequency, and the metamaterial has the best electromagnetic characteristics when operating at the above-mentioned central operating frequency.

Alternatively, the metamaterial has an operating frequency in the range of 0.5 GHz to 300 GHz.

Optionally, the material of the metal ring includes at least one or more of the following: copper, silver or gold.

Optionally, the substrate material is a non-magnetic dielectric material.

Alternatively, the dielectric constant of the non-magnetic dielectric material is in the range of 2 to 10, and the magnetic permeability of the non-magnetic dielectric material is a preset constant.

Optionally, the preset constant is 1.

The following describes the metamaterial shown in Figure 2 as an example:

In an optional example, the center frequency f of the above-mentioned metamaterial is 15 GHz, and the wavelength λ corresponding to the operating frequency is 20 mm. The material of the metal structure is copper, the base material is F4B (dielectric constant is 3.0, magnetic permeability is 1), the base material is a square with a side length of 10 mm, the width of the metal ring is 1 mm, and the two notches are symmetrically distributed. In the metal ring, both of the notches are 1 mm, the thickness of the metal ring is 0.035 mm, and the thickness of the base material is 0.3 mm. In the periodic arrangement, the center distance between the two metamaterial units is 10 mm.

Example 2

According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided an embodiment of an antenna reflecting surface comprising the metamaterial of any of the above embodiments.

Optionally, the incident wave of the antenna reflecting surface is an electromagnetic wave that satisfies a far field condition, such as a plane wave.

It should be noted here that in the case where the incident wave of the antenna reflection surface is a plane wave, it can be ensured that the electromagnetic waves received by each metamaterial structural unit in the metamaterial have the same amplitude and phase, and it is not necessary for each metamaterial. The received electromagnetic waves are compensated for by different positions of the structural units.

In an alternative embodiment, the above-mentioned metamaterial is still taken as an example, the antenna array size is designed to be 100 mm×100 mm, the metamaterial is arranged in the H-plane direction of the antenna, and the varactor diode is loaded on the electrically controllable metamaterial. The voltage on the upper side is adjusted to control the capacitance in the varactor, thereby adjusting the operating frequency of the antenna. The metamaterial shown in Figure 2 can also be an antenna array distribution.

The radiation frequency is determined by the following formula:

Where L is the inductance of the metal ring and C is the capacitance value of the varactor diode.

ω

For the corresponding instantaneous operating frequency.

Example 3

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a method embodiment of a method of controlling a metamaterial is provided, and it should be noted that the steps illustrated in the flowchart of the drawings may be performed in a computer system such as a set of computer executable instructions. Also, although logical sequences are shown in the flowcharts, in some cases the steps shown or described may be performed in a different order than the ones described herein.

4 is a method of controlling a metamaterial according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the metamaterial includes the metamaterial according to any one of the first embodiments, and the method includes the following steps:

Step S402, acquiring a relationship model between the capacitance of the varactor and the operating frequency of the metamaterial.

Step S404, searching for a working capacitance corresponding to the target working frequency in the relational model according to the target operating frequency.

Step S406, adjusting the operating frequency of the metamaterial by adjusting the capacitance of the varactor to the working capacitance.

It can be seen from the above that the above steps of the present application acquire a model of the relationship between the capacitance of the varactor and the operating frequency of the metamaterial, and find the working capacitance corresponding to the target operating frequency in the relational model according to the target operating frequency, and adjust the capacitance of the varactor by adjusting the capacitance of the varactor. To the working capacitor, to adjust the operating frequency of the metamaterial. The above scheme utilizes the characteristics of the varactor diode in that the varactor diode is fabricated by the principle that the capacitance between the PN junctions is variable, and can be used as a variable capacitor, and the operating frequency of the metamaterial is correspondingly changed when the capacitance of the varactor diode changes. The technical effect of controlling the working frequency of the metamaterial is achieved, thereby solving the technical problem that the working frequency of the metamaterial in the prior art is difficult to adjust, and realizing the real-time control of the electromagnetic properties of the metamaterial.

Optionally, according to the foregoing steps of the present application, obtaining a relationship model between the varactor and the metamaterial, including:

Step S4021, obtaining a working frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to the capacitance of the varactor by a preset algorithm .

Step S4023, recording the operating frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to the capacitance of the varactor, and obtaining a relational model.

In an optional embodiment, the electromagnetic simulation software CST can be used to calculate the operating frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to the capacitance of the varactor, and the operating frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to the capacitance of the varactor can be as shown in FIG. For example, periodic boundary conditions can be designed. When the capacitance of the varactor is from (0.02pF to 0.3pF), the frequency modulation is (13.34GHz - 17.60GHz).

Optionally, according to the above steps of the present application, the capacitance of the varactor is adjusted by adjusting an applied reverse bias voltage of the varactor.

Example 4

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus embodiment of a control device for a metamaterial. As shown in FIG. 5, the metamaterial includes any one of the super materials of the embodiment 1, and the device comprises:

The obtaining module 50 is configured to acquire a relationship model between a capacitance of the varactor and a working frequency of the metamaterial;

The searching module 52 is configured to search, in the relational model, the working capacitance corresponding to the target working frequency according to the target working frequency;

The adjustment module 54 is configured to adjust the operating frequency of the metamaterial by adjusting the capacitance of the varactor to the working capacitance.

