WO2020107362A1

WO2020107362A1 - Quasi-plane wave generator based on array antenna

Info

Publication number: WO2020107362A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/118376
Authority: WO
Inventors: 苗俊刚; 孙雪蕾
Original assignee: 北京航空航天大学
Priority date: 2018-11-30
Filing date: 2018-11-30
Publication date: 2020-06-04
Also published as: CN110612638A; CN110612638B

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application is a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna. The generator comprises a two-dimensional array antenna aperture, dual-polarized array antenna units, an array antenna feed network, an amplitude-phase control network, and a system control computer. The system control computer controls the size of an amplitude attenuation value and a phase delay value of each path of signals generated by the amplitude-phase control network, and controls a test device to send a test signal to the amplitude-phase control network; the amplitude-phase control network divides the received test signal into multiple paths of signals having different amplitudes and phases, sends the multiple paths of signals to the array antenna feed network, and transmits the multiple paths of signals to each dual-polarized array antenna unit by means of the array antenna feed network to generate a quasi-plane wave. The array antenna feed network comprises a plurality of power dividers and a polarization change-over switch. The polarization mode of each dual-polarization array antenna unit is changed by means of the polarization change-over switch; the signals output by the amplitude-phase control network are divided into multiple paths of signals having the same amplitude and the same phase by means of the power dividers, and the signals are sent to each dual-polarization array antenna unit.

Description

A quasi-plane wave generator based on array antenna

Technical field

The present application relates to the technical field of array antennas, and in particular to a quasi-plane wave generator based on array antennas.

Background technique

The near-field problem will be introduced in 5G millimeter-wave communication. As the electrical size of millimeter-wave base stations increases, the distance to meet the far-field conditions will also increase. Building a dark room that meets the far-field conditions will cost a lot of money and is not suitable for large-scale base stations. Development and production commissioning. In recent years, in order to reduce the test distance required for antenna far-field testing, the near-field test method of antenna radiation characteristics has received extensive attention and research. The more typical schemes are: compact field test scheme, spherical near-field test scheme, etc. The basic principle of the compacted field test scheme is to use the compacted field reflection surface to provide a large quasi-plane wave static area for antenna testing. The advantage is that the test distance is greatly reduced compared with the far field test, and it has a wider frequency band. The large-scale compact field can cover the test bandwidth of hundreds of megabytes to hundreds of gigabytes. Both manufacturing accuracy and installation accuracy are relatively high, which is not suitable for large-scale antenna performance testing and has low testing efficiency. In addition, the basic principle of the spherical near-field test scheme is to use a circle of probe antennas arranged in the near-field area around the antenna under test to measure the field distribution of the 360-degree near-field area around the antenna under test by rotating the probe antenna. The Fourier transform is used to calculate the antenna's far-field performance. This test method can also greatly reduce the test distance, but it requires a long test time and requires point-by-point or line-by-line measurement. The measurement efficiency is low. Field distribution measurements at different locations cannot be performed at the same time, resulting in difficulty in phase recovery during active antenna testing. Not suitable for large-scale active antenna performance testing.

In the traditional base station antenna measurement, since the antenna and the RF unit are separated from each other, and the interface is a standardized interface, the antenna performance can be tested using the traditional passive antenna near-field test method and/or far-field test method. In the test of the 5G mobile communication base station antenna, due to the integrated design of the antenna unit and the radio frequency unit, the antenna unit or the antenna array cannot be separated from the base station for measurement, so the active antenna needs to be tested by the air interface OTA test method. Test the performance under the working state of 5G mobile communication base station. The traditional compact field test scheme can provide a quasi-plane wave dead zone for the testing of 5G mobile communication base station antennas. However, its cost is expensive and it is inefficient when used for a large number of antenna performance tests; the spherical near-field test system is also not suitable for a large number of antenna performance tests. In the test of active antennas, there are shortcomings such as difficult phase recovery and complicated calculation in the later period.

At present, the use of array antennas to form a quasi-plane wave quiet zone in the near-field area has received widespread attention in the industry. At present, several universities and units at home and abroad have proposed similar concepts of plane wave generators, but most of them are implemented by metamaterial methods.

