WO2022252981A1 - Antenna module including antenna array, and communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are an antenna module including an antenna array, and a communication device, which are applied to the technical field of antennas. The antenna module comprises a circuit board, the circuit board comprising an antenna array, a signal generation module and a signal processing module, wherein the antenna array comprises a first array element group and a second array element group; one of the first array element group and the second array element group is used as a transmitting array element, and the other is used as a receiving array element; the first array element group comprises at least two array elements; the second array element group comprises array elements of M rows and N columns; and the array elements of M rows and N columns are distributed in a rectangular structure, and the spacing between the M rows and the spacing between the N columns are the same. Since the array elements of M rows and N columns form a two-dimensional antenna array, the actual situation of a target object can be accurately reflected. Comparing the two-dimensional antenna array with a one-dimensional linear array, an imaging result is improved, and more information of the target object can be described, thereby meeting the imaging requirements of a user.

Description

Antenna module and communication device including antenna array

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application with the application number 202110619868.X and the title of the invention "Antenna Module and Communication Equipment Containing Antenna Array" submitted to the China Patent Office on June 3, 2021, the entire content of which is passed References are incorporated in this application.

technical field

The present application relates to the technical field of antennas, in particular to an antenna module including an antenna array and a communication device.

Background technique

Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) is a new technology that introduces multiple input and multiple output technologies in wireless communication systems into the field of antennas and combines them with digital array technology. Among them, the MIMO antenna array usually includes multiple transmitting antennas and multiple receiving antennas (antennas can also be shared by sending and receiving). Received by the antenna, and sent to the signal processing module for subsequent processing after passing through the multi-channel receiver.

At present, the design structure of multiple transmitting antennas and receiving antennas in a MIMO antenna array is arranged in a one-dimensional linear array, as shown in Figure 1a, which is a topological structure diagram of a MIMO array. The square dots represent the transmitting array elements, and the transmitting array elements and the receiving array elements are all arranged in one linear dimension. The MIMO array of this topology is virtualized, as shown in Figure 1b, which is a schematic diagram of a virtual MIMO array, in which there is only one transmitting element represented by a square, and the receiving element represented by a dot There are multiple numbers.

Using the structure shown in Figure 1a and Figure 1b to arrange the array elements of the MIMO array, since all the array elements are located in one linear dimension, that is, a sparse MIMO design is performed on the one-dimensional linear array, and the one-dimensional linear array has only one-dimensional resolution ability, that is, only display the imaging result of an object on one line, but the actual shape of the object is often a two-dimensional or three-dimensional structure, so the imaging result obtained by using one-dimensional line array imaging cannot accurately reflect the actual situation of the object, and cannot satisfy users The need for imaging objects.

Contents of the invention

The present application provides an antenna module including an antenna array, which is used to improve the accuracy of object imaging so as to reflect the actual situation of the object. Specifically, the embodiment of the present application discloses the following technical solutions:

In a first aspect, the present application provides an antenna module including an antenna array, the antenna module includes a circuit board, and the circuit board includes an antenna array, a signal generation module and a signal processing module, and the antenna array is respectively connected to the The signal generating module is connected to the signal processing module;

Wherein, the antenna array includes a first array element group and a first array element group, one array element group in the first array element group and the second array element group is used as a transmitting array element, and the other array element The group is used as a receiving array element; the first array element group includes at least two array elements, and the second array element group includes: array elements in M rows and N columns, and the array elements in M rows and N columns have a rectangular structure Arranged, and the spacing between M rows and N columns is the same;

When the first array element group is used as a transmitting array element group and the second array element group is used as a receiving array element group, the first array element group is used to receive the first signal generated by the signal generating module, and converting the first signal into a first electromagnetic wave, and sending the first electromagnetic wave; the second array element group is used to receive a second electromagnetic wave, and converting the second electromagnetic wave into a second signal, and sending the first electromagnetic wave Two signals, the second electromagnetic wave is the reflected echo of the first electromagnetic wave passing through the target object;

or,

When the first array element group is used as a receiving array element group and the second array element group is used as a transmitting array element group, the second array element group is used to receive the first signal generated by the signal generating module, and converting the first signal into a first electromagnetic wave, and sending the first electromagnetic wave; the first array element group is used to receive a second electromagnetic wave, and converting the second electromagnetic wave into a second signal, and sending the first electromagnetic wave two signals;

The signal processing module is configured to receive the second signal, and perform imaging processing on the target object according to the second signal.

An antenna module including an antenna array provided by this aspect, the antenna array includes array elements of M rows and N columns, since the array element structure of the M rows and N columns is a two-dimensional antenna array, compared with the one-dimensional line As far as the antenna array is concerned, it can accurately reflect the actual situation of the target object. The two-dimensional area array antenna structure can improve the imaging results, and can depict more target object information to meet the imaging needs of users.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first array element group includes: a first transmit array element and a second transmit array element, and the first transmit array element and the second transmit array element The connection line of the two transmitting array elements is L1; the second array element group includes: the first receiving array element and the second receiving array element, and the connecting line of the first receiving array element and the second receiving array element is L2, the first receiving array element and the second receiving array element are two array elements located in the same row or in the same column in the rectangular structure array elements of M rows and N columns.

Wherein, the included angle between the L1 and the L2 or the extension line of L2 is the first included angle, and the first included angle is β, and the value range of the β is except 0°, 90°, 180° ° and any value other than 270°.

Further, the first receiving array element group also includes a third receiving array element and a fourth receiving array element, and the first receiving array element, the second receiving array element, the third receiving array element and the fourth receiving array element The elements are arranged in a square.

Optionally, in another possible implementation of the first aspect, the first included angle β is 30° to 60°, 120° to 150°, 210° to 240°, 300° to 330° Any value in the value range; wherein, the value of β includes endpoint values: 30°, 60°, 120°, 150°, 210°, 240°, 300° and 330°.

Optionally, in yet another possible implementation of the first aspect, the first included angle β is 30° to 60°, 120° to 150°, 210° to 240°, 300° to 330° Any value in the value range except 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°; wherein, the value of the first included angle β includes the endpoint values: 30°, 60°, 120°, 150°, 210° °, 240°, 300° and 330°.

Optionally, in yet another possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first included angle β is any value among 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°.

Optionally, in yet another possible implementation of the first aspect, the value range of the first included angle β is: 0° to 30°, 60° to 120°, 150° to 210°, 240° ° to 300°, 330° to 360°, or any value in 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°; wherein, the value of the first included angle β does not include the endpoint value: 30°, 60°, 120°, 150°, 210°, 240°, 300° and 330°.

