The present disclosure is related to an operation device in a communication apparatus, and more particularly, related to an antenna device in the communication apparatus.
In a communication apparatus, a front end serves to transmit and receive radio frequency (RF) signals. Furthermore, in the front end of the communication apparatus, an antenna device is relied on to providing antenna gain and directivity for the RF signals.
In order to achieve a greater antenna gain and a better signal quality, the antenna device may be provided with a cavity. The cavity may be formed between the radiating plates and ground plate of the antenna device. However, a large-sized cavity for the antenna device may significantly increase the size of the antenna module including the antenna device, which may hence deteriorate compactness of the communication apparatus.
In view of the above issues, it is desirable to have an antenna device with an improved structure, in which a small-sized cavity can be achieved.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an antenna device is provided. The antenna device includes the following elements. A ground plate. A patterned radiating layer, which is arranged above the ground plate. A wall structure, which is formed above the ground plate. On a first reference plane substantially parallel with the ground plate, a projection of the wall structure overlaps a projection of the patterned radiating layer, and, with respect to a first reference axis substantially perpendicular to the ground plate, an upper surface of the wall structure is lower than the patterned radiating layer.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an antenna module is provided. The antenna module includes a plurality of antenna devices. The wall structure of one of the antenna devices is connected with the wall structure of an adjacent one of the antenna devices, and the wall structures of all of the antenna devices form a main cavity which substantially surrounds the projections of the patterned radiating layers of all of the antenna devices.
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically illustrated in order to simplify the drawing.
In the embodiment of
The radiating plates rp1 and rp2 form a dipole antenna DA1 extending along a reference direction D1. The reference direction D1 is substantially parallel with the reference plane P1 and substantially perpendicular to the reference axis A1. The wall structure w forms a cavity between the patterned radiating layer rl and the ground plate gp, and the cavity may substantially surround the dipole antenna DA1. In one example, a projection of the cavity on the reference plane P1 may overlap a projection of the radiating plates rp1 and rp2. Furthermore, the size of the cavity may be equal to or smaller than the size of the antenna device 1001.
On the other hand, the radiating plates rp3 and rp4 form another dipole antenna DA2 extending along a reference direction D2. The reference direction D2 is substantially parallel with the reference plane P1 and substantially perpendicular to the reference direction D1 and the reference axis A1. The cavity formed by the wall structure w substantially surrounds the dipole antenna DA2, either. The dipole antenna DA1 (which is formed by the radiating plates rp1 and rp2) and the dipole antenna DA2 form a dual dipole antenna in the antenna device 1001.
In another antenna device of a comparative example (not shown), a cavity is formed by a traditional type of vias or formed by metal coating. The size of the cavity is greater than the size of this antenna device. Furthermore, an antenna module of this antenna device may have a greater size due to arrangement of the vias forming the cavity. Compared with the antenna device of the comparative example, the antenna device 1001 of the present disclosure may have a smaller size. Furthermore, the antenna device 1001 of the present disclosure may achieve a greater antenna gain, having a gain value of 1.2 dB-1.5 dB greater than that of the antenna device with traditional type of vias or metal coating.
The wall structure w includes a plurality of walls w1-w4. The walls w1-w4 are separated from one another by a plurality of openings o1-o4 respectively. For example, the walls w1 and w2 are separated by the opening o1, the walls w2 and w3 are separated by the opening o2, the walls w3 and w4 are separated by the opening o3, and the walls w4 and w1 are separated by the opening o4. The wall w1 is arranged at a location corresponding to the radiating plate rp1, the wall w3 is arranged at a location corresponding to the radiating plate rp2. Similarly, the wall 2 corresponds to the radiating plate rp3, and the wall 4 corresponds to the radiating plate rp4. Furthermore, each of the walls w1-w4 includes a plurality of conductive vias v which are formed above the ground plate gp or on the upper surface of the ground plate gp. That is, the conductive vias v may be isolated from the ground plate gp or connected with the upper surface of the ground plate gp. Each of the conductive vias v may take a form of a contact plug extending along the reference axis A1, which is substantially perpendicular to the ground plate gp. Moreover, the wall structure w may selectively include a conductive layer cl1. When the wall structure w includes the conductive layer cl1, such a conductive layer cl1 may be formed on the top of the conductive vias v. The conductive layer cl1 includes a plurality of patterned portions which are arranged on the walls w1, w2, w3 and w4 respectively.