China has authorized the patent "Tightening Field Antenna Measurement System", its application publication number is CN102749529A, and its public announcement date is 2012.10.24, which uses a multi-piece metamaterial layered structure to form a plane wave generation unit, where each piece of metamaterial includes the base Materials and a plurality of artificial microporous structures provided on the substrate. When the electromagnetic wave generated by the feed passes through the metamaterial laminate structure, it will be converted into a planar electromagnetic wave. The advantage of this method is that it avoids the manufacturing process of manufacturing a high-precision tightening field reflection surface and reduces the manufacturing cost; however, its disadvantages are that the metamaterial structure is complex, the design is difficult, and the quiet zone range is small.

In addition, the German Rohde & Schwarz company also proposed a planar wave converter (Plane Wave Converter) based on an array antenna, which is characterized by the uniform distribution of the array antenna, and the rear end of each antenna channel needs to be connected to the attenuator and phase shifter to the feed amplitude The control of the phase and the phase makes the rear-end feed network of the system complex and the control cost is high; it uses a single-polarized array antenna to adjust the polarization mode by rotating the entire array, which increases the difficulty of adjusting the polarization mode.

Therefore, there is a need for a quasi-plane wave with low system complexity, economical cost, and easy installation; fewer control signal channels, simpler feeder network, and high stability in quiet zone performance; small test distance and space required for test, and high test efficiency Builder.

Summary of the invention

To solve the above problems, embodiments of the present application provide a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna, including: a two-dimensional array antenna port surface (1), a plurality of dual-polarized array antenna units (2), and an array antenna feed Network (5), amplitude and phase control network (6);

The amplitude and phase control network (6) generates multiple feed signals with different amplitude and phases, which are transmitted to each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) through the array antenna feed network (5);

The array antenna feed network (5) receives the feed signal from the amplitude and phase control network (6), and transmits it to each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2), providing each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) with The amplitude and phase signals that need to be excited;

Each of the dual-polarized array antenna units (2) is arranged in a non-periodic array with unequal intervals, receives a feed signal, and generates a quasi-plane wave;

The two-dimensional array antenna mouth surface (1) is used for assembling a dual-polarization array antenna unit (2).

Preferably, it also includes a system control computer (7);

The system control computer (7) controls the amplitude attenuation value and phase delay value of the output signal of the amplitude-phase control network (6).

Preferably, the array antenna feed network (5) includes multiple power dividers and multiple polarization switching switches;

The polarization switch changes the polarization mode of the dual-polarization array antenna unit (2) connected to it, thereby changing the polarization direction of the quasi-plane wave generator radiating electromagnetic waves;

The power divider divides the signal output from the amplitude-phase control network (6) into multiple equal-amplitude, in-phase signals and sends them to each dual-polarization array antenna unit (2).

Preferably, the connection method of the power splitter and the polarization switch includes: the polarization switch is directly connected to the antenna unit, the polarization switch is connected to the power splitter circuit, and the polarization switch is placed in the power splitter In the circuit

The connection mode of the polarization switch and the antenna unit is directly connected: the polarization switch is between the power splitter and the dual-polarization array antenna unit (2), and receives the signal from the power splitter and transmits it to Connected dual-polarization array antenna unit (2);

The connection method for connecting the polarization switch to the power divider circuit is that the polarization switch is between the amplitude-phase control network and the power divider, and transmits the received feed signal from the amplitude-phase control network (6) To the power divider connected to it;

The connection mode of the polarization switch in the power splitter circuit is: the polarization switch is between the power splitter and the power splitter, and transmits the feed signal received by the power splitter to each connected Splitters.

Preferably, the circular bottom surface of the quiet zone (8) where the quasi-plane wave is located is parallel to the mouth surface (1) of the two-dimensional array antenna.

Preferably, the dead zone (8) is controlled by an amplitude and phase control network (6) to achieve equal phase plane shift.

Preferably, the offset angle of the quiet zone (8) is between ±10° in the horizontal direction and ±8° in the vertical direction.

Preferably, the unequal spacing is arranged in the form of a non-periodic array, and the arrangement manner includes an approximately regular arrangement and/or a random arrangement.

Preferably, the unequal-spaced non-periodic array includes a plurality of antenna sub-arrays (3) with the same structure and/or different structures.

Preferably, the plurality of antenna sub-arrays (3) include the same number and/or different numbers of dual-polarization array antenna elements (2).

Preferably, the structure of the antenna sub-array (3) includes: a circle, an ellipse, and a polygon.