By performing simulation experiments on the structures of the above-mentioned various antenna arrays, imaging effects under different first included angles β are obtained. Through simulation experiments, we can obtain the change of the peak side lobe ratio PSLR of the array pattern when the first included angle β is at different values, wherein, the process of the first angle β increasing from 0° to 90° in the first quadrant In , the PSLR first changes from large to small, and then from small to large. And when the β is equal to 45°, the PSLR value is the smallest; when the β is equal to 0° or 90°, the PSLR value is the largest. Since the smaller the value of PSLR, the better the corresponding imaging effect, so it is preferable to set the first angle β to be equal to 45°, which can obtain the least imaging "artifacts" and the best imaging effect.

Similarly, for other quadrants, when the first angle β is set equal to 135°, 225° or 315°, the best imaging effect can also be obtained in the second quadrant, the third quadrant and the fourth quadrant.

Optionally, in yet another possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the positions of the first transmitting array element and the first receiving array element coincide.

In addition, in combination with any of the above possible implementation manners of the first aspect, the distance between the first transmitting element and the second transmitting element is a first distance, and the first distance is d1; the second In the array element group, the row spacing or column spacing between any two adjacent receiving array elements is a second distance, and the second distance is d2.

in,

a is a positive integer, and the d2 is related to the wavelength of the first signal generated by the signal generation module.

Optionally, the d2>λ/2, where λ represents the wavelength of the first signal.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the value range of the first distance d1 is

to

Any value between ; where, inclusive:

and

Optionally, in another possible implementation of the first aspect, a is equal to 0.5, and the value of the first distance d1 is

Optionally, in yet another possible implementation of the first aspect, the value range of the first distance d1 is

to

Any value outside the interval.

This application conducts simulation experiments on the variation of the first distance d1 and the second distance d2, reflecting the variation of the peak side lobe ratio PSLR of the array pattern with the coefficient a, and the relationship between the d1 and d2 satisfies

The value range of coefficient a is 0 to 1. Among them, in the process of increasing the coefficient a from 0 to 1, the step unit is 0.1, and the value of PSLR first changes from large to small, and then from small to large. And, when coefficient a=0.5, the value of PSLR is minimum; When the value of coefficient a is close to 0 and 1, the value of PSLR is maximum, so it is preferable to set said d1 equal to

When , the "artifacts" in the imaging that can be obtained are the least, and the imaging effect is the best.

Combined with the best adjustment effect of the above-mentioned first angle β, set the structure of the transmitting array element and the receiving array element in the antenna array, such as satisfying that β is equal to 45°, 135°, 225° or 315°, and

, the imaging effect is the best.

Optionally, in yet another possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the antenna array further includes a third element group; the third element group includes at least one transmitting element or at least one receiving element .

Optionally, in yet another possible implementation manner of the first aspect, at least one transmitting element of the third element group includes a third transmitting element, and the third transmitting element is located at the first The edge position of the two-element group, and the distance between the receiving element at the edge position and the receiving element is not less than the second distance d2.

Optionally, in yet another possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the distance between the third transmitting array element and the receiving array element at the edge position is equal to the second distance d2 or

In the second aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, the communication device includes: a processor and an antenna module, the processor is coupled to the antenna module, and the antenna module is the aforementioned first aspect and the first aspect Antenna modules including antenna arrays described in various implementation manners.

This application provides an antenna array with a two-dimensional array structure, which can improve the resolution of the image, so that the imaging result can match the actual situation of the target, and overcome the limitations of the one-dimensional linear array. It provides one-dimensional resolution ability and cannot reflect the defect of the actual situation of the target object.

In addition, for the antenna array of two-dimensional area array, due to the distance d2 between two adjacent receiving elements, the formed MIMO antenna array is a sparse MIMO array. Compared with the traditional dense antenna array, it needs to be configured The number of array elements is greatly reduced, thereby also reducing the cost, and keeping the imaging quality basically unchanged.

Description of drawings

Figure 1a is a topological structure diagram of a MIMO array provided by the present application;

Figure 1b is a schematic diagram of a virtual MIMO array provided by the present application;

Fig. 2 is an array direction diagram of a one-dimensional linear array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3a is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 3b is a schematic structural diagram of an antenna module provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an antenna array provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 5a is a schematic structural diagram of a receiving array provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5b is a schematic structural diagram of a transmitting array provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6a is a schematic structural diagram of another antenna array provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6b is a schematic structural diagram of another antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 6c is a schematic structural diagram of another antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 6d is a schematic structural diagram of another antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a position overlapping of a transmitting array element and a receiving array element provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 8a is a schematic structural diagram of another antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 8b is a schematic structural diagram of another antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 8c is a schematic structural diagram of another antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another antenna array provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of another antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Figure 11a is a schematic diagram of the PSLR change of the array pattern at different values of the first angle β provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 11b is a schematic diagram of the variation of PSLR reflecting the array pattern with coefficient a provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 12a is a schematic structural diagram of an expanded antenna array provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 12b is a schematic structural diagram of another extended antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 12c is a schematic structural diagram of another expanded antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a virtual antenna array after virtualization processing of an antenna array provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, and to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more obvious and understandable, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings The program is described in further detail.

Before describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, firstly, the application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical solution of the present application can be applied to the technical field of MIMO antennas. As an important electromagnetic sensor, MIMO antenna plays an important role in national defense and civilian fields. Under the traction of application requirements and the promotion of technological development, some new systems, new systems and new methods are constantly emerging. Multiple input multiple output (Multiple input multiple ontput, MIMO) antenna array is to introduce the multiple input and multiple output technology in the wireless communication system into the field of antenna technology, and combine it with digital array technology.

The present application provides an antenna module including an antenna array, and the antenna module can use MIMO radar, detector, sensor or imaging device to perform communication, and to locate and track a target object through MIMO technology. Wherein, the antenna module has the function of multiple transmission and multiple reception of signals or beams.

Specifically, the antenna module can be deployed in any of the following scenarios:

Scenario 1: The antenna module is deployed on a portable terminal device that has imaging and/or sensing functions, such as a smart phone, a tablet (pad) or a professional sensing imaging device, imaging device, etc., for detecting objects or Imaging of the surrounding environment, and positioning of objects or the surrounding environment, etc.

Scenario 2: The antenna module can be deployed on a communication device, such as a base station in Long Term Evolution (LTE), or a base station (NodeB, NB), detectors, sensors and other resources that can reuse mobile communication network sites. The antenna module is used for imaging the surrounding environment of the base station, and extracting characteristic parameters (such as location, speed, acceleration, etc.) of the target object.

Scenario 3: The antenna module can also be deployed on a high-altitude communication platform, such as a high-altitude platform (High Altitude Platform Station, HAPS), a high-altitude base station (HAPS IMT BS, HIBS), etc., for monitoring the ground within the coverage of the high-altitude platform Perceive and image the upper target.

