WO2023019480A1

WO2023019480A1 - Antenna array, antenna system and communication device

Info

Publication number: WO2023019480A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/113315
Authority: WO
Inventors: 龙科; 董文庆
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2021-08-18
Filing date: 2021-08-18
Publication date: 2023-02-23
Also published as: CN117397121A

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are an antenna array, an antenna system and a communication device, which are used for increasing the degree of isolation between antenna units. The antenna array may comprise two decoupling modules and two antenna units. Two ends of each decoupling module are respectively connected to the two antenna units, and one of the two decoupling modules may be connected to the two antenna units by means of a transmission module. In this way, both decoupling modules can decouple a coupling component between two antenna units, such that the degree of isolation between the antenna units in a communication device can be effectively increased.

Description

Antenna array, antenna system and communication equipment

technical field

The present application relates to the technical field of communication, and in particular to an antenna array, an antenna system and communication equipment.

Background technique

With the development of technology, people have higher and higher requirements on the capacity of mobile communication networks. In a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system, the transmitting and receiving parties use multiple antennas for communication, which can double the capacity of the mobile communication network.

An important performance index of a MIMO antenna is the isolation between antenna elements. The isolation between the antenna elements is related to the mutual coupling between the antenna elements, the lower the mutual coupling between the antenna elements, the better the isolation between the antennas. In order to reduce mutual coupling between antenna elements, the spacing between antenna elements should generally be greater than 0.5 wavelength (λ).

However, in order to further increase the capacity, the number of antenna units on the communication device is increasing, for example, the original 4 antenna units are increased to 8 or 16 antenna units. However, the size of communication equipment has not increased accordingly. For example, one of the characteristics of small base stations widely used in indoor communication scenarios is their small size. Therefore, when the number of antenna elements increases, the distance between the antenna elements is likely to be less than 0.5λ, which leads to an increase in the mutual coupling between the antenna elements and a decrease in the isolation between the antenna elements.

Contents of the invention

The present application provides an antenna array, an antenna system and communication equipment, which are used to improve the isolation between antenna units.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an antenna array. The antenna array may include: a plurality of antenna units including a first antenna unit and a second antenna unit, a first decoupling module, a second decoupling module, a first transmission module and a second transmission module. Two ends of the first decoupling module may be respectively connected to the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit. Both ends of the second decoupling module may also be respectively connected to the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit. Specifically, one end of the second decoupling module is connected to the first antenna unit through a first transmission module, and the other end of the second decoupling module is connected to the second antenna unit through a second transmission module. The first decoupling module and the second decoupling module may decouple the coupling component between the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit.

In the antenna array, both decoupling modules can decouple the coupling component between the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit, so that the isolation between the antenna units can be improved.

In a possible design, the antenna array may further include: a third transmission module and a fourth transmission module. One end of the first decoupling module may be connected to the first antenna unit through the third transmission module, and the other end of the first decoupling module may be connected to the second antenna unit through the fourth transmission module. Antenna unit; one end of the second decoupling module can be connected to the first antenna unit through the first transmission module and the third transmission module in turn, and the other end of the second decoupling module can be connected through the The second transmission module and the fourth transmission module are connected to the second antenna unit.

In this design, both decoupling modules are connected to the feeder of the antenna, which can reduce the impact on the radiation performance of the antenna unit while improving the isolation between the antenna units.

In a possible design, the structure of the first decoupling module is different from that of the second decoupling module.

In a possible design, the second decoupling module may further include: a fifth transmission module, a sixth transmission module, and a seventh transmission module. The fifth transmission module and the sixth transmission module are connected in series, and the two ends of the fifth transmission module and the sixth transmission module connected in series can be respectively connected to the first transmission module and the second transmission module ; the connection point between the fifth transmission module and the sixth transmission module is grounded through the seventh transmission module.

In this design, the second decoupling module includes three interconnected transmission modules, two of which can be connected to the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit respectively, and the third transmission module is grounded. This design can realize the decoupling effect of high-impedance transmission lines through three low-impedance transmission modules, thereby effectively improving the isolation between antenna elements in small-sized communication devices.

In a possible design, the second decoupling module may be a first inductor. Since the inductance can be equivalent to the high-impedance transmission module, the design can realize the decoupling effect of the high-impedance transmission line through the inductance, thereby effectively improving the isolation between antenna elements in small-sized communication devices.

In another possible design, the second decoupling module may be a series branch formed by sequentially connecting the eighth transmission module, the second inductor, and the ninth transmission module in series. In this design, two ends of the second inductor are respectively connected to a transmission module. Through these two transmission modules, the coupling caused by the small-sized inductor can be reduced, thereby further improving the isolation between antenna elements in the small-sized communication device.

In yet another possible design, the second decoupling module may be a series branch formed by serially connecting the first resistor, the tenth transmission module, and the second resistor in series. In this design, resistors are connected to both ends of the transmission module, so that while reducing processing difficulty, the isolation between antenna elements in small-sized communication devices can also be effectively improved.

In a possible design, any antenna unit includes at least one of the following: a planar inverted-F antenna PIFA, a monopole antenna, a dipole antenna, and a microstrip patch antenna.