Preferably, principles for dividing or synthesizing the antenna sub-array (3) include: the proximity principle, the similarity principle, and the minimum synthesis channel number principle.

Preferably, the sub-arrays are not equidistant and/or equidistant, the sub-array grid is polygonal, and the sub-array boundary is polygonal.

Preferably, the dual-polarization array antenna units (2) combined into a group by the power divider form an antenna sub-array (3).

Preferably, the power splitter includes a Wilkinson power splitter and a T-type power splitter of one-two, one-four, one-eight.

Preferably, the return loss of each port of the power splitter is less than -10dB, and the isolation is less than -20dB.

Preferably, a wave absorbing material is arranged between the dual-polarization array antenna elements (2).

Preferably, the shape of the mouth surface of the two-dimensional array antenna (1) includes: a circle, an ellipse, and a polygon.

Preferably, the distance between each dual-polarized array antenna element (2) mounted on the mouth surface (1) of the two-dimensional array antenna is between 0.3 times the minimum operating frequency wavelength and 10 times the minimum operating frequency wavelength.

Preferably, for the two-dimensional array antenna interface (1), for a large-pitch array with a dual-polarized array antenna element (2) pitch greater than a minimum operating frequency wavelength, sub-array level or unit-level unequal pitch The periodic structure is arranged in a non-periodic array with unequal spacing.

Preferably, the non-periodic structure array with unequal spacing at the sub-array level is the position distribution and/or rotation angle distribution of the center of each antenna sub-array (3) in the antenna surface (1) of the two-dimensional array; each antenna The position of the center of the sub-array (3) is a non-periodic distribution with unequal spacing, the rotation angle is any angle, each antenna sub-array (3) does not overlap with each other, and the dual-polarization array of the edge of each antenna sub-array (3) The minimum distance between the antenna elements (2) is greater than a minimum operating frequency wavelength.

Preferably, the unit-level unequal pitch non-periodic structure arrays are two-polar array antenna elements (2) in the two-dimensional array antenna face (1), which are unequal pitch non-periodic structure arrays.

Preferably, the number of dual-polarization array antenna elements (2) in the two-dimensional array antenna mouth surface (1) can be adjusted.

The advantage of the embodiment of the present application is that the quasi-planar wave generator introduces the concept of unequal pitch aperiodic array in the array arrangement (design), which can realize the generated quasi-plane wave covers one octave bandwidth. In addition, on the basis of not significantly reducing the performance of the high-quality quasi-plane wave dead zone (8), the embodiments of the present application provide an array layout synthesis scheme that reduces the number of array antenna control signal channels. The array layout synthesis scheme described above combines several signal channels into one signal channel, and uses multiple dual-polarized array antenna elements (2) to form an antenna sub-array (3), which is provided separately for each antenna sub-array (3) The excitation signal can effectively reduce the complexity of the array antenna feed network (5). By connecting a polarization switch to the rear end of each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2), the polarization direction of the radiated electromagnetic field of the entire quasi-plane wave generator can be controlled without rotating the array antenna. The generated quasi-plane wave dead zone (8) can be shifted with equal phase planes. When testing the antenna to be tested, the errors caused by the mechanical rotation of the antenna to be tested by the turntable can be reduced. The embodiments of the present application are low in complexity, economical in cost, and easy to install; the number of control signal channels is small, the feeding network is simple, and the performance stability of the quiet zone (8) is high; the test distance and the space required for the test are small, and the test efficiency is high. Plane wave generator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

By reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below, various other advantages and benefits will become clear to those of ordinary skill in the art. The drawings are only for the purpose of showing the preferred facts, and are not considered as limitations to the present application. And throughout the drawings, the same reference symbols denote the same components. In the drawings:

1 is a schematic structural diagram of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application;

2 is a schematic structural diagram of a power divider of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application;

3 is a schematic structural view of a direct connection between a polarization switch of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna and an antenna unit provided by an embodiment of the present application;

4 is a schematic structural diagram of a polarization switching switch connected to a power splitter circuit of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a polarization switch of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is placed in a power divider circuit; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the horizontal direction offset of the quasi-plane wave static area of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application; FIG.