It should be understood that the antenna module may also be applied to other scenarios requiring imaging or positioning of objects, which is not limited in the present application.

Before explaining the technical solution of the present application, the relevant technical terms involved in the present application are firstly introduced.

(1) Integral side lobe ratio

Integral side lobe ratio (Integrate the side lobe ratio, ISLR) refers to the ratio of the side lobe energy of the imaging beam to the main lobe energy, as expressed by the relationship (1):

Wherein, P _total represents all the energy within a certain range of the array pattern, and P _main represents the energy of the main lobe of the array pattern.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , it is an array pattern of a one-dimensional linear array. Among them, the abscissa represents the pitch angle, the unit is "degree", and the ordinate represents the energy P, which can be calculated by the peak side lobe ratio, and the unit is "dB"; a certain range of the array pattern shown in Fig. 2 It can be a pitch angle ranging from -60 degrees to 60 degrees, and P _total is the corresponding energy sum in the range of -60 degrees to 60 degrees; the energy P _main of the main lobe of the array pattern refers to the energy at the preset angle The sum of the peak sidelobe ratios in the range. The preset angle range refers to the angle interval between the first pitch angle and the second pitch angle to the left with the beam pointing as the center, wherein the first pitch angle is the first minimum value to the left from the maximum energy center The pitch angle corresponding to the energy, for example, the pitch angle of -40 degrees is the beam center, and the pitch angle (such as -42 degrees) corresponding to the energy of the first trough position to the left (for example -22dB) is the first pitch angle . Similarly, the second pitch angle is the pitch angle corresponding to the first minimum value energy (for example -22dB) to the right of the maximum energy center, such as a pitch angle of -38 degrees, then the first preset angle range is From -42 degrees to -38 degrees, the P _main is the sum of energy in the pitch angle range from -42 degrees to -38 degrees.

There is a corresponding relationship of the above relational formula (1) between the P _total and P _main expressed by the peak side lobe ratio and the ISLR, so the P _total and P _main can be obtained through the array pattern, and then the corresponding ISLR is calculated, the The ISLR value affects the imaging effect. In general, the smaller the integral sidelobe ratio ISLR, the better the imaging effect.

Optionally, when the integral side lobe ratio ISLR exceeds -20dB, a better imaging effect can be achieved to meet the user's imaging requirements.

(2) Peak side lobe ratio

Peak side lobe ratio (Peak side lobe ratio, PSLR) refers to the ratio of the maximum side lobe level of the imaging beam to the main lobe level. As expressed in relation (2),

PSLR＝20·lg|F _{max_sl} /F _max | (2)

Among them, F _max represents the main lobe level, and F _{max_sl} represents the maximum side lobe level.

The peak side lobe ratio PSLR also affects the imaging effect. Generally, the smaller the PSLR value, the better the imaging effect.

(3) Window treatment

In order to obtain a better imaging effect, a lower integral side lobe ratio is required, so it is necessary to perform spatial windowing processing on the imaging beam signal. When the virtual array corresponding to the MIMO array is a continuous full array with no holes, the effect of spatial windowing is the best. Among them, the spatial windowing process can suppress the truncation effect, reduce the side lobe of the array pattern, and reduce or eliminate the "artifact" in the imaging result.

(4) array element

Array element: A component of an antenna array. A general antenna array is composed of array elements, which are divided into transmitting array elements and receiving array elements, wherein the transmitting array elements are used to radiate electromagnetic waves into space, and the receiving array elements are used to receive electromagnetic waves in space.

The arrangement structure of the array antenna may be a one-dimensional structure, such as a one-dimensional linear array. The one-dimensional linear array is a form of antenna array, and all array elements (including transmitting array elements and receiving array elements) are located in one linear dimension.

The structure of the antenna module provided by the present application will be described in detail below.

The present application provides an antenna module including an antenna array, which is applied in any of the aforementioned scenarios. As shown in FIG. 2, the antenna module 100 includes a circuit board, which includes an antenna array 110, a signal generating module 120 and a signal processing module. 130, and the antenna array 110 is connected to the signal generation module 120 and the signal processing module 130 respectively. For example, the antenna array 110 is connected to the signal generating module 120 through a first channel, and the antenna array 110 is connected to the signal processing module 130 through a second channel. Optionally, the first channel is a transmitting channel, and the second channel is a receiving channel.

Wherein, the antenna array 110 can be divided into two types of array element groups according to functions, wherein one type of array element group is used as a transmitting array element, and the other type of array element group is used as a receiving array element. For example, taking the smallest unit as an example, the antenna array 110 includes two array element groups, namely a first array element group and a second array element group, the first array element group is used as a transmitting array element, and the second array element group It is used as a receiving array element, and each array element group includes at least two array elements.

As shown in FIG. 3 a , the antenna array 110 includes multiple transmitting array elements and multiple receiving array elements. It should be noted that the transmitting array element in this embodiment may also be referred to as a "transmitting antenna", and the receiving array element may also be referred to as a "receiving antenna", that is, one array element is equivalent to one antenna.

Optionally, the signal generation module 120 and the signal processing module 130 can also be designed as other circuit structures, such as in FIG. 3b, the signal generation module 120 and the signal processing module 130 are combined into one processing module, which includes: Local oscillator, frequency multiplier, power divider, mixer, digital-to-analog conversion, data processing/storage and other unit modules. In addition, other components or units may also be included, which is not limited in this embodiment.

Further, the signals in the multiple receiving array elements are processed by the mixer to output beat signals, which are transmitted to the analog-to-digital converter for module conversion processing, and then the converted data are transmitted to the data processor and memory.

In this embodiment, the first array element group in the antenna array 110 includes at least two array elements, and the second array element group includes array elements in M rows and N columns. As shown in FIG. Two array elements, the white square pattern represents the first array element group. The array elements of M rows and N columns are arranged in a rectangular structure, and the spacing between M rows and N columns is the same, M and N are both positive integers, and M and N may or may not be equal.

Optionally, the first array element group is a transmitting array element group, and the second array element group is a receiving array element group; or, the first array element group is a receiving array element group, and the second array element group is a receiving array element group. A tuple is a group of emission arrays.

Wherein, when the first array element group is a transmitting array element group, and the second array element group is a receiving array element group, in the aforementioned FIG. 2, the signal generating module 120 is used to generate the first signal, and utilize The channel transmits the first signal; the first element group in the antenna array 110 is used to receive the first signal generated by the signal generating module 120, and convert the first signal into a first electromagnetic wave, and send (or radiate) the first signal to space. Describe the first electromagnetic wave.

Optionally, the first signal is a chirp signal.