In a second aspect, the embodiment of the present application provides an antenna array. The antenna array may include: a plurality of antenna units including a first antenna unit and a second antenna unit, a decoupling module, a first transmission module and a second transmission module. Two ends of the decoupling module may be respectively connected to the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit. Specifically, one end of the decoupling module is connected to the first antenna unit through the first transmission module, and the other end of the decoupling module is connected to the second antenna unit through the second transmission module. The decoupling module may decouple a coupling component between the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit. The line width of the decoupling module is greater than the line width of the transmission line that produces the same decoupling effect.

In the antenna array, the line width of the decoupling module is larger than the line width of the transmission line that produces the same decoupling effect, so that the isolation between antenna elements can be improved, and the difficulty of manufacturing the antenna array can be reduced. In addition, in the antenna array, the decoupling module is connected to the feeder of the antenna, so that while improving the isolation between the antenna units, the impact on the radiation performance of the antenna units can also be reduced.

In a possible design, the decoupling module may include: a fifth transmission module, a sixth transmission module, and a seventh transmission module. The fifth transmission module and the sixth transmission module are connected in series, and the two ends of the fifth transmission module and the sixth transmission module connected in series can be respectively connected to the first transmission module and the second transmission module ; the connection point between the fifth transmission module and the sixth transmission module is grounded through the seventh transmission module.

In this design, the decoupling module includes three interconnected transmission modules, two of which can be connected to the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit respectively, and the third transmission module is grounded. This design can realize the decoupling effect of high-impedance transmission lines through three low-impedance transmission modules, thereby effectively improving the isolation between antenna elements in small-sized communication devices.

In a possible design, the decoupling module may be a first inductor.

Since the inductance can be equivalent to the high-impedance transmission module, the design can realize the decoupling effect of the high-impedance transmission line through the inductance, thereby effectively improving the isolation between antenna elements in small-sized communication devices.

In another possible design, the decoupling module may be a series branch formed by sequentially connecting the eighth transmission module, the second inductor, and the ninth transmission module.

In this design, two ends of the second inductor are respectively connected to a transmission module. Through these two transmission modules, the coupling caused by the small-sized inductor can be reduced, thereby further improving the isolation between antenna elements in the small-sized communication device.

In yet another possible design, the decoupling module may also be a series branch formed by serially connecting the first resistor, the tenth transmission module, and the second resistor.

In this design, resistors are connected to both ends of the transmission module, which can effectively improve the isolation between antenna units in small-sized communication devices while reducing processing difficulty.

In a possible design, any antenna unit may include at least one of the following: a planar inverted-F antenna PIFA, a monopole antenna, a dipole antenna, and a microstrip patch antenna.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an antenna system, where the antenna system includes any antenna array described above.

In a fourth aspect, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, where the communication device includes any one of the above-mentioned antenna arrays or the above-mentioned antenna system. The technical effects that can be achieved by any one of the above-mentioned third to fourth aspects can be described with reference to the technical effects that can be achieved by any possible design of any one of the above-mentioned first or second aspects, and the repetition will not be discussed .

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a radio frequency path of a communication device;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an antenna unit in a MIMO antenna;

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

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of an antenna array provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of an antenna array provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 3 of an antenna array provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 4 of an antenna array provided in an embodiment of the present application;

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

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of another antenna array provided in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of another antenna array provided in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 3 of another antenna array provided in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 4 of another antenna array provided in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of another antenna array applied to a radio frequency path provided by the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of another antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of yet another antenna array provided in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of another antenna array provided in the embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 3 of another antenna array provided in the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 4 of yet another antenna array provided in the embodiment of the present application;

Figure 19a and Figure 19b are respectively a top view and a side view of an antenna array provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a simulation of the isolation of the antenna array shown in FIG. 9;

Fig. 21 is the horizontal direction diagram of the first antenna unit in the antenna array shown in Fig. 9;

FIG. 22 is a horizontal diagram of a second antenna element in the antenna array shown in FIG. 9 .

Detailed ways

In the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the antenna array includes two decoupling modules, and the two ends of each decoupling module are respectively connected to two antenna units, so that the two decoupling modules can both The coupling components between them are decoupled, so that the isolation between the antenna elements in the communication device can be effectively improved.

In the following, some terms used in the embodiments of the present application are explained, so as to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art.

1) Communication equipment, generally refers to equipment with communication functions. Exemplarily, the communication device may be, but not limited to, a terminal device, an access network (access network, AN) device, an access point, and the like.

2) A terminal device is a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to users. The terminal equipment may also be called user equipment (user equipment, UE), mobile station (mobile station, MS), mobile terminal (mobile terminal, MT) and so on.

For example, the terminal device may be a handheld device with a wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, and the like. At present, examples of some terminal devices are: mobile phone (mobile phone), tablet computer, notebook computer, palmtop computer, mobile internet device (mobile internet device, MID), wearable device, virtual reality (virtual reality, VR) device, enhanced Augmented reality (AR) equipment, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, smart grid Wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart city, wireless terminals in smart home, etc.

3) The AN device is a device for connecting a terminal device to a wireless network in a mobile communication system. As a node in the radio access network, the AN device may also be called a base station, a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) node (or device), and an access point (access point, AP).

At present, some examples of AN equipment are: new generation Node B (generation Node B, gNB), transmission reception point (transmission reception point, TRP), evolved Node B (evolved Node B, eNB), wireless network controller (radio network controller, RNC), node B (Node B, NB), base station controller (base station controller, BSC), base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), home base station (for example, home evolved NodeB, or home Node B , HNB), or base band unit (base band unit, BBU), etc.

