Patent Application
20240055770
The disclosure relates to an electronic device and a method for transmitting a beamforming signal by using a liquid crystal layer.
5G communication technology uses a high frequency band. In order to overcome short wavelength and large path loss in the high frequency band, a frequency selective surface (FSS) may be used. An FSS has a structure in which conductive patterns or shapes are periodically arranged on a dielectric substrate, and has a filter characteristic that selectively passes or reflects a specific frequency band of incident plane waves.
An FSS uses high gain characteristics to overcome the aforementioned loss.
In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, an electronic device may comprise a memory, a frequency selective surface (FSS) comprising a plurality of cells, and at least one processor. Each cell of the plurality of cells may comprise a liquid crystal layer. The at least one processor may be configured to receive a signal from another electronic device based on the FSS. The at least one processor may be configured to determine refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS based on a difference between first pattern information for the other electronic device and second pattern information for the received signal. The at least one processor may be configured to perform a reconfiguration for the FSS based on refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS. The at least one processor may be configured to obtain a reconstruction signal from the other electronic device based on the reconfigured FSS.
In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a method performed by an electronic device may comprise receiving a signal from another electronic device based on a frequency selective surface (FSS) comprising a plurality of cells. Each cell of the plurality of cells may comprise a liquid crystal layer. The method may comprise determining refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS based on a difference between first pattern information for the other electronic device and second pattern information for the received signal. The method may comprise performing a reconfiguration for the FSS based on refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS. The method may comprise obtaining a reconstruction signal from the other electronic device based on the reconfigured FSS.
The above and other aspects and features of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Terms used in the present disclosure are used only to describe a specific embodiment, and are not necessarily intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. A singular expression may include a plural expression unless it is clearly meant differently in the context. The terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meaning as generally understood by a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field described in the present disclosure. Terms defined in a general dictionary among the terms used in the present disclosure may be interpreted with the same or similar meaning as a contextual meaning of related technology, and unless clearly defined in the present disclosure, should not interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. In some cases, even terms defined in the present disclosure should not be interpreted to exclude embodiments of the present disclosure.
Regarding the description of the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals may be used for the same or similar components.
In various embodiments of the present disclosure described below, a hardware approach is described as an example. However, since the various embodiments of the present disclosure include technology that use both hardware and software, the various embodiments of the present disclosure do not exclude a software-based approach.
Terms referring to a signal (e.g., signal, information, message, signaling), terms for a calculation state (e.g., step, operation, procedure), terms referring to data (e.g., packet, user stream, information, bit), terms referring to a channel, terms referring to a network entity, terms referring to a component of a device, and the like used in the following description are exemplified for convenience of explanation. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to terms described below, and other terms having an equivalent technical meaning may be substituted.
A term referring to a part of electronic device (e.g., substrate, print circuit board (PCB), flexible PCB (FPCB), module, layer, antenna, antenna element, circuit, processor, chip, component, device), a term referring to a shape of a part (e.g., structure, construction, supporting part, contacting part, protruding part), a term referring to a connecting part between structures (e.g., connecting part, contacting part, supporting part, contact structure, conductive member, assembly), a term referring to a circuit (e.g., PCB, FPCB, signal line, feeding line, data line, RF signal line, antenna line, RF path, RF module, RF circuit, splitter, divider, coupler, combiner), and the like used in the following description are illustrated for convenience of description. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to terms described below, and another term having an equivalent technical meaning may be substituted. A term such as ‘ . . . unit’, ‘ . . . er’, ‘ . . . material’, ‘ . . . body’, and the like used below may mean at least one shape structure, or may mean a unit that processes a function.
In the present disclosure, in order to determine whether a specific condition is satisfied or fulfilled, an expression of ‘more than’ or ‘less than’ may be used, but this is only a description for expressing an example, and does not exclude description of ‘more than or equal to’ or ‘less than or equal to’. A condition described as ‘more than or equal to’ may be replaced with ‘more than’, a condition described as ‘less than or equal to’ may be replaced with ‘less than’, and a condition described as ‘more than or equal to and less than’ may be replaced with ‘more than and less than or equal to’.
Hereinafter, ‘A’ to ‘13’ means at least one of elements from A (including A) and to B (including B).
The present disclosure describes various embodiments by using terms used in some communication standards (e.g., 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), extensible radio access network (xRAN), and open-radio access network (O-RAN), but this is only an example for description. Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be easily modified and applied to other communication systems as well.