The first electromagnetic wave radiates to the target object 200 , and forms a transmitted echo after passing through the target object 200 . In this embodiment, the reflected echo is referred to as the second electromagnetic wave. The second electromagnetic wave radiates and propagates to the antenna module 100 in space.

The second array element group is used to receive the second electromagnetic wave, convert the second electromagnetic wave into a second signal, and send the second signal. Specifically, the second array element group uses a receiving channel to send the second signal to the signal processing module 130 .

The signal processing module 130 is used for receiving the second signal, and performing processing such as imaging and positioning on the target object 200 according to the second signal, and completing functions such as imaging and positioning of the target object 200 .

Specifically, the first signal and the second signal may be transmitted in a time division or code division manner.

Similarly, when the first array element group is a receiving array element group and the second array element group is a transmitting array element group, the second array element group is used to receive the first signal, and the The first signal is converted into a first electromagnetic wave, and the first electromagnetic wave is sent; the first array element group is used to receive the second electromagnetic wave, and convert the second electromagnetic wave into a second signal, and send the first electromagnetic wave. The second signal is sent to the signal processing module 130 .

An antenna module including an antenna array provided in this embodiment, the antenna array includes array elements of M rows and N columns. Since the array element structure of M rows and N columns is a two-dimensional antenna array, compared with one-dimensional As far as the line array is concerned, it can accurately reflect the actual situation of the target object. The two-dimensional area array antenna structure can improve the imaging results and can depict more target object information to meet the imaging needs of users.

Wherein, the two-dimensional area array can be understood as: it is a structural form of an array antenna, in which all array elements, including transmitting array elements and receiving array elements, are located on a plane, rather than on the same linear dimension.

It should be noted that the technical solution of this application does not limit the operating frequency of the system, and can be applied in the microwave frequency band, and can also be applied in the millimeter wave or terahertz frequency band.

The structure of the antenna array 110 provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below. In this embodiment, an example is taken by taking the first array element group as a transmitting array element group and the second array element group as a receiving array element group.

The antenna array 110 provided in this embodiment is a MIMO planar array (two-dimensional), wherein the second element group is a rectangular array with M rows and N columns, and optionally, the M×N rectangular array is a sparse antenna array. The sparseness can be understood as a certain interval between two adjacent receiving array elements, assuming that the interval is a second distance, the second distance is represented by "d2", and the d2 is related to the wavelength of the transmitted signal. The transmit signal is generated by the signal generating module 120. A possible situation is that the d2 is greater than half the wavelength of the transmit signal, that is, d2>λ/2, and λ represents the wavelength of the transmit signal.

Referring to FIG. 5a, it is a schematic diagram of a receiving array provided by this embodiment, such as a second array, which is a 2×2 receiving array, M=2, N=2 , which includes 4 receiving array elements, which are: the first receiving array element, the second receiving array element, the third receiving array element and the fourth receiving array element, wherein the four receiving array elements form a square structure, and the square The length of the side is d2, and the d2 is the distance between two receiving array elements, and the two receiving array elements do not include the two receiving array elements on the diagonal, that is, the first receiving array element and the third receiving array element array element, the second receiving array element and the fourth receiving array element.

Referring to FIG. 5 b , it is a schematic diagram of a transmitting array element group provided by this embodiment, such as a first array element group. The first array element group includes two transmitting array elements, which are the first emitting array element and the second emitting array element, and the distance between the first emitting array element and the second emitting array element is the first distance, so The first distance is denoted by "d1". It should be understood that the first array element group may also include more transmitting array elements, and this embodiment introduces a transmitting array element group composed of a minimum quantity unit (two transmitting array elements).

According to the second array element group shown in Figure 5a and the first array element group shown in Figure 5b, a two-dimensional antenna array 110 is formed, the structure of which is shown in Figure 6a, and the first array element group is arranged on the second In the array element group, the relationship between the two can be represented by a first included angle, and the first included angle is β.

Specifically, in the first array element group, the connection line between the first transmitting array element and the second transmitting array element is L1; in the second array element group, the first receiving array element and the second receiving array element The connection of elements is L2. Wherein, the first receiving array element and the second receiving array element are two array elements located in the same row or column in the rectangular structure array elements of M rows and N columns, that is, the two receiving array elements located on the diagonal are excluded. Yuan.

In the antenna array shown in FIG. 6a, the first receiving array element and the second receiving array element have an array element structure as shown in FIG. 5a. Moreover, the first included angle β is an included angle between the L1 and the L2, or the extension of the L1 and the L2. The value range of β is any value within 360° except 0°, 90°, 180° and 270°. In other words, the L1 and the L2 cannot be coincident or perpendicular.

It should be understood that the above 0° overlaps with 360°, so removing 0° from the value range of β above is equivalent to removing 360°.

In this example, the first included angle β is 45°.

Optionally, in another example, as shown in FIG. 6b, the first included angle β is 125°.

Optionally, in yet another example, as shown in FIG. 6c, the first included angle β is 225°.

Optionally, in yet another example, as shown in FIG. 6d, the first included angle β is 315°.

In addition, optionally, in a possible implementation manner, in any of the examples in FIG. 6a to FIG. 6d, the positions of the first transmitting array element and the first receiving array element coincide. For example, taking the structure of FIG. 6a as an example, referring to FIG. 7 , the first transmitting array element and the first receiving array element are located at the same position. In the example shown in FIG. 7 , there is no limitation on the position of the second transmitting array element. Specifically, when the first included angle β is 45°, the position of the second transmitting element may coincide with the position of the third receiving element (the element on the diagonal) or may not coincide .

Similarly, in the examples shown in FIG. 6b to FIG. 6d, the positions of the first transmitting array element and the first receiving array element may also coincide, and this embodiment does not give examples one by one.

Optionally, in the first possible implementation manner, the first included angle β is 30° to 60° in addition to the above four angle values of 0°, 90°, 180° and 270° Any value in the range, inclusive of the endpoints 30° and 60°. As shown in Figure 8a, β∈[30°,60°], and

Similarly, the first included angle β may be any value in the range of 120° to 150°, 210° to 240°, and 300° to 330°. Wherein, the value of β includes endpoint values: 120°, 150°, 210°, 240°, 300° and 330°. As shown in Figure 8b, the shaded area shows that β∈[120°,150°]∪[210°,240°]∪[300°,330°], and

Further, in the second possible implementation manner, as shown in FIG. 8b, in the first included angle β∈[30°, 60°]∪[120°,150°]∪[210°,240°] Within the value range of ∪[300°, 330°], the first included angle β may be any value among 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°.