In other examples, when the wall structure w is isolated from the ground plate gp with a gap (not shown), such that the conductive vias v are formed above the ground plate gp with a distance of the gap, the wall structure w may further include a conductive layer cl1b (not shown) formed on the bottom of the conductive vias v.
The supporting structure cp is arranged to support the patterned radiating layer rl. For example, some contact plugs cp3 of the supporting structure cp are arranged to support the radiating plate rp3 of the patterned radiating layer rl, and contact plugs cp3 connect the radiating plate rp3 to the ground plate gp. Likewise, other contact plugs cp1 of the supporting structure cp are arranged to support the radiating plate rp1 of the patterned radiating layer rl, and contact plugs cp1 connect the radiating plate rp1 to the ground plate gp. Furthermore, the supporting structure cp is surrounded by the wall structure w.
The projection p_w1 of the wall w1 may overlap the projection p_rp1 of the radiating plate rp1 with an overlapping region ovp1. The overlapping region ovp1 has a ratio rat1 with respect to the projection p_w1 of the wall w1 in area, and the ratio rat1 is greater than 20%. Likewise, the projection p_w2 of the wall w2 may overlap the projection p_rp3 of the radiating plate rp3 with an overlapping region ovp2. The overlapping region ovp2 has the ratio rat1 (greater than 20%) with respect to the projection p_w2 of the wall w2 in area. Moreover, the projection p_w3 of the wall w3 may overlap the projection p_rp2 of the radiating plate rp2 with an overlapping region ovp3, and projection p_w4 of the wall w4 may overlap the projection p_rp4 of the radiating plate rp4 with an overlapping region ovp4. The overlapping regions ovp3 and ovp4 have the ratio rat1 with respect to the projections p_w3 and p_w4 respectively, where the ratio rat1 is greater than 20%.
In summary, the projections p_w1, p_w2, p_w3 and p_w4 of the walls w1, w2, w3 and w4 totally form a projection p_w of the wall structure w on the reference plane P1. Furthermore, the projections p_rp1, p_rp2, p_rp3 and p_rp4 of the radiating plates rp1, rp2, rp3 and rp4 totally form a projection p_rl of the patterned radiating layer rl. Moreover, the overlapping regions ovp1, ovp2, ovp3 and ovp4 between the projections p_w1, p_w2, p_w3 and p_w4 and the projections p_rp1, p_rp2, p_rp3 and p_rp4 totally form an overall overlapping region ovp. That is, the projection p_w of the wall structure w overlaps the projection p_rl of the patterned radiating layer rl with the overall overlapping region ovp. Accordingly, the overall overlapping region ovp has the ratio rat1, which is greater than 20%, with respect to the projection p_w of the wall structure w in area.
Since the projection p_w1 of the wall w1 overlaps the projection p_rp1 of the radiating plate rp1, equivalent capacitance between the wall w1 and the radiating plate rp1 may be enhanced. Likewise, the projections p_w2, p_w3 and p_w4 of the walls w2, w3 and w4 overlap the projections p_rp3, p_rp2 and p_rp4 of the radiating plates rp3, rp2 and rp4, hence equivalent capacitances between the walls w2, w3 and w4 and the radiating plates rp3, rp2 and rp4 may be enhanced.
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
The parasitic layer prp include parasitic plates prp1, prp2, prp3 and prp4 each having a form of rectangular frame. The parasitic plates prp1, prp2, prp3 and prp4 may be arranged above the walls w1, w2, w3 and w4 respectively. The parasitic plate prp1 is arranged at a position adjacent to the radiating plate rp1, and the parasitic plate prp1 may surround the radiating plate rp1. Furthermore, parasitic plate prp1 is arranged above a portion cl1-1 of the conductive layer cl.
Likewise, the parasitic plates prp2, prp3 and prp4 are arranged adjacent to the radiating plates rp3, rp2 and rp4 respectively, and surround the radiating plates rp3, rp2 and rp4. Furthermore, parasitic plates prp2, prp3 and prp4 are arranged above portions cl1-2, cl1-3 and cl1-4 of the conductive layer cl respectively.
In one example, a projection of the wall structure w overlaps projections of the parasitic plates prp1-prp4 on the reference plane P1. Furthermore, projections of the parasitic plates prp1-prp4 substantially surround projections of the radiating plates rp1-rp4.