7 is a schematic diagram of the vertical deflection of the quasi-plane wave static area of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application;

8 is a schematic diagram of a sub-array arrangement of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application;

9 is a schematic diagram of an approximately regular array of sub-arrays of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application;

10 is a schematic diagram of a sub-array grid of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application;

11 is a schematic diagram of a sub-array boundary of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application;

12 is a schematic diagram of the shape of a two-dimensional array antenna face of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application;

13 is a schematic diagram of a non-periodic structure of non-periodic structure at the subarray level of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application;

14 is a schematic diagram of an array of unequal pitch non-periodic structure arrays at the cell level of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

1 Two-dimensional array antenna interface 2 Dual-polarization array antenna unit

3 Antenna sub-array 4 Transmission line

5 Array antenna feed network 6-phase control network

7 System control computer 8 Quiet area

9 Placement of antenna under test

detailed description

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

As shown in FIG. 1, a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna proposed in an embodiment of the present application includes: a two-dimensional array antenna port surface (1) and a plurality of dual-polarization array antenna units (2 ), array antenna feed network (5), amplitude and phase control network (6);

The amplitude-phase control network (6) generates multi-channel (multi-channel) feed signals of arbitrary amplitude and arbitrary phase, and transmits them to each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) through the array antenna feed network (5); Amplitude and phase control network (6), set the corresponding signal channel feed amplitude and phase in different frequency bands, and connect the output signal to the quasi-plane wave generator array antenna feed network (5), you can use the array antenna In the case, each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) with a fixed unit position and a two-dimensional array antenna face (1) with a constant size are generated according to the frequency band used in the position of the static zone (8) where the same quasi-plane wave is located to meet the design index The required high-quality quasi-plane wave dead zone (8) realizes the broadband design of the quasi-plane wave generator.

The array antenna feed network (5) receives the feed signal from the amplitude and phase control network (6), and transmits it to each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2), providing each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) with The amplitude and phase signals that need to be excited. The array antenna feed network (5) is connected to the array antenna feed network (5) and each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) through each transmission line (4), which includes a two-dimensional array antenna face (1) All power splitters and polarization switches between the amplitude and phase control network (6).

Each of the dual-polarized array antenna units (2) is arranged in a non-periodic array of unequal intervals, receives a feed signal, and generates a quasi-plane wave; the area where the quasi-plane wave is located is a quiet zone (8);

The two-dimensional array antenna face (1) is used for assembling and fixing the dual-polarization array antenna unit (2), and the electrical dimensions of its length and width are 10 to 20 times the wavelength of the lowest operating frequency.

The static area (8) is close to a cylinder, the circular bottom of the cylinder is parallel to the mouth of the array antenna, and the central circular cross section of the cylinder is 1 times the antenna mouth to 2 times the antenna mouth from the mouth of the array antenna Between the length of the surface, and within the cylindrical static area (8), the electric field amplitude error is ±1dB, the phase error is ±7.5°, and the diameter of the static area (8) is at least 0.5 times the mouth of the two-dimensional array antenna ( 1) Length, the length is at least 10 times the wavelength of the lowest operating frequency.

The quasi-plane wave generator further includes a system control computer (7); the system control computer (7) controls the amplitude attenuation value and phase delay value of each signal output by the amplitude and phase control network (6).

The array antenna feed network (5) includes multiple power dividers and multiple polarization switches.

All the power dividers are one-point multiple power dividers composed of one or more one-point two power dividers. As shown in Fig. 2, taking the one-fourth power splitter as an example, the one-fourth power splitter is composed of three one-point two-power splitters, namely the first one-two power splitter and the second one-two power splitter Splitter and the third one-to-two power splitter. Wherein, the two ends divided by the first one-two power divider are respectively connected to the combining ends of the second one-two power divider and the third one-two power divider to form a one-fourth power divider.

The connection modes of the power splitter and the polarization switch include: the polarization switch is directly connected to the antenna unit, the polarization switch is connected to the power splitter circuit, and the polarization switch is placed in the power splitter circuit.

As shown in FIG. 3, the direct connection of the polarization switch and the antenna unit is as follows: the polarization switch is between the power splitter and the dual polarized array antenna unit (2), The signal is transmitted to the dual-polarization array antenna unit (2) connected to it.

As shown in FIG. 4, the connection mode for connecting the polarization switch to the power splitter circuit is: the polarization switch is between the amplitude-phase control network and the power splitter, and the received amplitude-phase control network (6) The feed signal sent is transmitted to two groups of one-fourth power splitter power splitters connected to it, and each group of one-fourth power splitter is a polarization mode.