Referring to
The base station 110 is a network infrastructure that provides wireless access to the terminal 120 and/or the terminal 130. The base station 110 has coverage defined as a constant geographic area based on a distance capable of transmitting a signal. The base station 110 may also be referred to as a ‘massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) unit (MMU)’, ‘access point (AP)’, ‘eNodeB (eNB)’, ‘5th generation node (5G node)’, ‘5G NodeB (NB)’, ‘wireless point’, ‘transmission/reception point (TRP)’, ‘access unit’, ‘distributed unit (DU)’, ‘radio unit (RU)’, ‘remote radio head (RRH)’, or another term having an equivalent technical meaning. The base station 110 may transmit a downlink signal or may receive an uplink signal.
Each of the terminals 120 and 130 is a device used by a user, and may perform communication with the base station 110 through the wireless channel. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the terminal 120 is described, but the description of the terminal 120 may be applied to the terminal 130. In some cases, the terminal 120 may be operated without user involvement. In other words, the terminal 120 may be any device that performs machine type communication (MTC), and need not be carried or operated by a user. The terminal 120 may also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a subscriber station, a customer premises equipment (CPE), a remote terminal, a wireless terminal, an electronic device, a terminal for vehicle, a user device, or another term having an equivalent technical meaning.
The terminal 120 and a terminal 130 illustrated in
In order to improve the performance of a wireless communication environment, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) 140 may be used. Herein, the RIS 140 is a meta surface including controllable passive elements, which may adjust the magnitude and/or phase of a reflected radio wave of a signal. Beamforming in a desired form is possible by controlling the magnitude and/or phase of the reflected radio wave. For example, the signal transmitted from the base station 110 may be reflected by the RIS 140 and transmitted to the terminal 130. The RIS 140 may adjust the magnitude or phase to control a direction from the base station 110 and a direction to the terminal 130. The RIS 140 may be relatively unrestricted in installation place and may have a low cost.
In a millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band, path loss increases, and multi-path fading loss increases due to a decrease in diffraction. Accordingly, deterioration of a link budget occurs. High-gain antennas may be used for a base station and a terminal in the mmWave frequency band to compensate for propagation loss. However, since the high-gain antenna for compensating propagation loss has a narrow beam width, a communication link is vulnerable to obstacles. At least a portion of the signal may be blocked due to obstacles between the transmitting end and the receiving end. Since the signal does not normally reach the receiving end, deterioration in communication performance may occur. A method for reducing path loss due to obstacles is therefore desirable.
To reduce path loss due to obstacles, ‘cloaking’ technology may be used to make the obstacles electrically transparent. This cloaking technology is a method of attaching a meta surface or a frequency selective surface (FSS) to a surface of an obstacle, to make the obstacle electrically transparent. Using cloaking technology, the obstacle becomes electrically transparent by making the radio waves bypass the obstacle or by canceling the scattering that the obstacle causes. However, since the meta-surface or FSS must be disposed on the obstacle, the cloaking technology have a disadvantage of being available only in situations where the obstacle is fixed. In addition, the cloaking technology is difficult to apply to the shape of a complex obstacle because a structure must be attached to the surface of the obstacle.
To reduce performance degradation due to an obstacle, a frequency selective surface (FSS) including a liquid crystal layer may be used. The FSS may be disposed in the base station 110, the terminal 120, or the RIS 140, or may be disposed in a device related to the base station 110, the terminal 120, or the RIS 140. Hereinafter, the present disclosure describes a technique for reducing performance degradation due to an obstacle by adjusting an impedance distribution for the FSS in a wireless communication system.
Referring to
The signal transmitted from the signal source 210 is radiated into the air through a wireless channel. The signal source 210 may be a transmitting end. The signal may be transmitted to a receiving end. The FSS 230 may be a component of the receiving end. The receiving end may receive the signal from the signal source 210. For example, the receiving end may be the base station 110. As another example, the receiving end may be the terminal 120. As another example, the receiving end may be RIS 140. As another example, the receiving end may be a separate node performing the function of the base station 110 or the terminal 120. The obstacle 220 disposed between the transmitting end and the receiving end, that is, between the signal source 210 and the FSS 230, interferes with the propagation path of the signal, resulting in an impeded signal. In particular, in high-frequency communication environments such as the mmWave band (e.g., FR2, FR2-1, FR2-2 in NR) or Terahertz band, performance degradation by the obstacle 220 due to multi-path fading loss occurs more frequently.