Next, referring to
Each of the side regions sd1-sd4 is arranged between corresponding two of the corner regions cr1-cr4. For example, the side region sd1 of the radiating plate rp1 is arranged between the corner regions cr1 and cr2, the side region sd2 is arranged between the corner regions cr2 and cr3, the side region sd3 is arranged between the corner regions cr3 and cr4, the side region sd4 is arranged between the corner regions cr1 and cr4. The corner regions cr1-cr4 of the radiating plate rp1 are arranged above the conductive layer cl1 of the walls w1-w4 of the wall structure w. On the reference plane P1, projections of walls w1-w4 of the wall structure w respectively overlap projections of the corner regions cr1-cr4.
Furthermore, the antenna device 1008 includes two feeders f1 and f2. The feeders f1 and f2 are arranged between the radiating plate rp1 and the ground plate gp. The feeder f1 includes a feeding element fe1 extending along the reference direction D1, and the feeder f2 includes a feeding element fe2 extending along a reversed direction of the reference direction D2. The feeding element fe1 is orthogonal to the feeding element fe2. The direction of the feeding element fe1 is directed to the corresponding wall w1, and the direction of the feeding element fe2 is directed to the corresponding wall w2. More particularly, direction of the feeding element fe1 is directed to the turning corner of the wall w1, and direction of the feeding element fe2 is directed to the turning corner of the wall w2. The feeding elements fe1 and fe2 may be conductively connected to the radiating plate rp1, or electromagnetically coupled to the radiating plate rp1. Antenna signals are provided to the radiating plate rp1 through the feeders f1 and f2. That is, the feeding element fe1 extends toward the corner region cr1 of the radiating plate rp1, and the feeding element fe2 extends toward the corner region cr2 of the radiating plate rp1.
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
Next, referring to
In one example, projections of the walls w1-w4 on the reference plane P1 may overlap projections of the side regions sd1-sd4 of the radiating plate rp1 respectively. Furthermore, the corner regions cr1, cr2, cr3 and cr4 of the radiating plate rp1 may correspond to the openings o4, o1, o2 and o3 respectively. Moreover, directions of respective feeding elements fe1 and fe2 of the feeders f1 and f2 are directed to the walls w1 and w2 and the side regions sd1 and sd2 of the radiating plate rp1 respectively.
Next, referring to
The ground plate of the antenna device 1001a is connected with the ground plate of the adjacent antenna device 1001b. Likewise, the ground plate of the antenna device 1001b is connected with the ground plate of the antenna device 1001c, and then connected with the ground plate of the antenna device 1001d. The connected ground plates of antenna devices 1001a-1001d form a main ground plate gp′ for the antenna module 1200. The main ground plate gp′ has a plurality of side portions sp1, sp2, sp3 and sp4. The side portions sp1 and sp2 are arranged substantially parallel with a reference direction D3, and the antenna devices 1001a-1001d are arranged as a row along the reference direction D3. Furthermore, the side portions sp3 and sp4 are substantially parallel with a reference direction D4 which is orthogonal to the reference direction D3.
The wall structure of the antenna device 1001a is connected with the wall structure of the adjacent antenna device 1001b, and then connected with the wall structure of the antenna devices 1001c and 1001d. The connected wall structures of antenna devices 1001a-1001d form a main wall structure w′. The main wall structure w′ forms a main cavity substantially surrounding the patterned radiating layers rl of the antenna devices 1001a-1001d. The main wall structure w′ has a plurality of walls w10, w20, w30 and w40. The wall w10 is arranged near the side portion sp2 of the main ground plate gp′. Furthermore, other walls w20, w30 and w40 are arranged near the side portions sp4, sp1 and sp3 of the main ground plate gp′ respectively. In one example, the walls w10, w20, w30 and w40 may be formed on the upper surface of the side portions sp2, sp4, sp1 and sp3 of the main ground plate gp′ respectively. Moreover, the main wall structure w′ includes a plurality of conductive vias v uniformly or non-uniformly arranged on the upper surface of the side portions sp2, sp4, sp1 and sp3. In addition, a conductive layer cl1 is formed on the conductive vias v.
Next, referring to
Furthermore, the main wall structure w″ of the antenna module 1300 has two walls w10 and w30 which are formed on at least two of the side portions sp1-sp4 of the main ground plate gp′. For example, the wall w10 may be formed on the side portion sp2, and the wall w30 may be formed on the side portion sp1.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 63/375,881, filed Sep. 16, 2022, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
63375881 | Sep 2022 | US |