As shown in FIG. 5, the connection mode of the polarization switch in the power splitter circuit is: the polarization switch is between the power splitter and the power splitter, and transmits the feed signal received by the power splitter Give each power divider connected to it.

The circular bottom surface of the quiet zone (8) where the quasi-plane wave is located is parallel to the mouth surface (1) of the two-dimensional array antenna. Through the control of the amplitude and phase control network (6), the equal phase plane shift of the dead zone (8) can be achieved.

The offset angle of the quiet zone (8) is between ±10° in the horizontal direction and ±8° in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, it is a top view of a horizontal offset of a quasi-plane wave static area of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application, where (8) is a quasi-plane wave static area (8), (9) is the placement area of the antenna to be tested. The quasi-plane wave static area (8) center solid line segment and solid line rectangle show the quasi-plane wave static area (8) isophase plane parallel to the array antenna face, the dotted line segment and the dotted line The rectangle shows the quasi-plane wave dead zone (8) when the quasi-plane wave dead zone (8) and other phase planes are shifted in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, it is a schematic diagram of a vertical offset direction of a quasi-plane wave static area of a quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna provided by an embodiment of the present application. (8) in the figure is the quasi-plane wave static area (8), the solid line part shows the quasi-plane wave static area (8) isophase plane parallel to the array antenna face; the dashed line shows the quasi-plane wave static area (8), etc. Quasi-plane wave dead zone (8) when the phase plane shifts in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 8, which is a schematic diagram of sub-array arrangement according to an embodiment of the present application, a plurality of dual-polarization array antenna units (2) are arranged in an unequal pitch non-periodic array, and the arrangement method includes an approximately regular arrangement And/or randomly arranged. Approximately regular array, as shown in Figure 9, is characterized by: the spacing of each dual-polarized array antenna element (2) in the array is not exactly the same, but the arrangement of each dual-polarized array antenna element (2) has a certain Symmetry, in each dimension, the change of the spacing of each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) has certain mathematical rules. In the random array, the arrangement of the dual-polarization array antenna elements (2) is completely random, and does not follow any mathematical rules.

The unequal pitch non-periodic array includes multiple antenna sub-arrays (3) with the same structure and/or different structures. The structure of the antenna sub-array (3) includes: circular, elliptical, rectangular, triangular, pentagonal and other polygons. Each antenna sub-array (3) includes the same number and/or different numbers of dual-polarization array antenna elements (2). Each antenna sub-array (3) includes: a binary array formed by combining two dual-polarized array antenna units (2), a row array, an array composed of a plurality of dual-polarized array antenna units (2), Triangle array, square array, and polygon array, etc.

The principles for dividing or synthesizing the antenna sub-array (3) include: the principle of proximity, the principle of similarity, and the principle of minimum number of synthesized channels. The principle of proximity refers to the selection or division of antenna elements that are close to each other into an antenna sub-array (3); the principle of similarity refers to the division or division of antenna elements whose values and phases of the required feed signals are similar in value or phase Combined into one antenna sub-array (3); the principle of minimum number of combined channels refers to dividing or combining as many dual-polarized array antenna elements (2) as antenna sub-arrays (3) as much as possible, without significantly reducing the accuracy On the premise of the performance of the plane wave dead zone (8), the minimum number of signal channels is synthesized.

The antenna sub-arrays (3) are non-equally spaced and/or equally spaced, the sub-array grid is polygonal, including rectangle, trapezoid, triangle, etc.; the sub-array boundary is polygonal, including triangle, rectangle, six Edges, etc. As shown in FIG. 10, in the hexagonal antenna sub-array (3) in the figure, each grid divided into a rectangle and a triangle is a sub-array grid. As shown in FIG. 11, in the hexagonal antenna sub-array (3) in the figure, the hexagon formed by the black line connecting the outermost circles of the dual-polarization array antenna elements (2) is the boundary of the sub-array.

The dual-polarization array antenna units (2) combined into a group by the power divider form an antenna sub-array (3).

The power divider includes: one point two, one point four, one point eight Wilkinson power splitter and T type power splitter.

The return loss of each port of the power splitter is less than -10dB, and the isolation is less than -20dB.

The dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) includes a dual-polarized parasitic patch antenna, a dual-polarized Vivaldi antenna, a dual-polarized dipole antenna, a dual-polarized log periodic antenna, and the like.