The FSS 230 may be a component of a receiving end corresponding to the signal source 210. The FSS 230 may include a structure in which conductive patterns or shapes are periodically arranged on a dielectric substrate. For example, the FSS 230 may include unit cells corresponding to M rows (M is a natural number) and N columns (N is a natural number). The characteristic conversion Zij (i is a horizontal position and j is a vertical position) provided in each unit cell may be independent. The FSS 230 has a filter characteristic that selectively passes or reflects a specific frequency band of a signal incident to the FSS 230. As the electrical component of the unit cell having the liquid crystal layer of the FSS 230 is adjusted, the filter characteristics may be reconstructed. Through reconstruction of the filter characteristics, the influence of the obstacle 220 at the receiving end may be reduced. Hereinafter, in the present disclosure, a device for the FSS 230 may be referred to as an FSS device. The FSS device may include the FSS 230 and a device or other mechanism for controlling the FSS 230, which may be disposed internally or externally to the FSS 230. The receiving end may include an FSS device. An exemplary configuration of the FSS device is described with reference to
Referring to
The transceiver 301 performs functions for transmitting and receiving signals through a wireless channel. For example, the transceiver 301 performs a conversion function between a baseband signal and a bit string according to a physical layer standard of a system. For example, when data is transmitted, the transceiver 301 may generate complex symbols by encoding and modulating a transmission bit string. For example, when data is received, the transceiver 301 may restore the received bit string through demodulation and decoding the baseband signal. The transceiver 301 may up-convert the baseband signal into a radio frequency (RF) band signal, transmit the signal through an antenna (e.g., FSS 230) and down-convert the RF band signal received through the antenna (e.g., FSS 230) into a baseband signal. To this end, the transceiver 301 may include components such as a transmission filter, a reception filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a digital to analog converter (DAC), an analog to digital converter (ADC), and the like. The transceiver 301 according to embodiments may be operably coupled to the FSS 230. According to an embodiment, the transceiver 301 may receive signals transmitted from the transmitting end (e.g., the signal source 210). The FSS 230 may output the converted signals by reflecting or selectively passing the incident signals. The transceiver 301 may receive the converted signals outputted from the FSS 230.
As described above, the transceiver 301 transmits and receives signals. Accordingly, the transceiver 301 may be referred to as a ‘transmission unit’, a ‘reception unit’, or a ‘transmission/reception unit’. In the following description, the transmission and reception performed through a wireless channel, a backhaul network, an optical cable, Ethernet, and other wired route are used as a meaning including the processing as described above performed by the transceiver 301. According to an embodiment, the transceiver 301 may provide an interface for performing communication with other nodes in the network. In other words, the transceiver 301 may convert a bit string transmitted between nodes (e.g., access nodes, base stations, upper and lower nodes, a core network, etc.) into a physical signal, and may convert a physical signal received from another node into a bit string.
The memory 303 may store data such as a basic program, an application program, and setting information for an operation of the FSS device 300. The memory 303 may be composed of a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, or a combination of a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory. And the memory 303 may provide stored data according to a request of the processor 305. According to an embodiment, the memory 303 may store refraction information on the FSS 230. For example, the refraction information may include information on a refraction index (refraction index) for each cell of the FSS 230.
The processor 305 controls overall operations of the FSS device 300. For example, the processor 305 may read data from and write data to the memory 303. For example, the processor 305 may transmit and receive signals through the transceiver 301. Although one processor is illustrated in
According to an embodiment, the components of the FSS device 300 may be implemented within one node. Hereinafter, primarily, the FSS device 300 is described as one node including the FSS 230, but embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For examples, according to another embodiment, the FSS device 300 may be implemented by being divided into a first entity 310 and a second entity 320. The first entity 310 may include a transceiver 301, a memory 303, and a processor 305. The second entity 320 may include the FSS 230. The FSS 230 may be disposed in an entity different from components for signal processing (e.g., the transceiver 301, the memory 303, and the processor 305) to receive signals through a wireless channel.
The FSS 230 may include a plurality of unit cells. Hereinafter, the structure and shape of each unit cell will be described with reference to
Referring to
Referring to
In order to transmit a fed signal or a signal received from the outside, a via 410 may be formed over the layers of the PCB 409. The second metal layer 407 and the third metal layer may be electrically connected to each other through the via 410. Accordingly, an electrical connection may be formed across the first metal layer 403, the liquid crystal layer 405, the second metal layer 407, and the third metal layer 411 of the stacked structure. According to an embodiment, the processor (e.g., the processor 305) may apply a voltage to the unit cell. For example, a voltage (e.g., Vb) may be applied between the first metal layer 403 and the third metal layer 411. The permittivity of the liquid crystal layer 405 disposed between the first metal layer 403 and the third metal layer 411 depends on the applied voltage. Permittivity may therefore be set and adjusted in a variable manner by adjusting the applied voltage. The varying permittivity may in turn change an electrical characteristic of the signal passing through the unit cell.