In addition, in a network structure, the AN device may include a centralized unit (centralized unit, CU) node and a distributed unit (distributed unit, DU) node. This structure separates the protocol layers of the AN device, and the functions of some protocol layers are placed in the CU for centralized control, and the remaining part or all of the functions of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU, and the CU centrally controls the DU.

4) The transmission module may include transmission lines such as microstrip lines and phase-shifting lines. The parameters of the transmission module may include: the impedance of the transmission module, and the length parameter of the transmission module.

In the field of electromagnetic field, the length of the transmission module can be characterized by the length parameter of the transmission module—the electrical length θ. For example, if the length of the transmission line corresponding to the electrical length 360° is 300 millimeters (mm), then the electrical length θ=90° indicates that the length of the transmission line is 75 mm.

5) The isolation between antenna units refers to the ratio of the power of a signal transmitted by one antenna unit to the power of the signal received by another antenna unit.

6) The S parameter can represent the transmission situation between the antenna units. S parameters can include:

S21 represents the ratio of the voltage of the signal transmitted by the second antenna unit to the voltage of the signal transmitted from the port of the first antenna unit to the port of the second antenna unit when the port corresponding to the second antenna unit of the communication device transmits a signal. S21 can be used to characterize the isolation between antenna elements.

S11, when the port corresponding to the second antenna unit of the communication device transmits a signal, the signal is transmitted to the reflection coefficient at the port corresponding to the first antenna unit of the communication device (that is, the signal is transmitted to the port corresponding to the first antenna unit The ratio of the incident voltage to the reflected voltage).

S22, when the port corresponding to the first antenna unit of the communication device transmits a signal, the signal is transmitted to the reflection coefficient at the port corresponding to the second antenna unit of the communication device (that is, the signal is transmitted to the port corresponding to the second antenna unit The ratio of the incident voltage to the reflected voltage).

7). The connection in the embodiment of the present application may be a direct connection or a connection through one or more modules. For example, A is connected to B, or A is connected to B, may mean: A is directly connected to B, or A is connected to B through C. Among them, C can represent one or more modules.

8), in the embodiment of this application, the technical indicators that the antenna array needs to meet include: the bandwidth used by the communication device (including the standing wave bandwidth and the isolation bandwidth) is greater than or equal to the bandwidth threshold (for example, 10% of the antenna bandwidth); when the antenna When the spacing is less than or equal to the first spacing threshold (for example, 0.25λ), the isolation between antenna elements should be greater than or equal to the first isolation (for example, 18dB); the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value on the pattern is less than or equal to Pattern threshold (eg, 8dB).

9). In the embodiment of the present application, both the current and the voltage can be expressed in the form of amplitude and phase. Among them, the amplitude can represent the maximum value of the current or voltage, and the phase can represent the change of the current or voltage with time.

For example, when A represents the magnitude of the current and α represents the phase of the current, the current may be |A|×e ^−jα , where |A| represents the absolute value of A. The voltage can also be expressed in a similar form, which will not be repeated here.

Correspondingly, the ratio of current and voltage can also be expressed in the form of amplitude and phase.

In alternating current, current and voltage can be vectors with direction. Vectors can be represented by real and imaginary parts. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the current and the voltage may also be represented by a real part and an imaginary part.

Correspondingly, the ratio of current and voltage can also be expressed in the form of real and imaginary parts.

10) The center frequency point refers to the middle point of the antenna bandwidth. Each antenna unit can transmit signals within a certain frequency range (ie, antenna bandwidth); within the antenna bandwidth, the antenna impedance is the smallest and the transmission efficiency is the highest. At the center frequency point of the antenna bandwidth, the VSWR is the smallest.

11). The size of the two antenna units may be E×F×H, which is used to represent the space occupied by the two antenna units. E, F and H respectively represent the length, width and height of the space occupied by the two antenna units.

12). In this embodiment of the application, decoupling may also be replaced by cancellation or decoupling.

13) The feeder refers to the transmission line connecting the antenna unit and the transceiver. The antenna feeder can effectively transmit the signal received by the antenna unit, and has the characteristics of small distortion, small loss, and strong anti-interference ability.

14). In the embodiment of the present application, the numerical range may include at least one of the numerical values at both ends, or may not include the numerical values at both ends. For example, a-b can represent any one of [a,b], (a,b), [a,b), (a,b].

In the embodiments of the present application, for the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, it means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "And/or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, which means that there may be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and/or B, which may mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the contextual objects are an "or" relationship. For example, A/B means: A or B. "At least one (individual) of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items (individuals), including any combination of a single item (individuals) or a plurality of item (individuals).

In addition, it should be understood that in the description of this application, words such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish the purpose of description, and should not be interpreted as indicating or implying relative importance, nor should they be understood as To indicate or imply an order.

In addition, in the present application, "less than" and "less than or equal to" can be substituted for each other, and "greater than" and "greater than or equal to" can be substituted for each other.

In addition, the parameter values in this application may have certain fluctuations, for example, there may be ±20% fluctuations.

The embodiment of the present application may be used in a radio frequency path of a communication device. The radio frequency path shown in FIG. 1 is taken as an example below for description. The embodiment of the present application may also be used in other forms of radio frequency channels, which is not limited in the present application. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a radio frequency path corresponding to one antenna unit of a communication device. The radio frequency path will be described below with reference to FIG. 1 . The radio frequency path may include, but is not limited to: an antenna unit, a bandpass filter, a power amplifier/low noise amplifier, an up/down converter, and a modem.