The dual-polarization array antenna unit (2) has the characteristics of high isolation, low scattering, and low cross-polarization when it is located in the mouth surface (1) of the two-dimensional array antenna.

A wave absorbing material is arranged between the dual-polarization array antenna units (2) to reduce the influence of the coupling between the two-dimensional array antenna port surface (1) and the antenna to be measured on the measurement result. The wave absorbing materials include: ferrite wave absorbing materials, dielectric ceramic wave absorbing materials, polycrystalline iron fiber wave absorbing materials, conductive polymer wave absorbing materials, and nano wave absorbing materials. Conductive polymer absorbing materials include: resins, rubbers, polyacetylene.

As shown in FIG. 12, it is a schematic diagram of the shape of the mouth surface of the two-dimensional array antenna of the embodiment of the present application. The shape of the mouth surface of the two-dimensional array antenna (1) includes: circle, ellipse, and polygon. The polygon includes symmetric polygon and asymmetric polygon, such as: rectangle, parallelogram, triangle, diamond, plane convex polygon (such as pentagon and hexagon, etc.), plane concave polygon (such as: four-pointed star, six-pointed star, Anise star etc.) etc.

The distance between each dual-polarized array antenna element (2) mounted on the two-dimensional array antenna mouth surface (1) is between 0.3 times the minimum operating frequency wavelength and 10 times the minimum operating frequency wavelength.

For a dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) with a large-pitch array whose pitch is greater than a wavelength of the lowest operating frequency, a non-periodic array with unequal pitches is implemented by arranging a non-periodic structure of unequal pitch at the subarray level or unit level.

As shown in FIG. 13, it is a sub-array-level unequal pitch aperiodic structure array of the embodiment of the present application. The sub-array-level unequal pitch aperiodic structure array is a two-dimensional array antenna interface (1 ) The position distribution and/or rotation angle distribution of the center of each antenna sub-array (3); the position of the center of each antenna sub-array (3) is an aperiodic distribution with unequal spacing, the rotation angle is any angle, and each antenna sub-array (3) Do not overlap with each other, and the minimum distance between the dual polarized array antenna elements (2) at the edge of each antenna subarray (3) is greater than a minimum operating frequency wavelength.

As shown in FIG. 14, it is a unit-level unequal pitch aperiodic structure array of the embodiment of the present application, and each dual-polarized array antenna element (2) in the two-dimensional array antenna port surface (1) is unequal pitch The non-periodic structure array, the minimum distance between each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) is greater than a minimum operating frequency wavelength.

The sub-array and cell-level non-periodic non-periodic structure arrays, wherein each dual-polarized array antenna element (2) is arranged in the form of non-periodic arrays with non-uniform pitch. The arrangement of the antenna sub-arrays (3) in the unit-level unequal pitch non-periodic structure array includes equidistant periodic pattern arrangements and unequal pitch non-periodic pattern arrangements.

The number of dual-polarization array antenna elements (2) in the two-dimensional array antenna mouth surface (1) can be adjusted. By adding a dual-polarization array antenna element (2) between each dual-polarization array antenna element (2) in the unequal-space non-periodic array, the performance of the generated quasi-plane wave is compensated and corrected until the generated quasi-plane wave The plane wave reaches the standard.

The quasi-plane wave generator can also use array antenna mouth surfaces whose mouth surfaces are three-dimensional curved surfaces, such as spherical surfaces, ellipsoidal surfaces, and other forms of curved surfaces.

The array antenna unit of the quasi-plane wave generator can also use a single polarization array antenna unit. When a single-polarized array antenna unit is used, the single-polarized array antenna unit is connected to the power splitter without a polarization switch, and the polarization mode is changed by rotating the array antenna port.

The steps of the quasi-plane wave generator based on the array antenna of the invention to generate the quasi-plane wave include: the system control computer (7) controls the amplitude attenuation value and phase delay value of each signal output by the amplitude and phase control network (6); the system The control computer (7) controls the test equipment to send test signals to the amplitude and phase control network (6); after processing the received test signals, the amplitude and phase control network (6) divides one signal into N signals with unequal amplitude and phase, It is sent to the array antenna feed network (5) and transmitted to each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) through the array antenna feed network (5) to generate a quasi-plane wave.