In
Referring to
According to the present disclosure embodiments, the FSS device 300 may apply individual voltages to each of the unit cells of the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may perform reconfiguration of the FSS 230 by applying a specific to voltage to the unit cell. To enable individual voltage application, an electrical separation may be provided between unit cells. According to an embodiment, in the ground plane of the unit cells of the FSS 230, a gap between unit cells may be arranged for electrical separation between the unit cells. For example, a gap 505 may be disposed between the first unit cell 501 and the second unit cell 503. For example, the length of the gap may be about 100 micrometers (μm).
Referring to
Referring to
The first line 541 indicates the reflection magnitude of the FSS without a ground gap. The second line 542 indicates the reflection magnitude of the FSS including the ground gap. Comparing the first line 541 and the second line 542, the difference in performance change due to the ground gap is within a threshold range. In addition, an improvement in the gain may be identified in a certain section.
The third line 551 indicates a reflection phase of the FSS including the ground gap. The fourth line 552 indicates a reflection phase of the FSS without a ground gap. Comparing the third line 551 and the fourth line 552, the difference in performance change due to the ground gap is within a threshold range. In addition, an improvement in the gain may be identified in a certain section.
Referring to
The FSS device 300 may obtain a first mapping pattern 620 ({right arrow over (E1)}′) based on the first incident pattern 610 ({right arrow over (E1)}). The FSS device 300 may obtain information on the magnitude of the FSS 230. According to an embodiment, the information on the magnitude of the FSS 230 may include the number of unit cells of the FSS 230. According to an embodiment, information on the magnitude of the FSS 230 may include information on the arrangement of the unit cells. The FSS device 300 may perform sampling on the first incident pattern 610 ({right arrow over (E1)}) based on information on the magnitude of the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may obtain the first mapping pattern 620 ({right arrow over (E1)}′) based on the sampling. The first mapping pattern 620 ({right arrow over (E1)}′) may be used for a reflection function in the FSS 230. Each of a plurality of elements {right arrow over (E1)}′(m,n) of the first mapping pattern 620 ({right arrow over (E1)}′) may correspond to a respective unit cell (m,n) of the FSS 230, and may be determined based on at least one sample from the corresponding unit cell (m,n). The resulting first mapping pattern 620 ({right arrow over (E1)}′) may be thereby derived from the first incident pattern 610 ({right arrow over (E1)}).
Referring to
The FSS device 300 may acquire the second mapping patterns 640 ({right arrow over (E2)}′) based on the second incident pattern 630 ({right arrow over (E2)}). The FSS device 300 may obtain information on the magnitude of the FSS 230. According to an embodiment, the information on the magnitude of the FSS 230 may include the number of unit cells of the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may perform sampling on the second incident pattern 630 ({right arrow over (E2)}) based on information on the size of the FSS 230. The FSS device 300 may obtain a second mapping pattern 640 ({right arrow over (E2)}′) based on the sampling. The second mapping pattern 640 ({right arrow over (E2)}′) may be used for a reflection function in the FSS 230. Each of a plurality of elements {right arrow over (E2)}′(m,n) of the second mapping pattern 640 ({right arrow over (E2)}′) may correspond to a respective unit cell (m,n) of the FSS 230, and may be determined based on at least one sample from the corresponding unit cell (m,n). The resulting second mapping pattern 640 ({right arrow over (E2)}′) may be thereby derived from the second incident pattern 630 ({right arrow over (E2)}′).
Referring to
The first incident pattern 610 and the first mapping pattern 620 may be obtained in advance based on signals incident before the signal is blocked due to the obstacle 220. The FSS device 300 may obtain the first incident pattern 610 and the first mapping pattern 620 in advance before the wireless communication environment changes due to external factors such as the obstacle 220. The second incident pattern 630 and the second mapping pattern 640 may be obtained based on signals incident by scattering signals or blocking at least a part thereof due to the obstacle 220, after the wireless communication environment changes.
The FSS device 300 may obtain spatial information related to the wireless channel and the wireless communication environment through the blocking pattern 700. According to an embodiment, the FSS device 300 may recognize, based on the blocking pattern 700, that a spatial change has occurred in the wireless channel, such as the obstacle 220. For example, if gain values different from the first mapping pattern 620 (i.e., the second mapping pattern 640) are detected, the FSS device 300 may recognize that the physical path environment of the wireless communication channel is changed due to the obstacle 220.
Although one obstacle 220 is exemplarily mentioned in the above-described descriptions, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. The FSS device 300 may obtain information on a space located in a current signal transmission path regardless of the number or location of obstacles.