Wherein, the antenna unit can receive or transmit signals.

A bandpass filter can filter a signal and retain frequency components within a certain frequency range in the signal.

The power amplifier is the abbreviation of the power amplifier, and the low noise amplifier is the abbreviation of the low noise amplifier. The power amplifier can amplify the power of the signal to obtain a stronger output signal. A LNA is an amplifier with a very low noise figure. The noise of the amplifier itself may cause serious interference to the signal, and the low-noise amplifier can improve the quality of the output signal.

Up and down converters can adjust the frequency of the signal.

A modem can convert a baseband signal to a higher frequency bandpass signal, or a higher frequency bandpass signal to a baseband signal.

The radio frequency signal received by the antenna unit can be converted into a baseband signal that can be processed by the communication device after being processed by the radio frequency channel. The baseband signal generated by the communication device is sent out through the antenna unit after being processed by the radio frequency channel.

The radio frequency path shown in FIG. 1 may be applied to a MIMO system, that is, any one of the multiple radio frequency paths in the MIMO system may be as shown in FIG. 1 . In addition, the MIMO antenna in the MIMO system may include multiple antenna elements in the radio frequency path shown in FIG. 1 .

The distribution of antenna elements in the MIMO antenna will be described below. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of distribution of antenna elements in a MIMO antenna. Each letter in Figure 2 represents an antenna unit. As shown in Figure 2, when the MIMO antenna includes 4 antenna elements (i.e., 4 transmit 4 receive (4T4R)), the interval between adjacent antenna elements can be λ; when the MIMO antenna includes 8 antenna elements (i.e., When 8 transmissions and 8 receptions (8T8R)), the interval between adjacent antenna units can be 0.5λ; when the MIMO antenna includes 16 antenna units (that is, 16 transmissions and 16 receptions (16T16R)), the interval between adjacent antenna units can be is 0.25λ. When the distance between adjacent antenna elements is small (for example, 0.25λ), the mutual coupling between the antenna elements increases, and the isolation between the antenna elements decreases.

Embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In order to improve isolation between antenna units, an embodiment of the present application provides an antenna array. Each antenna unit included in the antenna array can be used in the radio frequency path shown in FIG. 1 , and the antenna array can improve the isolation between the antenna units shown in FIG. 2 . Optionally, the antenna array may be used to improve the isolation between the 16T16R antenna elements shown in FIG. 2 .

An antenna array may comprise a plurality of antenna elements. The following takes the first antenna unit 101 , the second antenna unit 102 , and the modules between the first antenna unit 101 and the second antenna unit 102 as examples for illustration. It can be understood that similar modules may be included between every two antenna elements included in the antenna array, and details will not be described here.

Fig. 3 shows a possible structure of the antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3 , the antenna array may include: a first antenna unit 101 , a second antenna unit 102 , a first decoupling module 103 , a second decoupling module 104 , a first transmission module 105 and a second transmission module 106 .

Both ends of the first decoupling module 103 can be connected to the first antenna unit 101 and the second antenna unit 102 respectively; one end of the second decoupling module 104 can be connected to the The other end of the first antenna unit 101 and the second decoupling module 104 may be connected to the second antenna unit 102 through a second transmission module 106 .

Wherein, the first decoupling module 103 and the second decoupling module 104 can be used to decouple the coupling component between the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit. For example, when the signal of the first antenna unit is transmitted to the second antenna unit through the first decoupling module and the second decoupling module, the first decoupling module and the second decoupling module All coupling modules can generate a reverse current of the signal, and the reverse current can decouple the coupling component between the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit.

Each component in the antenna array shown in FIG. 3 will be specifically described below.

Optionally, any antenna unit may be one of a planar inverted F antenna (Planar inverted Fantenna, PIFA), a monopole antenna, a dipole antenna, and a microstrip patch antenna.

Optionally, the parameters of the first transmission module 105 and the parameters of the second transmission module 106 may be the same, different, or partly the same.

For example, the impedance of the first transmission module 105 and the impedance of the second transmission module 106 can both be 50Ω, and the length parameter of the first transmission module 105 and the length parameter of the second transmission module 106 can both be θ ₂ =π/2+kπ , where k can be a non-negative integer, for example, k=0 or 1.

For another example, the difference between the parameters of the first transmission module 105 and the parameters of the second transmission module 106 is smaller than a predetermined threshold (for example, the predetermined threshold may be 20% of the parameters of the first transmission module 105, or may be all 10% of the parameters of the second transmission module 106 described above).

For another example, the impedance of the first transmission module 105 and the impedance of the second transmission module 106 may both be 50Ω, and the difference between the length parameter of the first transmission module 105 and the length parameter of the second transmission module 106 is smaller than a predetermined threshold (for example, The predetermined threshold may be 10% of the length parameter of the

first transmission module

105, or 5% of the length parameter of the second transmission module 106).

For another example, the length parameter of the first transmission module 105 and the length parameter of the second transmission module 106 may both be θ ₂ =π/2+kπ, the impedance between the impedance of the first transmission module 105 and the impedance of the second transmission module 106 The difference is smaller than a predetermined threshold (for example, the predetermined threshold may be 20% of the impedance of the

first transmission module

105, or 5% of the impedance of the second transmission module 106).