Or, optionally, in the third possible implementation manner, the first included angle β is 30° to 60°, 120° to 150°, 210° to 240°, 300° to 330° Any value in the range except 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°; and the value of β is inclusive: 30°, 60°, 120°, 150°, 210°, 240°, 300° and 330°. That is, β∈[30°,60°]∪[120°,150°]∪[210°,240°]∪[300°,330°], and

Optionally, in the fourth possible implementation manner, the value range of the first included angle β is: 0° to 30°, 60° to 120°, 150° to 210°, 240° to 300° , 330° to 360°, or any value among 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°. Wherein, the value of the first included angle β does not include endpoint values: 30°, 60°, 120°, 150°, 210°, 240°, 300° and 330°. As shown in Figure 8c, the value range of the first included angle β represented by the shaded part is:

and

In the antenna array provided by this embodiment, the positional relationship between the transmitting array element and the receiving array element is not only the various possible implementations of the above-mentioned "first angle β", but also the distance between the aforementioned first distance d1 and the second distance d2 The size of the interval is limited, and the relationship between the d1 and the d2 will be described below under any structure of the above-mentioned first included angle β.

Taking any one of the aforementioned structures in FIG. 6a to FIG. 6d as an example, the first distance d1 is the distance between the first emitting element and the second emitting element. The second distance d2 is the row spacing or column spacing between any two adjacent receiving array elements in the first receiving array element group, that is, the side length of a square formed by four receiving array elements.

Among them, satisfy

a is a positive integer, a is a constant, and d2>λ/2, where λ represents the wavelength of the transmitted signal.

optional, upon satisfying

In the case of , set the value range of the first distance d1 to be

to

Any value between , inclusive:

and

Expressed in a relational expression as:

Combined with the aforementioned first included angle β∈[30°,60°], and

The value range of the shaded area shown in Figure 9 is obtained.

Further, in the value range of d1 above, a possible value includes that d1 is equal to

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner, as shown in FIG. 10 , the first transmitting array element coincides with the first receiving array element, and the first included angle β is 45°, and

Similarly, when the β is 135°, 225° and 315°, the configuration

optional, upon satisfying

Under the condition of , in another possible implementation manner, the value range of the first distance d1 is configured to be except

to

Any value outside the range of the interval, including the endpoint values, can be expressed as:

where the d1 is in addition to

to

Values outside the range are not limited in this embodiment, as long as they meet both

and

That's it.

In this embodiment, simulation experiments are carried out on the structures of the above-mentioned various antenna arrays to obtain imaging effects under different structural states, so as to illustrate the imaging effects under different antenna array structures.

After the simulation experiment, as shown in Figure 11a, it reflects the change of the peak side lobe ratio (PSLR) of the array pattern when the first angle β is at different values, where the abscissa represents the first angle β, and the unit is " degree"; the vertical axis represents the peak side lobe ratio (PSLR), and the unit is "dB". When the first angle β increases from 0° to 90° in the first quadrant, the PSLR first decreases from large to small, and then becomes large from small to large. And when the β is equal to 45°, the PSLR value is the smallest, which is -34dB; when the β is equal to 0° or 90°, the PSLR value is the largest, which is close to -38dB. Since the smaller the value of PSLR, the better the corresponding imaging effect, so it is preferable to set the first angle β to be equal to 45°, which can obtain the least imaging "artifacts" and the best imaging effect.

Similarly, for other quadrants, when the first angle β is set equal to 135°, 225° or 315°, the best imaging effect can also be obtained in the second quadrant, the third quadrant and the fourth quadrant.

It should be noted that in the above simulation experiment, the change of the first included angle β at different values can also be reflected by the integrated side lobe ratio (ISLR) of the pattern, and the specific change is the same as that of the ISLR shown in Figure 11a As the variation of the β angle is the same, refer to the description of FIG. 11a above, and details will not be repeated in this embodiment.

In addition, the embodiment of the present application also conducts simulation experiments on the variation of the first distance d1 and the second distance d2, as shown in Figure 11b, which reflects the variation of the peak side lobe ratio (PSLR) of the array pattern with the coefficient a, where , the abscissa represents the coefficient a, and the ordinate represents the peak side lobe ratio (PSLR), the unit is "dB". The relationship between the d1 and the d2 satisfies

The value range of the coefficient a is (0,1). Among them, in the process of increasing the coefficient a from 0 to 1, the step unit is 0.1, and the value of PSLR first changes from large to small, and then from small to large. And, when the coefficient a=0.5, the value of PSLR is the smallest, this moment is-34dB;

When , the "artifacts" in the imaging that can be obtained are the least, and the imaging effect is the best.

It should be noted that when the coefficient a is 0 or 1, the value of PSLR is the largest and the imaging effect is the worst, so the coefficient a is set to be different from 0 and 1 in the embodiment of the present application.

Combined with the best adjustment effect of the above-mentioned first angle β, the structure of the transmitting array element and the receiving array element in the antenna array is set, such as in the first quadrant, satisfying β=45°, and

The imaging effect is the best.

In addition, this embodiment provides an antenna array with a two-dimensional array structure, which can improve the image resolution capability, so that the imaging result can match the actual situation of the target object, and overcome the problem of one-dimensional linear arrays. The array can only provide one-dimensional resolution ability, and cannot reflect the defect of the actual situation of the target.

In addition, in the antenna array of the two-dimensional area array provided by this embodiment, due to the distance d2 between two adjacent receiving array elements, the d2 is greater than half the wavelength of the transmitted signal, so the formed MIMO antenna array is a kind of sparse Compared with traditional dense antenna arrays, MIMO arrays greatly reduce the number of array elements that need to be configured, thereby reducing costs, and the performance of imaging and tracking remains basically the same. For example, to illustrate, in a dense antenna array, the interval between adjacent receiving elements is less than or equal to half the wavelength of the transmitting signal, and a possible MIMO antenna array contains 1 transmitting element and 25921 receiving elements , and then a total of 25922 array elements need to be set. If the antenna array structure of the embodiment of the present application is adopted, it may be necessary to set 8 transmitting array elements and 2601 receiving array elements, and then a total of 2609 array elements are required, the total number of array elements is greatly reduced, the cost is reduced, and performance is maintained. constant.

Optionally, in the above-mentioned antenna arrays with various structures, the structure of the antenna array can also be expanded, that is, the antenna array can also include more array element groups such as the third array element group and the fourth array element group . Wherein, when the first array element group is used as a transmitting array element and the second array element group is used as a receiving array element, the third array element group and the fourth array element group can be expanded to be used as transmitting array elements tuple. For example, the third array element group includes at least one transmitting array element, such as including 1, 2 or 3 transmitting array elements, so as to receive the signal generated by the signal generating module, and transmit the signal After being converted into electromagnetic waves, the electromagnetic waves are transmitted. Similarly, when the first array element group is used as a receiving array element and the second array element group is used as a transmitting array element, the third array element group and the fourth array element group can be expanded to be used as receiving array elements array of elements. It can be understood that the expanded array element group cannot be an array element group with a rectangular structure of M rows and N columns.