Referring to
The FSS device 300 may allocate the refraction pattern 800 to the FSS (e.g., the FSS 230) based on the blocking pattern 700. The FSS device 300 may identify signal information of a unit cell (e.g., unit cell (m,n)) of the FSS 230 from the blocking pattern 700. The FSS device 300 may normally restore a signal incident on the unit cell based on the signal information. For example, the FSS device 300 may apply the signal information of the unit cell in reverse so that the signal incident to the unit cell is not affected by spatial constraints (e.g., obstacle 220). In other words, the FSS device 300 may obtain an intended signal from a signal source (e.g., the signal source 210) by inversely applying a change caused by an obstacle.
According to an embodiment, for normal restoration of a signal incident to the unit cell, the FSS device 300 may determine refraction information (e.g., a refraction index) for the unit cell based on the blocking pattern 700. Herein, the refraction information may be used to change the magnitude and/or phase of a signal passing through the liquid crystal layer. In other words, the refraction information may be used to vary the electrical length of the signal. The FSS device 300 may determine refraction information for each unit cell among a plurality of unit cells of the FSS 230.
The FSS device 300 may determine voltage information for the FSS 230 based on the refraction pattern 800. The FSS device 300 may determine voltage information for the FSS 230 based on refraction information for each unit cell. The refraction information of the liquid crystal layer depends on the permittivity of the liquid crystal layer. The FSS device 300 may obtain a value of permittivity for the specific unit cell based on refraction information for the specific unit cell; more specifically, the FSS device 300 may determine a value of permittivity which will achieve the desired refraction index for the specific unit cell. Accordingly, the FSS electronic device 300 may determine a voltage to apply to the specific unit cell based on the desired permittivity. The voltage information may include a voltage for each unit cell.
In
Referring to
The graph 920 indicates a radiation pattern. The horizontal axis 921 of the graph 920 indicates an angle in respect to the boresight (unit: degree). The vertical axis 923 of the graph 920 indicates a gain (unit: decibel isotropic (dBi)). The first line 931 indicates a basic pattern, which is a radiation pattern of the signal source 210. As the signals of the signal source 210 are incident on the FSS 230 without reflection, a radiation pattern as indicated by the first line 931 may be obtained in the FSS 230. The second line 932 indicates a reception pattern in the reconfigured FSS 230 according to embodiments. The third line 933 indicates a reception pattern. The reception pattern refers to a reception pattern in the FSS 230 reflected the loss caused by the obstacle 901 before the FSS reconfiguration.
Referring to the graph 920, the reconfigured FSS 230 corresponds to an effective medium. For example, referring to the gain at 0°, the first line 931 indicates about 21.1 dBi and the third line 933 indicates about 7.0 dBi. That is, the gain is reduced by about 14.1 dB due to the obstacle 901. The FSS 230 according to embodiments may be reconfigured based on refraction information 910. The second line 932 indicates about 16.45 dBi at 0 degrees. It can be seen from graph 920 that the gain increases by about 9.45 dB due to the reconfigured FSS 230.
Referring to
The graph 970 indicates a radiation pattern. The horizontal axis 971 of the graph 970 indicates an angle in respect to the boresight (unit: degree). The vertical axis 973 of the graph 970 indicates a gain (unit: decibel isotropic (dBi)). The first line 981 indicates a basic pattern, which is a radiation pattern of the signal source 210. As the signals of the signal source 210 are incident on the FSS 230 without reflection, a radiation pattern as indicated by the first line 981 may be obtained in the FSS 230. The second line 982 indicates a reception pattern in the reconfigured FSS 230 according to embodiments. The third line 983 indicates a reception pattern in the FSS 230 reflecting the loss caused by the obstacle 951 before the FSS reconfiguration.
Referring to the graph 970, the reconfigured FSS 230 corresponds to an effective medium. For example, referring to the gain at 0°, the first line 981 indicates about 21.1 dBi and the third line 983 indicates about 3.6 dBi. That is, the gain is reduced by about 17.5 dB due to the obstacle 951. The FSS 230 according to embodiments may be reconfigured based on refraction information 960. The second line 982 indicates about 13.9 dBi at 0 degrees. It can be seen from graph 970 that the gain increases by about 10.3 dB due to the reconfigured FSS 230.