The second decoupling module 104 in FIG. 3 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4-7 . The second decoupling module 104 may, but is not limited to, include the following methods:

Implementation mode one:

Referring to FIG. 4 , the second decoupling module 104 may include: a fifth transmission module 201 , a sixth transmission module 202 and a seventh transmission module 203 .

Wherein, the fifth transmission module 201 can be connected in series with the sixth transmission module 202, and the two ends of the fifth transmission module 201 and the sixth transmission module 202 connected in series are respectively connected to the first transmission module The connection points between 105 and the second transmission module 106 ; the fifth transmission module 201 and the sixth transmission module 202 may be grounded through the seventh transmission module 203 .

Each component of the second decoupling module 104 in the first embodiment will be described below.

Optionally, the parameters of the fifth transmission module 201 and the parameters of the sixth transmission module 202 may be the same, different, or partly the same.

For example, the impedance of the fifth transmission module 201 and the impedance of the sixth transmission module 202 can both be a value in 90-120Ω, and the length parameter of the fifth transmission module 201 and the length parameter of the sixth transmission module 202 can both be θ ₃ = 67°.

For another example, the difference between the parameters of the fifth transmission module 201 and the parameters of the sixth transmission module 202 is smaller than a predetermined threshold (for example, the predetermined threshold may be 10% of the parameters of the fifth transmission module 201, or may be the second 20% of the parameters of the six transmission modules 202).

For another example, the impedance of the fifth transmission module 201 and the impedance of the sixth transmission module 202 can both be a value in 90-120Ω, the difference between the length parameter of the fifth transmission module 201 and the length parameter of the sixth transmission module 202 less than a predetermined threshold (for example, the predetermined threshold may be 20% of the length parameter of the fifth transmission module 201, or may be 5% of the length parameter of the sixth transmission module 202).

For another example, the length parameter of the fifth transmission module 201 and the length parameter of the sixth transmission module 202 may both be θ ₃ =67°, and the difference between the impedance of the fifth transmission module 201 and the impedance of the sixth transmission module 202 is less than a predetermined Threshold (for example, the predetermined threshold may be 10% of the impedance of the fifth transmission module 201, or may be 20% of the impedance of the sixth transmission module 202). Specifically, the impedance of the fifth transmission module 201 may be a first value in 90-120Ω, the impedance of the sixth transmission module 202 may be a second value in 90-120Ω, and the first value and the second The difference between the values is smaller than the predetermined threshold.

Optionally, the impedance of the seventh transmission module 203 may be a value in 40-90Ω, and the length parameter of the seventh transmission module 203 may be θ ₄ =33°.

In the first embodiment, the second decoupling module 104 includes three interconnected transmission modules, two of which can be connected to the first antenna unit 101 and the second antenna unit 102 respectively, and the third transmission module grounded. In Embodiment 1, the decoupling effect of high-impedance transmission lines can be achieved by using three low-impedance transmission modules, thereby effectively improving the isolation between antenna units in a small-sized communication device.

Implementation mode two:

Referring to FIG. 5 , the second decoupling module 104 may be a first inductor 301 .

Optionally, the inductance value of the first inductor may be one of 5-50 Henry (nH).

Since the inductance can be equivalent to the high-impedance transmission module, the second embodiment can realize the decoupling effect of the high-impedance transmission line through the inductance, thereby effectively improving the isolation between the antenna units in the small-sized communication device.

Implementation mode three:

Referring to Fig. 6, the second decoupling module 104 may be a series branch formed by sequentially connecting the eighth transmission module 401, the second inductor 402 and the ninth transmission module 403 in series.

Each component of the second decoupling module 104 in the third embodiment will be described below.

Optionally, the parameters of the eighth transmission module 401 and the parameters of the ninth transmission module 403 may be the same, different, or partly the same.

For example, the impedance of the eighth transmission module 401 and the impedance of the ninth transmission module 403 may both be 50Ω, and the length parameters of the eighth transmission module 401 and the length parameters of the ninth transmission module 403 may both be θ ₅ =180°.

For another example, the difference between the parameters of the eighth transmission module 401 and the parameters of the ninth transmission module 403 is less than a predetermined threshold (for example, the predetermined threshold may be 20% of the parameters of the eighth transmission module 401, or may be 10% of the parameters of the ninth transmission module 403).

For another example, the impedance of the eighth transmission module 401 and the impedance of the ninth transmission module 403 may both be 50Ω, and the difference between the length parameter of the eighth transmission module 401 and the length parameter of the ninth transmission module 403 is smaller than a predetermined threshold (for example, The predetermined threshold may be 10% of the length parameter of the

eighth transmission module

401, or 5% of the length parameter of the ninth transmission module 403).

For another example, the length parameter of the eighth transmission module 401 and the length parameter of the ninth transmission module 403 may both be θ ₅ =180°, and the difference between the impedance of the eighth transmission module 401 and the impedance of the ninth transmission module 403 is less than a predetermined A threshold (for example, the predetermined threshold may be 10% of the impedance of the

eighth transmission module

401, or 10% of the impedance of the ninth transmission module 403).

Optionally, the inductance value of the second inductor 402 may be one of 5-50nH.

In the second decoupling module 104 of Embodiment 3, a transmission module is connected to both ends of the second inductance 402 respectively. Through these two transmission modules, the coupling caused by the small-sized inductor can be reduced, thereby further improving the small-sized communication. Isolation between antenna elements in a device.