The quasi-plane wave generator based on the array antenna of the invention can be used to test the antenna under test. 8) N signals from the antenna under test; the signals are transmitted to the amplitude and phase control network (6) through the array antenna feed network (5); the amplitude and phase control network (6) carries out each signal The amplitude and phase adjustments are combined into a single signal and sent to the test equipment to observe the received signal. The system control computer (7) receives the signal test results sent by the test equipment for analysis and processing.

The test equipment includes signal sources, spectrum analyzers, and vector network analyzers. When generating quasi-plane waves, it is a signal source, spectrum analyzer, etc.; when testing the antenna to be tested, it is a spectrum analyzer, vector network analyzer, etc. device.

This quasi-plane wave generator can cover a wider frequency band in the dark box or work site, and has good high frequency performance. In 5G mobile communication, the frequency is divided into more frequency bands. For example, my country has divided 2.5-2.7 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, and 4.8-5.0 GHz in the frequency band below 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application can cover the frequency band below 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application can cover the bandwidth of one octave, and can also be extended to working frequency bands including 29 GHz, 38 GHz and above in the millimeter wave band.

The quasi-plane wave generator can be installed in a dark box of a set size, and can also be directly applied to the production site. It can be used for production site inspection of base station antennas, mobile phone antennas, and millimeter wave antennas. It can also be applied to the real system working environment. The radio frequency index and antenna index of 5G mobile communication base stations and millimeter wave band terminals are measured under working conditions.

In the system of the embodiment of the present application, the concept of unequal pitch non-periodic array is introduced into the array arrangement (design), which can realize the generated quasi-plane wave covering one octave bandwidth. In addition, on the basis of not significantly reducing the performance of the high-quality quasi-plane wave dead zone (8), the embodiments of the present application provide an array layout synthesis scheme that reduces the number of array antenna control signal channels. The array layout synthesis scheme described above combines several signal channels into one signal channel at the front end, and uses multiple dual-polarized array antenna elements (2) to form an antenna sub-array (3). For each antenna sub-array (3) Providing the excitation signal alone can effectively reduce the complexity of the array antenna feed network (5). In addition, by connecting a polarization switch to the rear end of each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2), the polarization direction of the radiated electromagnetic field of the entire quasi-plane wave generator is controlled without rotating the array antenna. The generated quasi-plane wave dead zone (8) can be shifted with an equal phase plane, and the offset angle is between ±10° in the horizontal direction and ±8° in the vertical direction. When testing the antenna under test, the error caused by the turntable mechanically rotating the antenna under test can be reduced. The embodiment of the present application has low complexity, economical cost, and simple installation; the number of control signal channels is small, the feeding network is simple, and the performance stability of the quiet zone (8) is high; the test distance and the space required for test are small, and the test efficiency is high.

The above is only the preferred specific implementation of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited to this, any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or changes within the technical scope disclosed in this application. Replacement should be covered within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna is characterized by comprising: a two-dimensional array antenna face (1), a plurality of dual-polarized array antenna elements (2), an array antenna feed network (5), an amplitude phase Control network (6); where,

The amplitude and phase control network (6) generates multiple feed signals with different amplitude and phases, which are transmitted to each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) through the array antenna feed network (5);

The array antenna feed network (5) receives the feed signal from the amplitude and phase control network (6), and transmits it to each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2), providing each dual-polarized array antenna unit (2) with The amplitude and phase signals that need to be excited;

Each of the dual-polarized array antenna units (2) is arranged in a non-periodic array with unequal intervals, receives a feed signal, and generates a quasi-plane wave;

The two-dimensional array antenna mouth surface (1) is used for assembling a dual-polarization array antenna unit (2).
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 1, further comprising a system control computer (7);

The system control computer (7) controls the amplitude attenuation value and phase delay value of the output signal of the amplitude-phase control network (6).
An array antenna-based quasi-plane wave generator according to claim 1, wherein the array antenna feed network (5) includes a plurality of power dividers and a plurality of polarization switching switches;

The polarization switch changes the polarization mode of the dual-polarization array antenna unit (2) connected to it, thereby changing the polarization direction of the quasi-plane wave generator radiating electromagnetic waves;