Referring to
In operation 1003, the electronic device may identify pattern information. The pattern information may indicate a difference between pattern information for the other electronic device and pattern information actually received from the other electronic device. For example, the electronic device may obtain the first incident pattern 610 (E 1). The electronic device may obtain the first mapping pattern 620 ({right arrow over (E1)}′). The electronic device may obtain the second incident pattern 630 ({right arrow over (E2)}). The electronic device may obtain the second mapping pattern 640 ({right arrow over (E2)}′). The electronic device may obtain a blocking pattern 700 based on a difference between the first mapping pattern 620 ({right arrow over (E1)}′) and the second mapping pattern 640 ({right arrow over (E2)}′) (or a difference between the first incident pattern 610 ({right arrow over (E1)}) and the second incident pattern 630 ({right arrow over (E2)})). The blocking pattern 700 may indicate a spatial constraint of a wireless channel between the electronic device and the other electronic device. Based on the distribution of the blocking pattern 700, the electronic device may identify that one or more obstacles are disposed between propagation paths of the signal.
In operation 1005, the electronic device may determine refraction information for each of a plurality of cells of the FSS 230. The electronic device may determine refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS 230 based on the pattern information. That is, the refraction information may be determined based on a difference between the basic pattern and the reception pattern. The refraction information may be specific to the liquid crystal layer in the unit cell. In order to change electrical length of the signal and adjust a characteristic (e.g., phase, gain) of the reflected signal, a degree of refraction in the liquid crystal layer may be determined. The electronic device may determine refraction information for each unit cell to reduce an effect due to spatial constraints such as an obstacle.
According to an embodiment, the electronic device may determine refraction information based on the magnitude of the liquid crystal layer. For example, the electronic device may determine refraction information based on the region of the liquid crystal layer. This is because the change in permittivity compared to the change in applied voltage is different according to the area of the liquid crystal layer. For example, the electronic device may determine refraction information based on thickness of the liquid crystal layer. Depending on the thickness of the liquid crystal layer, the degree of attenuation may vary. The degree of attenuation affects the gain.
According to an embodiment, the electronic device may determine refraction information based on the magnitude of the FSS 230. For example, the electronic device may determine refraction information based on the number of unit cells of the FSS 230. According to the number of unit cells, the granularity for controlling the reflected signal may vary compared to the incident signal. The electronic device may control characteristics (e.g., phases, gains) of the reflected signal in more detail as the number of unit cells increases. According to an embodiment, the FSS 230 may independently control permittivity of a plurality of unit cells by applying individual voltages. Accordingly, the electronic device may determine refraction information using one-to-one mapping or multi-to-one mapping based on the number of unit cells of the FSS 230.
The electronic device may determine refraction information for each of the unit cells. In some other embodiments, the electronic device may determine refraction information based on the location of at least one unit cell corresponding to the blocking pattern 700. For example, the electronic device need not change the permittivity of each of the unit cells, but may specifically change the permittivity of at least one unit cell identified through the blocking pattern 700. In order to increase the efficiency of controlling the FSS 230, the electronic device may identify the at least one unit cell to change based on the blocking pattern 700. Thereafter, the electronic device may determine refraction information on the at least one unit cell.
In operation 1007, the electronic device may perform FSS reconfiguration.
The electronic device may determine voltage information for the FSS 230 based on refraction information for each of the unit cells of the FSS 230. For example, the electronic device may determine voltage information for the first unit cell based on refraction information for the first unit cell. The electronic device may determine voltage information for the second unit cell based on refraction information on the second unit cell. For example, the electronic device may determine voltage information for each of the unit cells of the FSS 230 based on the entire refraction pattern of the FSS 230.
The voltage information may be a voltage value to be applied to the unit cell. The influence of the obstacle may be reduced when receiving the signal, by inversely applying the blocking pattern related to the obstacle. In order to apply the refraction information, the electronic device may identify a voltage value for changing the permittivity of the liquid crystal layer. The electronic device may reset a voltage value for each of the unit cells of the FSS 230. The permittivity of the liquid crystal layer of the unit cell may be changed by the reset voltage of the unit cell. Not all of the unit cells of the FSS must be changed, and a voltage for at least a part of the unit cells of the FSS may be required to be changed. Not all of the unit cells of the FSS need be different from each other or need have a unique reset voltage. A signal incident on the FSS 230 may be reflected. Since the permittivity varies in at least a part of unit cells, the characteristics of the reflected signal may vary.
The electronic device may control phase and/or magnitude of the reflection signal of the FSS 230 through the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer of the FSS 230. According to an embodiment, the electronic device may control the magnitude of the reflected signal based on voltage information for the liquid crystal layer of the FSS 230. According to an embodiment, the electronic device may control the phase of the reflected signal based on voltage information for the liquid crystal layer of the FSS 230. According to an embodiment, the electronic device may control the phase and magnitude of the reflection signal based on voltage information for the liquid crystal layer of the FSS 230.