In this example, take the expanded array element group (the third array element group) as an example of the transmitting array element group, the position of the third array element group can be located at any position in the antenna array, but cannot It is in the same position as other emitted arrays (such as the first array).

A possible implementation manner is that the third array element group includes a third emitting array element, the third emitting array element is located at an edge position of the second array element group, and is connected to the array element at the edge position The distance between elements is not less than the second distance d2. Wherein, the edge position of the second array element group includes: the position of any receiving array element on the edge in the second array element group.

Further, the distance between the third transmitting element and the receiving element at the edge position is equal to the second distance d2 or

In an example, as shown in FIG. 12a, multiple emitting element groups are included on the edge of the second element group, and the structure of each emitting element group is the same as that of the first element group, that is, each Each transmitting array element group includes two transmitting array elements, and the positional relationship between the two transmitting array elements is the same as that of the first transmitting array element and the second transmitting array element in the first array element group.

For example, taking the first row in the horizontal direction as an example, in the first array element group, the first transmitting array element is represented as T1, and the second transmitting array element is represented as T2. In the third array element group, it includes the third emitting array element T3 and the fourth emitting array element T4, wherein, referring to FIG. Elements are spaced by the d2 distance. Similarly, for the vertical direction, the edge element of the first column in the array of M rows and N columns is separated from the third transmitting element T3 by the d2 distance. It can be expressed by the following relation:

In the horizontal direction, the position of the third transmitting array element T3 is set to Dx+d2, Dx represents the total length of the second array element group of the M×N rectangular structure, and Dx is equal to an integer multiple of d2, because adjacent receiving array elements The distances between are equal, and both are d2.

In the vertical direction, set the position of the third transmitting array element T3 as Dy+d2, where Dy represents the total width of the second array element group of the M×N rectangular structure, and Dy is equal to an integer multiple of d2, because adjacent receiving array elements The distances between are equal, and both are d2.

In the diagonal direction, the position of the third transmitting element T3 is set as

Dz represents the length of receiving array elements at the two diagonal positions of the second array element group of the M×N rectangular structure, and

The spacing between adjacent receiving array elements is equal, and both are d2.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned third transmitting array element T3 may also be arranged at other positions in the second array element group of the M×N rectangular structure, and this embodiment of the present application does not give examples one by one.

Optionally, in another example, multiple transmitting element groups may also be included, and the number of transmitting elements contained in each transmitting element group may be one or more. For example, as shown in Figure 12b, several emitting element groups are set in the horizontal direction and vertical direction, and each emitting element group contains only one emitting element group; other emitting element groups are arranged in the diagonal direction, and the emitting The array element group includes two transmitting array elements, and the specific structure and positional relationship of the two transmitting array elements may be the same as that in the aforementioned first array element group.

Optionally, in yet another example, several transmitting element groups are also included, and each of the transmitting element groups includes 3 transmitting element groups, as shown in FIG. 12c, wherein each transmitting element group The position of can be set at an edge position of the second array element group, and the edge position includes a horizontal edge, a vertical edge and a diagonal line position.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, on the basis of the antenna array formed by the first array element group and the second array element group, an array structure including more transmitting array element groups is not limited. In other words, when extending the antenna array, it is only necessary to ensure that the array element group used for reception is a uniform rectangular array, and there is no requirement for parameters such as the size of the receiving array (ie, the number of M and N).

When expanding the transmitting element group, the transmitting element structure with the same structure can be set, and each transmitting element group contains two transmitting elements. Moreover, the relative positional relationship of the two transmitting array elements is required to be the same as that of the two transmitting array elements in the first array element group, in other words, the two transmitting array elements T3 and The relative positional relationship of the T4 array element is configured to be the same as the relative positional relationship of the two transmitting array elements T1 and T2 in the first array element group, that is, the vector from T3 to T4 is the same as the vector from T1 to T2 The vector of is a translation relationship, such as shown in Figure 12a.

The expansion direction of the third array element group includes but is not limited to the horizontal direction, the vertical method and the diagonal direction, that is, the horizontal direction (X axis) of any receiving array element in the receiving array of the M×N rectangular structure, The third array element group can be extended in both the vertical direction (Y axis) and the diagonal direction. For example, expand the third transmitting array element T3 on the parallel line of the X axis or the Y axis; or, make a parallel line parallel to the Y axis for the center of the transmitting array element group on all the X axes, and make a parallel line parallel to the Y axis for all the X axes The center of the transmitting array element group is made as a parallel line parallel to the Y axis, and a new transmitting array element group can be configured at the intersection of these parallel lines, so as to complete the expansion of the antenna array structure. The application for the expanded transmitting array element group There is no limit to the number of .

In addition, in the receiving array of M×N rectangular structure, the values of M and N can be the same or different.

It should be noted that, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the first array element group and the third array element group are used as the transmitting array element group, and the second array element group is the receiving array element group as an example; the positions of the above-mentioned array element groups can also be Interchange, for example, the first array element group and the third array element group are the receiving array element group, and the second array element is the transmitting array element group, that is, in the aforementioned Figures 4 to 10, and Figures 12a to 12c, the transmitting array element and The positions of the receiving array elements are exchanged, that is, each solid circle represents a transmitting array element, and the white square pattern represents a receiving array element, and the same effect as the foregoing embodiment can also be achieved. In this embodiment, the structure after the positions of the pairs of tuples are exchanged will not be described again.

In addition, this embodiment also includes a signal processing module 130 to process the reflected echo (the second electromagnetic wave) received by the antenna array 110. One implementation mode is that the signal processing module 130 receives the performing virtualization processing on the structure of the antenna array, so as to complete the imaging and/or positioning processing on the second signal.

Among them, a virtualization processing process, as shown in Figure 13, the structure of the antenna array 110 includes a first array element group and a second array element group, wherein the first array element group is a transmitting array element group, and the second array element group For the receiving array element group, the actual structural arrangement of the antenna array is similar to that of the aforementioned Figure 4, but the difference is that the positions of the first transmitting array element and the first receiving array element coincide. The signal processing module 130 virtualizes the antenna array of this structure to obtain a virtual antenna array as shown in FIG. In 13, the virtualized antenna array only includes one virtual transmitting element, and this virtual transmitting element is regarded as the actual virtualized structure of all transmitting elements.

It should be understood that the signal processing module 130 may also perform virtualization processing on antenna arrays of other structures, and this application does not limit the specific virtualization processing process.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device. As shown in FIG. 14 , the communication device includes a processor 141 and an antenna module 142, and the processor 141 and the antenna module 142 are coupled.