Implementation mode four:

Referring to FIG. 7 , the second decoupling module 104 may be a series branch composed of a first resistor 501 , a tenth transmission module 502 and a second resistor 503 connected in series.

Each component of the second decoupling module 104 in the fourth embodiment will be described below.

Optionally, parameters of the first resistor 501 and parameters of the second resistor 503 may be the same or different.

For example, the impedance of the first resistor 501 and the impedance of the second resistor 503 may both have a value in the range of 25-250Ω.

For another example, the difference between the impedance of the first resistor 501 and the impedance of the second resistor 503 is smaller than a predetermined threshold (for example, the predetermined threshold may be 20% of the impedance of the

first resistor

501, or 10% of the impedance of the second resistor 503).

Optionally, the impedance of the tenth transmission module 502 may be a value in 25-250Ω, and the length parameter of the tenth transmission module 502 may be θ ₆ =90°.

In the second decoupling module 104 of Embodiment 4, resistors are respectively connected to both ends of the tenth transmission module 502. In this way, while reducing the difficulty of processing, it is also possible to effectively improve the communication between antenna units in small-sized communication devices. isolation.

Optionally, the structure of the first decoupling module 103 and the structure of the second decoupling module 104 may be the same, different, or partly the same.

For example, the second decoupling module 104 is one of the above four implementation manners, and the first decoupling module 103 may be a transmission module.

Wherein, the impedance of the first decoupling module 103 can be

Im(y' ₂₁ ) is an imaginary part value of Y21 between the first antenna unit 101 and the second antenna unit 102 at the central frequency point. The length parameter of the first decoupling module 103 may be θ ₇ =90°.

For another example, the first decoupling module 103 is one of the above four implementations, and the second decoupling module 104 is another one of the above four implementations.

For another example, both the first decoupling module 103 and the second decoupling module 104 are one of the above four implementation manners.

Optionally, the antenna array may further include a matching network (not shown in the figure).

In some implementations, the matching network can be located between the port and the decoupling module. For example, the matching network may be located between port 1 and the second decoupling module 104 , and/or between port 2 and the second decoupling module 104 .

The matching network may be a conventional matching network or other matching networks, which is not limited in this application. The matching network can reduce loss and distortion during signal transmission.

In the above-mentioned embodiment of the present application, the antenna array includes two decoupling modules, and the two ends of each decoupling module are respectively connected to the two antenna units, so that each decoupling module can The coupled components are decoupled, so that the isolation between antenna elements in the communication device can be effectively improved.

Fig. 8 shows another possible structure of the antenna array of the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8 , on the basis of the antenna array shown in FIG. 3 , the antenna array may further include: a third transmission module 107 and a fourth transmission module 108 .

Optionally, one end of the first decoupling module 103 may be connected to the first antenna unit 101 through the third transmission module 107; the other end of the first decoupling module 103 may be connected through the fourth The transmission module 108 is connected to the second antenna unit 102 .

One end of the second decoupling module 104 can be connected to the first antenna unit 101 through the first transmission module 105 and the third transmission module 107 in turn; the other end of the second decoupling module 104 It can be connected to the second antenna unit 102 through the second transmission module 106 and the fourth transmission module 108 in sequence.

As shown in FIGS. 9-12 , the second decoupling module 104 may have various implementations.

The structures and parameters of the first antenna unit 101, the second antenna unit 102, the first decoupling module 103, the second decoupling module 104, the first transmission module 105, and the second transmission module 106 can be referred to as shown in Fig. 3-7 The description of the antenna array will not be repeated here.

Wherein, when the first decoupling module 103 is a transmission module, the impedance of the first decoupling module 103 can be

Im(y' ₂₁ ) is the imaginary part value of Y21 at the center frequency point obtained by decoupling the third transmission module 107 and the fourth transmission module 108. The length parameter of the first decoupling module 103 may be θ ₇ =90°.

The parameters of the third transmission module 107 and the parameters of the fourth transmission module 108 will be described below.

In some possible implementation manners, the parameters of the third transmission module 107 and the parameters of the fourth transmission module 108 may be the same, different, or partly the same.

For example, the impedance of the third transmission module 107 and the impedance of the fourth transmission module 108 can both be 50 ohms (Ω), and the length parameter of the third transmission module 107 and the length parameter of the fourth transmission module 108 can be both

Among them, k is a positive integer,

is the phase of Y21. Among them, Y21 is located in the second row and first column of the Y matrix. The Y matrix can represent the voltage and current relationship between port 1 and port 2. Wherein, port 1 corresponds to the first antenna unit 101 , and port 2 corresponds to the second antenna unit 102 . Y21 represents the ratio of the current at port 2 to the voltage at port 1 when port 1 transmits a signal.

For another example, the difference between the parameters of the third transmission module 107 and the parameters of the fourth transmission module 108 is less than a predetermined threshold (for example, the predetermined threshold may be 10% of the parameters of the third transmission module 107, or may be all 20% of the parameters of the fourth transmission module 108 described above).

For another example, the impedance of the third transmission module 107 and the impedance of the fourth transmission module 108 can both be 50 ohms (Ω), and the difference between the length parameter of the first transmission module 105 and the length parameter of the fourth transmission module 108 is less than a predetermined Threshold (for example, the predetermined threshold may be 10% of the length parameter of the third transmission module 107, or may be 20% of the length parameter of the fourth transmission module 108).