In operation 1009, the electronic device may obtain a reconstruction signal based on the reconfigured FSS 230. Herein, the reconstruction signal is a signal in which a signal incident on the reconfigured FSS 230 is reflected. The electronic device may receive a damaged signal due to spatial constraints (e.g., obstacle 220, obstacle 901, and obstacle 951). The damaged signal may be input to the reconfigured FSS 230. The reconfigured FSS 230 may reflect the input signal. Based on the reconfigured FSS 230, the electronic device may obtain a signal (i.e., a reconstruction signal) that is restored closer to the signal of the signal source 210. As shown in the graph 920 of
In
In embodiments, an electronic device may comprise a memory, a frequency selective surface (FSS) comprising a plurality of cells, and at least one processor. Each cell of the plurality of cells may comprise a liquid crystal layer. The at least one processor may be configured to receive a signal from another electronic device based on the FSS. The at least one processor may be configured to determine refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS based on a difference between first pattern information for the other electronic device and second pattern information for the received signal. The at least one processor may be configured to perform a reconfiguration for the FSS based on refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS. The at least one processor may be configured to obtain a reconstruction signal from the other electronic device based on the reconfigured FSS.
According to an embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to, to determine the refraction information, identify the first pattern information for the other electronic device. The at least one processor may be configured to, to determine the refraction information, identify the second pattern information for the received signal. The at least one processor may be configured to, to determine the refraction information, identify blocking pattern information corresponding to the difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information.
According to an embodiment, the first pattern information may comprise first signal gain values obtained for the other electronic device before receiving the signal. The second pattern information may comprise second signal gain values obtained by the signal being incident on a region of the FSS.
According to an embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to determine the refraction information by determining a refractive index in each cell based on blocking pattern information corresponding to the difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information. The refraction information may comprise the refractive index in each cell.
According to an embodiment, each cell of the plurality of cells may comprise a first metal layer, a second metal layer disposed on one surface of a printed circuit board (PCB), a third metal layer disposed on another surface of the PCB, and the liquid crystal layer disposed between the first metal layer and the second metal layer. A permittivity of the liquid crystal layer of each cell of the plurality of cells may be adjustably set by application of a voltage between the first metal layer and the third metal layer.
According to an embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to perform the reconfiguration of the FSS by, for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS, determining a voltage based on the refraction information for the cell, and applying the determined voltage to the cell to thereby change a permittivity of the liquid crystal layer of the cell.
According to an embodiment, the plurality of cells may include a first cell associated with a first biasing line and a second cell associated with a second biasing line different from the first biasing line. The first biasing line may be configured to change a permittivity of the liquid crystal layer of the first cell by applying a first voltage to the first cell, and the second biasing line may be configured to change a permittivity of the liquid crystal layer of the second cell by applying a second voltage to the second cell.
According to an embodiment, the FSS may further comprise a ground plane. A gap between adjacent cells among the plurality of cells may be disposed in the ground plane.
According to an embodiment, each cell of the plurality of cells may comprise a plurality of dipole antennas having different lengths.
According to an embodiment, the FSS may be disposed in a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS).
In embodiments, a method performed by an electronic device may comprise receiving a signal from another electronic device based on a frequency selective surface (FSS) comprising a plurality of cells. Each cell of the plurality of cells may comprise a liquid crystal layer. The method may comprise determining refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS based on a difference between first pattern information for the other electronic device and second pattern information for the received signal. The method may comprise performing a reconfiguration for the FSS based on refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS. The method may comprise obtaining a reconstruction signal from the other electronic device based on the reconfigured FSS.
According to an embodiment, the determining of the refraction information may comprise identifying the first pattern information for the other electronic device. The determining of the refraction information may comprise identifying the second pattern information for the received signal. The determining of the refraction information may comprise identifying blocking pattern information corresponding to the difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information.
According to an embodiment, the first pattern information may comprise first signal gain values obtained for the other electronic device before receiving the signal. The second pattern information may comprise second signal gain values obtained by the signal being incident on a region of the FSS.
According to an embodiment, the determining of the refraction information may comprise determining a refractive index in each cell based on blocking pattern information corresponding to the difference between the first pattern information and the second pattern information. The refraction information may comprise the refractive index in each cell.
According to an embodiment, each cell of the plurality of cells may comprise a first metal layer, a second metal layer disposed on one surface of a printed circuit board (PCB), a third metal layer disposed on another surface of the PCB, and the liquid crystal layer disposed between the first metal layer and the second metal layer. A permittivity of the liquid crystal layer of each cell of the plurality of cells may be adjustably set by application of a voltage between the first metal layer and the third metal layer.
According to an embodiment, the performing of the reconfiguration for the FSS may comprise, for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS, determining a voltage based on the refraction information for the cell, and applying the determined voltage to the cell to thereby change a permittivity of the liquid crystal layer of the cell.