The power divider divides the signal output from the amplitude-phase control network (6) into multiple equal-amplitude, in-phase signals and sends them to each dual-polarization array antenna unit (2).
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 3, wherein the connection mode of the power splitter and the polarization switch includes: the polarization switch is directly connected to the antenna unit and polarized The switch is connected to the power splitter circuit, and the polarization switch is placed in the power splitter circuit;

The connection mode of the polarization switch and the antenna unit is directly connected: the polarization switch is between the power splitter and the dual-polarization array antenna unit (2), and receives the signal from the power splitter and transmits it to Connected dual-polarization array antenna unit (2);

The connection method for connecting the polarization switch to the power divider circuit is that the polarization switch is between the amplitude-phase control network and the power divider, and transmits the received feed signal from the amplitude-phase control network (6) To the power divider connected to it;

The connection mode of the polarization switch in the power splitter circuit is: the polarization switch is between the power splitter and the power splitter, and transmits the feed signal received by the power splitter to each connected Splitters.
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that the circular bottom surface of the quiet zone (8) where the quasi-plane wave is located is parallel to the mouth surface (1) of the two-dimensional array antenna.
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 5, characterized in that the dead zone (8) is controlled by an amplitude-phase control network (6) to achieve equal phase plane shift.
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 6, wherein the offset angle of the quiet zone (8) is between ±10° in the horizontal direction and ±8° in the vertical direction .
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 1, wherein the unequal-space non-periodic arrays are arranged in a manner including an approximately regular arrangement and/or a random arrangement .
An array antenna-based quasi-plane wave generator according to claim 1, characterized in that the unequal-spaced non-periodic array includes a plurality of antenna sub-arrays (3) with the same structure and/or different structures.
A quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 9, characterized in that the plurality of antenna sub-arrays (3) comprise the same number and/or different numbers of dual-polarized array antenna elements (2) .
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 10, characterized in that the structure of the antenna sub-array (3) includes: a circle, an ellipse, and a polygon.
A quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 10, characterized in that the principles of the division or synthesis of the antenna sub-array (3) include: the proximity principle, the similarity principle, and the minimum number of synthesized channels in principle.
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 10, wherein the sub-arrays are non-equally spaced and/or equally spaced, the sub-array grid is polygonal, and the sub-arrays The boundary is a polygon.
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 1, wherein the dual-polarized array antenna elements (2) combined into a group by a power divider form an antenna sub-array (3) .
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 3, wherein the power splitter comprises a Wilkinson power splitter and a T-type power splitter of one-two, one-fourth, one-eighth .
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 3, wherein the return loss of each port of the power splitter is less than -10dB, and the isolation is less than -20dB.
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that a absorbing material is arranged between the dual-polarization array antenna elements (2).
The quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the mouth surface of the two-dimensional array antenna mouth surface (1) includes: a circle, an ellipse, and a polygon.
A quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 18, characterized in that the pitch of each dual-polarized array antenna element (2) mounted on the mouth surface (1) of the two-dimensional array antenna is 0.3 times The minimum operating frequency wavelength is between 10 times the minimum operating frequency wavelength.
A quasi-plane wave generator based on an array antenna according to claim 19, characterized in that, the distance between the two-dimensional array antenna port (1) and the dual polarized array antenna element (2) is greater than a minimum operating frequency A large-pitch array of wavelengths uses an array of non-periodic structures with unequal pitches at the subarray level or cell level to implement non-periodic arrays with unequal pitch.
An array antenna-based quasi-plane wave generator according to claim 20, characterized in that the non-periodic structure array with unequal spacing at the sub-array level is each of the two-dimensional array antenna apertures (1) The position distribution and/or rotation angle distribution of the center of the antenna sub-array (3); the position of the center of each antenna sub-array (3) is a non-periodic distribution with unequal spacing, the rotation angle is any angle, and between each antenna sub-array (3) Do not overlap each other, and the minimum distance between the dual-polarized array antenna elements (2) at the edge of each antenna sub-array (3) is greater than a minimum operating frequency wavelength.
An array antenna-based quasi-plane wave generator according to claim 20, characterized in that the non-periodic structure array with unequal pitches at the unit level is each of the two pairs in the antenna surface (1) of the two-dimensional array The polarized array antenna unit (2) is arranged in a non-periodic structure with unequal spacing.
An array antenna-based quasi-plane wave generator according to claim 20, characterized in that the number of dual-polarization array antenna elements (2) in the two-dimensional array antenna aperture (1) can be adjusted.