Wherein, the antenna module 142 may be an antenna module including an antenna array in any of the foregoing implementation manners, and is used to implement functions such as imaging and positioning of a target. In addition, after being coupled with the processor 141, the antenna module 142 has a communication function, for example, the communication function includes a mobile communication and/or wireless communication function.

It should be understood that the foregoing communication device may also include other hardware structures. For example, it may also include a memory, a universal serial bus (universal serial bus, USB) interface, a radio frequency circuit, a camera, a display screen, a SIM card interface, sensors, and input and output devices.

Wherein, the processor 141 may include one or more processing units, for example: the processor 141 may include an application processor (application processor, AP), a modem processor, a graphics processing unit (graphics processing unit, GPU), an image signal Processor (image signal processor, ISP), video codec, digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), baseband processor, and/or neural network processor (neural-network processing unit, NPU), etc. Wherein, different processing units may be independent devices, or may be integrated in one or more processors, such as integrated in a system chip (system on a chip, SoC).

A memory may also be provided in the processor for storing instructions and data. In some embodiments, the memory in the processor is a cache memory. This memory can hold instructions or data that the processor has just used or recycled.

In some embodiments, processor 141 may include one or more interfaces. The one or more interfaces may include an integrated circuit (inter-integrated circuit, I2C) interface, an integrated circuit built-in audio (inter-integrated circuit sound, I2S) interface, a pulse code modulation (pulse code modulation, PCM) interface, a general asynchronous Universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) interface, mobile industry processor interface (MIPI), general-purpose input/output (GPIO) interface, subscriber identity module , SIM) interface and/or USB interface, etc.

The memory may be used to store computer-executable program code, which includes instructions. The memory may include an area for storing programs and an area for storing data. Wherein, the stored program area can store an operating system, an application program required by at least one function, and the like. The storage data area can store data, signals, etc. created during the use of the communication device. In addition, the memory may include one or more storage units, for example, may include volatile memory (volatile memory), such as random access memory (dynamic access memory, RAM), and may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory) , NVM), such as read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), flash memory (flash memory), etc.

The processor 141 executes various functional applications and data processing of the communication device by executing instructions stored in the memory, and/or instructions stored in the memory provided in the processor, such as virtualizing the actual antenna array, and According to the received reflected echo, the target object is imaged, positioned and tracked.

In addition, the wireless communication function of the above-mentioned communication device may be realized by a radio frequency circuit, a mobile communication module, a wireless communication module, an antenna array, a modem processor, a baseband processor, and the like.

Among them, the mobile communication module can provide wireless communication solutions including 2G/3G/4G/5G applied to communication equipment. Wherein, the mobile communication module may include the antenna module shown in Fig. 3a or Fig. 3b above, or may be other antenna modules for communication. In some embodiments, at least part of the functional modules of the mobile communication module may be set in the processor 141 . In some embodiments, at least part of the functional modules of the mobile communication module and at least part of the modules of the processor 141 may be set in the same device.

A modem processor may include a modulator and a demodulator. Wherein, the modulator is used for modulating the low-frequency baseband signal to be transmitted into a medium-high frequency signal. The demodulator is used to demodulate the received electromagnetic wave signal into a low frequency baseband signal. Then the demodulator sends the demodulated low-frequency baseband signal to the baseband processor for processing. The low-frequency baseband signal is passed to the application processor after being processed by the baseband processor. The application processor outputs sound signals through audio equipment (including but not limited to speakers, receivers, etc.), or displays images or videos through the display screen 180 . In some embodiments, the modem processor may be a stand-alone device. In some other embodiments, the modem processor may be independent of the processor 141, and be set in the same device as the mobile communication module or other functional modules.

The wireless communication module may include a wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, WiFi) module, a bluetooth (bluetooth, BT) module, a GNSS module, a near field communication technology (near field communication, NFC) module, an infrared (infrared, IR) module, etc. The wireless communication module may be one or more devices integrating at least one of the above modules. The wireless communication module receives electromagnetic waves through the MIMO antenna array, frequency-modulates and filters the electromagnetic wave signals, and sends the processed signals to the processor 141 . The wireless communication module can also receive the signal to be sent from the processor 141, perform frequency modulation on it, amplify it, and convert it into electromagnetic wave and radiate it through the MIMO antenna array.

In the embodiment of the present application, the wireless communication function of the communication device may include, for example, global system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radio service (general packet radio service, GPRS), code division multiple access (code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), time-division code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), long term evolution (LTE) , 5th generation mobile networks new radio (5G NR), BT, GNSS, WLAN, NFC, FM, and/or IR functions. GNSS can include global positioning system (global positioning system, GPS), global navigation satellite system (global navigation satellite system, GLONASS), Beidou satellite navigation system (beidou navigation satellite system, BDS), quasi-zenith satellite system (quasi-zenith) satellite system (QZSS) and/or satellite based augmentation systems (SBAS).

The camera is used to capture still images or video. The display screen is used to display images, videos and the like. The sensors include but are not limited to touch sensors, gyroscope sensors, accelerometers, temperature sensors, etc., for collecting relevant data.

It can be understood that, in some embodiments of the present application, the communication device may include more or less components, or combine certain components, or separate certain components, or arrange different components. The illustrated components can be realized in hardware, software or a combination of software and hardware.

In addition, the communication device may be a terminal device, such as a mobile phone, a tablet or a wearable device, a detector, a sensing or imaging device, or a network device, such as a server, a switch, a base station, and a radar.

An antenna module including an antenna array provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the antenna array is a two-dimensional array, and the antenna array includes a first array element group and a second array element group, wherein the first array element One group is used as a transmitting array element, and the second array element group is used as a receiving array element, or, the first array element group is used as a receiving array element, and the second transmitting array is used as a transmitting array element.

It should be understood that the antenna array may further include other more array element groups, such as a third array element group, a fourth array element group, and the like.

Wherein, the first array element group includes at least two array elements, and the second array element group includes: array elements in M rows and N columns, and the array elements in M rows and N columns are arranged in a rectangular structure, M and N is a positive integer, and the distances between M rows and N columns are the same, that is, the second array element group is an M×N array, and the M×N array is a uniform rectangular array.

Optionally, each of the third array element group and/or the fourth transmitter array element group includes two transmitter array elements.

The first array element group includes the first emitting array element and the second emitting array element, and the connection line between the first emitting array element and the second emitting array element is L1; the second array element group includes the first emitting array element A receiving array element and a second receiving array element, the connection line between the first receiving array element and the second receiving array element is L2, and the first receiving array element and the second receiving array element are the M×N rectangle Two array elements located in the same row or column in the structure array element. Wherein, the included angle between the L1 and the L2 or the extension line of L2 is a first included angle, and the first included angle is β, and

In addition, the distance between the first transmitting array element and the second transmitting array element is a first distance d1, the distance between the first receiving array element and the second receiving array element is a second distance d2, and the first receiving array element The receiving array element and the second receiving array element are any two adjacent receiving array elements except on the diagonal line in the first receiving array element group.