According to an embodiment, the plurality of cells may include a first cell associated with a first biasing line and a second cell associated with a second biasing line different from the first biasing line. The first biasing line may be configured to change a permittivity of the liquid crystal layer of the first cell by applying a first voltage to the first cell, and the second biasing line may be configured to change a permittivity of the liquid crystal layer of the second cell by applying a second voltage to the second cell.
According to an embodiment, the FSS may further comprise a ground plane. A gap between adjacent cells among the plurality of cells may be disposed in the ground plane.
According to an embodiment, the plurality of cells may comprise a plurality of dipole antennas having different lengths.
According to an embodiment, the FSS may be disposed in a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS).
In embodiments, an electronic device includes at least one memory, at least one processor, and a frequency selective surface (FSS) including a plurality of cells. Each cell of the plurality of cells includes a liquid crystal layer. The FSS is configured to receive a signal from another electronic device and convert the signal for outputting to the at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to receive an impeded signal of the other electronic device from the FSS, determine refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS based on a difference between first pattern information for the other electronic device and second pattern information for the impeded signal, perform a reconfiguration of the FSS based on the refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS, and receive a reconstructed signal of the other electronic device converted by the reconfigured FSS.
In embodiments, a method performed by an electronic device may include receiving an impeded signal of another electronic device from a frequency selective surface (FSS) comprising a plurality of cells, determining refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS based on a difference between first pattern information for the other electronic device and second pattern information for the impeded signal, performing a reconfiguration of the FSS based on the refraction information for each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS, and receiving a reconstructed signal of the other electronic device converted by the reconfigured FSS. The FSS may be configured to receive a signal from another electronic device and convert the signal for outputting, and each cell of the plurality of cells of the FSS may include a liquid crystal layer.
According to an embodiment, the first pattern information may comprise first signal gain values obtained by an unimpeded signal of the other electronic device being incident on a region of the FSS, and the second pattern information may comprise second signal gain values obtained by the impeded signal being incident on the region of the FSS.
According to an embodiment, the first pattern information may comprise first signal gain values derived from a signal at the other electronic device, and the second pattern information may comprise second signal gain values obtained by the impeded signal being incident on a region of the FSS.
A reflective radio wave surface driven by the liquid crystal layer is easy to mass-produce based on the LCD manufacturing process. In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the FSS 230 may be operated efficiently in connection with next-generation communication functions such as beam steering, polarization manipulation, and multi-beam through RIS programming.
According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the FSS device 300 can solve problems caused by complex obstacles in conventional cloaking techniques or scattering removal, and effectively suppress the scattering effect of obstacles through impedance control of the FSS 230 at the receiving end, regardless of the shape of the obstacle.
The effects that can be obtained from the present disclosure are not limited to those described above, and any other effects not mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those having ordinary knowledge in the art to which the present disclosure belongs, from the following description.
Methods according to embodiments described in the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
When implemented as software, a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more program (software module) may be provided. The one or more program stored in the computer-readable storage medium is configured for execution by one or more processor in the electronic device. The one or more program include instructions that cause the electronic device to execute methods according to embodiments described in the present disclosure.
Such program (software modules, software) may be stored in random access memory, non-volatile memory including flash memory, read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disc storage device, compact disc-ROM (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD) or other form of optical storage, magnetic cassette. Alternatively, it may be stored in a memory configured with some or all combinations thereof. Each configuration memory may be included a plurality.
The program may be stored in an attachable storage device that may be accessed through a communication network, such as the Internet, Intranet, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), or storage area network (SAN), or a combination thereof. Such a storage device may be connected to a device performing an embodiment of the present disclosure through an external port. A separate storage device on the communication network may access a device performing an embodiment of the present disclosure.
In the above-described specific embodiments of the present disclosure, the component included in the disclosure is expressed in singular or plural according to the presented specific embodiment. However, singular or plural expression is chosen appropriately for the situation presented for convenience of explanation, and the present disclosure is not limited to singular or plural component, and even if the component is expressed in plural, it may be configured with singular, or even if it is expressed in singular, it may be configured with plural.
In the detailed description of the present disclosure, various specific embodiments have been described, but it will be understood that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2022-0101687 | Aug 2002 | KR | national |
| 10-2022-0111742 | Sep 2022 | KR | national |
This application is a bypass continuation application of International Patent Application No. PCT/KR2023/006519, filed on May 12, 2023, which is based on and claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0101687, filed on Aug. 13, 2022 with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and also to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0111742, filed on Sep. 2, 2022 with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/KR2023/006519 | May 2023 | US |
| Child | 18205932 | US |