For another example, the length parameter of the third transmission module 107 and the length parameter of the fourth transmission module 108 can be both

The difference between the impedance of the third transmission module 107 and the impedance of the fourth transmission module 108 is less than a predetermined threshold (for example, the predetermined threshold may be 10% of the impedance of the

third transmission module

107, or 10% of the impedance of the fourth transmission module 108. 20% of the impedance of the transmission module 108).

Optionally, parameters of the first transmission module 105 and parameters of the third transmission module 107 may be interchanged, and parameters of the second transmission module 106 and parameters of the fourth transmission module 108 may also be interchanged.

In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna array includes two decoupling modules, and the two ends of each decoupling module are respectively connected to the two antenna units through the transmission module, that is to say, the two ends of each decoupling module are respectively connected to on the feeder of the antenna unit. In this way, the two decoupling modules decouple the coupling components between the two antenna units, which can not only avoid affecting the radiation performance of the antenna units, but also effectively improve the isolation between the antenna units in the communication device.

Optionally, the parameters of the first transmission module 105 in the antenna array shown in FIG. 3-7 can be replaced with the parameters of the third transmission module 107. The parameters of can be replaced with the parameters of the fourth transmission module 108 .

In the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the module between every two antenna units (for example, the first antenna unit 101 and the second antenna unit 102) among the plurality of antenna units can be located between the antenna unit and the bandpass filter between. For example, modules between the first antenna unit 101 and the second antenna unit 102 may be located within the virtual frame shown in FIG. 13 (for example, located between the antenna unit and the port). The first transmission module 105 and the third transmission module 107 may be located between the first antenna unit 101 and port 1, and the second transmission module 106 and the fourth transmission module 108 may be located between the first antenna unit 101 and the port 1. Between the second antenna unit 102 and the port 2, the first decoupling module 103 and the second decoupling module 104 may be located between two radio frequency paths, and the two radio frequency paths are connected to the first antenna unit 101 and the second radio frequency path respectively. The two antenna units 102 correspond. Wherein, port 1 is an antenna port corresponding to the first antenna unit 101, and port 2 is an antenna port corresponding to the second antenna unit 102.

Optionally, both ends of the first decoupling module 103 and the second decoupling module 104 may also be connected to port 1 and port 2 respectively.

In the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the antenna array may include two decoupling modules, and the two ends of each decoupling module are respectively connected to two antenna units. The coupling components between the units are decoupled, that is, the second-level decoupling is realized, so that the isolation between the antenna units in the communication device can be effectively improved. In addition, the second decoupling module 104 is connected to the corresponding port of the antenna unit, and decouples the coupling component between the two antenna units at the port, so as to improve the isolation between the antenna units and also The influence on the radiation performance of the antenna unit can be reduced.

When the initial isolation between the antenna units is relatively poor (for example, the initial isolation is about 7 dB), the two decoupling modules provided in the embodiment of the present application can effectively improve the isolation between the antenna units.

Fig. 14 shows another possible structure of the antenna array of the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 11 , the antenna array may include: multiple antenna units including a first antenna unit 101 and a second antenna unit 102 , a second decoupling module 104 , a third transmission module 107 , and a fourth transmission module 108 .

Wherein, the second decoupling module 104 can be connected to the first antenna unit 101 through the third transmission module 107, and the second decoupling module 104 can be connected to the The second antenna unit 102 . The line width of the second decoupling module 104 is greater than the line width of the transmission line that produces the same decoupling effect.

Optionally, the parameters of the third transmission module 107 may be replaced by the parameters of the above-mentioned first transmission module 105 , and the parameters of the fourth transmission module 108 may be replaced by the parameters of the above-mentioned second transmission module 106 .

As shown in FIGS. 15-18 , the second decoupling module 104 may also have various implementations.

For the specific content of each component of the antenna array, refer to the specific description of the antenna array shown in FIG. 3-12 , which will not be repeated here.

In the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the two antenna units are respectively coupled to both ends of the decoupling module through the transmission module, and the decoupling module can decouple the coupling component between the two antenna units. In this solution, the line width of the decoupling module is larger than the line width of the transmission line that produces the same decoupling effect, while effectively improving the isolation between antenna elements in small-sized communication devices, it can also reduce the cost of manufacturing antenna arrays. difficulty.

When the initial isolation between antenna units is relatively high (for example, the initial isolation is about 15 dB), the decoupling module provided in the embodiment of the present application can effectively improve the isolation between antenna units.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the performance of the antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application, a possible physical structure of the antenna array shown in Figure 8 is provided, and according to the possible physical structure, the antenna array shown in Figure 9 is simulated , the simulation results are shown in Figure 20-22.

19a and 19b are a top view and a side view, respectively, of the antenna array shown in FIG. 8 . One possible physical configuration comprising the antenna array shown in FIG. 8 is shown in the figure. The components and reference numerals of the antenna array in Fig. 19a and Fig. 19b are the same as those in Fig. 8, and will not be repeated here. As shown in FIG. 19a and FIG. 19b, in order to install multiple antenna units in a limited space, the shape of the first antenna unit 101 and the shape of the second antenna unit 102 may be different.