The first included angle is β, and/or, the d1 and d2 can be set to the following relationship:

One implementation is: set

And β ∈ [45°, 135°, 225°, 315°].

Optionally, another implementation manner is to further include: a third array element group, a fourth array element group and a greater number of array element groups, and the third array element group, the fourth array element group The number and position of the array elements can be freely set as required.

Optionally, another embodiment is that, in a transmitting element group, set

and / or,

Optionally, another embodiment is that, in a transmitting element group, set

and / or,

It should be understood that the first included angle is β, and the first distance d1 and the second distance d2 can also be set to other values, and satisfy the aforementioned

as well as,

conditions.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the signal generating module of the antenna module may adopt a time division or code division mode for signal transmission.

When the signal transmission method adopts the time-division method, the number of transmitting array elements contained in one transmitting array element group is m, wherein the lowercase letter "m" has a different meaning from the uppercase letter "M" in the foregoing embodiment, and the foregoing "M" Indicates the number of rows of the second array element group, or the row number, where "m" indicates the number of transmitting array elements contained in any transmitting array element group, so for a transmitting array element group composed of m transmitting array elements, Each transmitting element can be marked as: T ₁ , T ₂ ,...T _m ; the number n of receiving elements contained in a receiving element group can be marked as: R ₁ , R ₂ ,...R _n ; The signal transmission process is as follows: the transmitting array element T ₁ transmits the sensing signal S ₁ , and after being reflected by the target, the receiving array receives the echo signal S ₁₁ ; in the same way, the transmitting array element T ₂ transmits the sensing signal S ₁ , passing through the target After the object is reflected, the receiving array receives the echo signal S ₂₁ ; similarly, the transmitting array element T _m transmits the sensing signal S1 , and after being reflected by the target object, the receiving array receives the echo signal S _m1 . Then the signal received by the corresponding virtual array is [S ₁₁ , S ₂₁ , _.

In addition, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more than two. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first", "second", and "third" are used for the same items or items with basically the same functions and effects. distinguish similar items. Those skilled in the art can understand that words such as "first", "second" and "third" do not limit the number and execution order, and words such as "first", "second" and "third" do not It is not limited to be different.

The embodiments of the present application described above are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims (15)

1. An antenna module including an antenna array, characterized in that the antenna module includes a circuit board, and the circuit board includes an antenna array, a signal generation module and a signal processing module, and the antenna array is connected to the signal generation module and the signal processing module respectively. The signal processing module is connected;

   The antenna array includes a first array element group and a second array element group, one array element group in the first array element group and the second array element group is used as a transmitting array element, and the other array element group is used as a transmitting array element as receiving array element;

   The first array element group includes at least two array elements, the second array element group includes array elements in M rows and N columns, and the array elements in M rows and N columns are arranged in a rectangular structure, and M rows and N The spacing of the array elements is the same;

   The first array element group or the second array element group is used to receive the first signal generated by the signal generating module, convert the first signal into a first electromagnetic wave, and send the first electromagnetic wave; or , for receiving a second electromagnetic wave, converting the second electromagnetic wave into a second signal, and sending the second signal, where the second electromagnetic wave is a reflected echo of the first electromagnetic wave passing through the target object;

   The signal processing module is configured to receive the second signal, and perform imaging processing on the target object according to the second signal.
2. The antenna module according to claim 1, wherein,

   The first array element group includes: a first emitting array element and a second emitting array element, and the connection line between the first emitting array element and the second emitting array element is L1;

   The second array element group includes: a first receiving array element and a second receiving array element, and the connection line between the first receiving array element and the second receiving array element is L2, and the first receiving array element and the second receiving array element are two array elements located in the same row or the same column in the rectangular structure array elements of M rows and N columns;

   Wherein, the included angle between the L1 and the L2 or the extension line of L2 is the first included angle, and the first included angle is β, and the value range of the β is except 0°, 90°, 180° ° and any value other than 270°.
3. The antenna module according to claim 2, wherein the first included angle β is in the value range of 30° to 60°, 120° to 150°, 210° to 240°, and 300° to 330° any value of

   Wherein, the value of β includes endpoint values: 30°, 60°, 120°, 150°, 210°, 240°, 300° and 330°.
4. The antenna module according to claim 2, wherein the first included angle β is in the value range of 30° to 60°, 120° to 150°, 210° to 240°, and 300° to 330° Any value except 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°;

   Wherein, the value of the first included angle β includes endpoint values: 30°, 60°, 120°, 150°, 210°, 240°, 300° and 330°.
5. The antenna module according to claim 3, wherein the first angle β is any one of 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°.
6. The antenna module according to claim 2, wherein the value range of the first included angle β is:

   0° to 30°, 60° to 120°, 150° to 210°, 240° to 300°, 330° to 360°, or any value among 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°;

   Wherein, the value of the first included angle β does not include endpoint values: 30°, 60°, 120°, 150°, 210°, 240°, 300° and 330°.
7. The antenna module according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the positions of the first transmitting array element and the first receiving array element coincide.
8. The antenna module according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the distance between the first transmitting array element and the second transmitting array element is a first distance, and the first distance is d1;

   In the second array element group, the row spacing or column spacing between any two adjacent receiving array elements is a second distance, and the second distance is d2;

   in,

   

   a is a positive integer, and the d2 is related to the wavelength of the first signal generated by the signal generation module.
9. The antenna module according to claim 8, wherein the value range of the first distance d1 is

   

   to

   

   any value between

   where the end values are included:

   

   and

   
10. The antenna module according to claim 8 or 9, wherein a is equal to 0.5, and the value of the first distance d1 is

    
11. The antenna module according to claim 8, wherein the value range of the first distance d1 is except

    

    to

    

    Any value outside the interval.
12. The antenna module according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the antenna array further comprises a third element group;

    The third array element group includes at least one transmitting array element or at least one receiving array element.
13. The antenna module according to claim 12, wherein at least one transmitting element of the third element group comprises a third transmitting element,

    The third transmitting array element is located at an edge position of the second array element group, and is separated from the array elements at the edge position by no less than the second distance d2.
14. The antenna module according to claim 13, wherein the distance between the third transmitting array element and the array element at the edge position is equal to the second distance d2 or

    
15. A communication device, characterized in that the communication device includes: a processor and an antenna module, the processor is coupled to the antenna module,

    The antenna module is an antenna module including an antenna array according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

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