As can be seen from the above, the device of the present application acquires a relationship model between the capacitance of the varactor diode and the operating frequency of the metamaterial through the acquisition module, and searches for a working capacitance corresponding to the target operating frequency in the relation model according to the target operating frequency by using the search module, The capacitance of the varactor is adjusted to the working capacitance, and the adjustment module is used to adjust the operating frequency of the metamaterial. The above scheme utilizes the characteristics of the varactor diode in that the varactor diode is fabricated by the principle that the capacitance between the PN junctions is variable, and can be used as a variable capacitor, and the operating frequency of the metamaterial is correspondingly changed when the capacitance of the varactor diode changes. The technical effect of controlling the working frequency of the metamaterial is achieved, thereby solving the technical problem that the working frequency of the metamaterial in the prior art is difficult to adjust, and realizing the real-time control of the electromagnetic properties of the metamaterial.

According to the above embodiment of the present application, the obtaining module 50 includes:

The calculation module is configured to obtain an operating frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to the capacitance of the varactor by a preset algorithm.

The recording module is configured to record the operating frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to the capacitance of the varactor, and obtain a relational model.

In an optional embodiment, the electromagnetic simulation software CST can be used to calculate the operating frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to the capacitance of the varactor, and the operating frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to the capacitance of the varactor can be as shown in FIG. For example, periodic boundary conditions can be designed. When the capacitance of the varactor is from (0.02pF to 0.3pF), the frequency modulation is (17.60GHz - 13.34GHz).

According to the above embodiment of the present application, the capacitance of the varactor is adjusted by adjusting the applied reverse bias of the varactor.

The serial numbers of the embodiments of the present invention are merely for the description, and do not represent the advantages and disadvantages of the embodiments.

In the above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention, the descriptions of the various embodiments are different, and the parts that are not detailed in a certain embodiment can be referred to the related descriptions of other embodiments.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed technical contents may be implemented in other manners. The device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the unit may be a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be another division manner, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or may be Integrate into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, unit or module, and may be electrical or otherwise.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a standalone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technique of the present invention The portion of the technical solution or the contribution to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including a plurality of instructions for causing a The computer device (which may be a personal computer, server or network device, etc.) performs all or part of the steps of the methods described in various embodiments of the present invention. The foregoing storage medium includes: a U disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a removable hard disk, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, and the like. .

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that those skilled in the art can also make several improvements and retouchings without departing from the principles of the present invention. It should be considered as the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

A metamaterial comprising: at least one metamaterial structural unit, wherein the metamaterial structural unit comprises: a base material and a conductive geometric structure attached to the base material, wherein:

The conductive geometry includes a metal ring having at least two indentations, wherein the at least two indentations are in a symmetrical configuration;

Any one of the notches is provided with a varactor diode.
The metamaterial of claim 1 wherein said conductive geometry is planarly disposed on said substrate material.
The metamaterial according to claim 2, wherein in the case where the metamaterial comprises a plurality of the conductive geometries, the metal ring in each of the conductive geometries has a non-discriminating arrangement direction, wherein The varactor diodes in each of the conductive geometries are on the same side.
The metamaterial according to claim 3, wherein the metamaterial structural units are arranged in an equally spaced structure.
The metamaterial according to claim 4, wherein a pitch of the metamaterial structural unit is a preset distance; the preset distance is in a range of 1/2λ to λ, and the λ is the super The wavelength at which the center of the material operates at the same frequency.
The metamaterial of claim 1 wherein the metamaterial has an operating frequency in the range of 0.5 GHz to 300 GHz.
The metamaterial of claim 1 wherein the substrate material is a non-magnetic dielectric material.
The metamaterial according to claim 7, wherein the non-magnetic dielectric material has a dielectric constant in the range of 2 to 10, and the magnetic permeability of the non-magnetic dielectric material is a predetermined constant.
The metamaterial of claim 8 wherein said predetermined constant is one.
An antenna reflecting surface, characterized in that the antenna reflecting surface comprises the metamaterial according to any one of claims 1 to 9.
The antenna reflecting surface according to claim 10, wherein the incident wave of the antenna reflecting surface is an electromagnetic wave satisfying a far field condition.
A method of controlling a metamaterial, characterized in that the metamaterial comprises the metamaterial according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the control method comprises:

Obtaining a model of the relationship between the capacitance of the varactor and the operating frequency of the metamaterial;

Finding a working capacitance corresponding to the target working frequency in the relationship model according to a target working frequency;

The operating frequency of the metamaterial is adjusted by adjusting the capacitance of the varactor to the working capacitance.
The method according to claim 12, wherein acquiring a relationship model between the varactor diode and the metamaterial comprises:

Obtaining an operating frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to a capacitance of the varactor by a preset algorithm;

The operating frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to the capacitance of the varactor is recorded to obtain the relationship model.
The method according to claim 12, wherein the capacitance of the varactor is adjusted by adjusting an applied reverse bias voltage of the varactor.
A metamaterial control device, characterized in that the metamaterial comprises the metamaterial according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the control device comprises:

Obtaining a module for acquiring a relationship model between a capacitance of the varactor and an operating frequency of the metamaterial;

a searching module, configured to search, in the relationship model, a working capacitance corresponding to the target working frequency according to a target operating frequency;

And an adjustment module, configured to adjust an operating frequency of the metamaterial by adjusting a capacitance of the varactor to the working capacitance.
The device according to claim 15, wherein the obtaining module comprises:

a calculation module, configured to obtain, by using a preset algorithm, an operating frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to a capacitance of the varactor;

And a recording module, configured to record an operating frequency of the metamaterial corresponding to a capacitance of the varactor, to obtain the relationship model.
The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the capacitance of said varactor is adjusted by adjusting an applied reverse bias voltage of said varactor.