FIG. 20 shows simulation results of isolation before and after decoupling using the antenna array shown in FIG. 9 . When simulated, the bandwidth used by the communication device is 13% of the antenna bandwidth. As shown in Figure 20, the solution of the embodiment of the present application can increase the isolation between antenna elements from 10dB to 32dB (before S21_decoupling to after S21_decoupling), and the return loss in the frequency band is less than -11dB. Adopting this solution, the following technical indicators can be met: the bandwidth used by communication equipment (including standing wave bandwidth and isolation bandwidth) is greater than or equal to 10% of the antenna bandwidth, and the isolation between antenna elements is greater than or equal to 18dB.

In addition, the figure also shows the simulation result of the isolation after decoupling by using the first decoupling structure 103 (ie, S21_first-level decoupling). As shown in FIG. 20 , using the first decoupling structure 103 for decoupling cannot meet the technical index of isolation: the isolation between antenna elements is greater than or equal to 18 dB.

When the shape of the first antenna unit 101 and the shape of the second antenna unit 102 are different, the directivity patterns of the two antenna units may also be different. FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 respectively show the directivity diagrams of the first antenna unit 101 and the second antenna unit 102 in the horizontal direction after decoupling using the antenna array shown in FIG. 9 . In Fig. 21, the solid line indicates the pattern of the first antenna unit 101 in the horizontal direction when the center frequency is 1.95 GHz; the bold dashed line indicates the direction pattern of the first antenna unit 101 in the horizontal direction when the center frequency is 2.14 GHz direction map. In Fig. 22, the solid line represents the pattern of the second antenna unit 102 in the horizontal direction when the center frequency is 1.95 GHz; the thickened dotted line represents the direction pattern of the second antenna unit 102 in the horizontal direction when the center frequency is 2.14 GHz direction map. As shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 , the differences between the maximum value and the minimum value of the directivity patterns in the horizontal direction of the first antenna unit 101 and the second antenna unit 102 are both less than 7 dB. With this solution, the following technical index can be met: the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value on the pattern is less than or equal to 8dB.

In addition, when one antenna unit transmits a signal, if the antenna array of the embodiment of the present application is used to decouple the coupling components between the antenna units, the current on the other antenna unit is very weak, and the radiation field of the antenna unit that transmits the signal Less affected.

The size of conventional two antenna elements is 0.65λ×0.65λ×0.1λ. Using the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the size of the two antenna elements can be reduced to 0.25λ×0.25λ×0.06λ under the condition that technical indicators such as isolation are met. Compared with the traditional size of two antenna units, the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application can reduce the size of the antenna unit by more than 70%. Therefore, the antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application has the advantages of miniaturization, high isolation, easy integration, high roundness, and the like.

An embodiment of the present application further provides an antenna system, where the antenna system includes any antenna array described above. In the antenna system, the decoupling module can decouple the coupling component between the two antenna units, thereby effectively improving the isolation between the antenna units in the communication device.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, where the communication device includes any one of the above-mentioned antenna arrays or the above-mentioned antenna system. In the communication device, the decoupling module can decouple the coupling component between the two antenna units, thereby effectively improving the isolation between the antenna units in the communication device. Since the size of the antenna array provided by the embodiment of the present application is very small, the antenna array can be easily integrated into a small-sized communication device (for example, an indoor multi-antenna small base station), and the size of the communication device will not be affected by the number of antenna elements. significantly increased.

Apparently, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to this application without departing from the protection scope of this application. In this way, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

An antenna array, characterized by comprising: a plurality of antenna units including a first antenna unit and a second antenna unit, a first decoupling module, a second decoupling module, a first transmission module, and a second transmission module;

Both ends of the first decoupling module are respectively connected to the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit;

One end of the second decoupling module is connected to the first antenna unit through a first transmission module, and the other end of the second decoupling module is connected to the second antenna unit through a second transmission module;

The first decoupling module and the second decoupling module are used to decouple the coupling component between the first antenna unit and the second antenna unit.
The antenna array according to claim 1, further comprising: a third transmission module and a fourth transmission module;

One end of the first decoupling module is connected to the first antenna unit through the third transmission module, and the other end of the first decoupling module is connected to the second antenna unit through the fourth transmission module ;

One end of the second decoupling module is connected to the first antenna unit through the first transmission module and the third transmission module, and the other end of the second decoupling module is connected to the first antenna unit through the second transmission module and the third transmission module. The fourth transmission module is connected to the second antenna unit.
The antenna array according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the structure of the first decoupling module is different from that of the second decoupling module.
The antenna array according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second decoupling module comprises: a fifth transmission module, a sixth transmission module and a seventh transmission module;

The fifth transmission module and the sixth transmission module are connected in series, and the two ends of the fifth transmission module and the sixth transmission module connected in series are respectively connected to the first transmission module and the second transmission module;

A connection point between the fifth transmission module and the sixth transmission module is grounded through the seventh transmission module.
The antenna array according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second decoupling module is a first inductor.
The antenna array according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second decoupling module is a series branch composed of an eighth transmission module, a second inductor and a ninth transmission module connected in series in sequence.
The antenna array according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second decoupling module is a series branch composed of a first resistor, a tenth transmission module and a second resistor connected in series in sequence.
The antenna array according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein any antenna unit comprises at least one of the following: planar inverted F antenna PIFA, monopole antenna, dipole antenna, microstrip patch antenna .
An antenna system, characterized by comprising the antenna array according to any one of claims 1-8.
A communication device, characterized by comprising the antenna array according to any one of claims 1-8, or comprising the antenna system according to claim 9.