This invention relates to grid array antennas and an integration structure for grid array antennas and refers particularly, though not exclusively, to grid array antennas for use with millimeter wavelength signals, and a structure for the integration of such antennas.
The grid array antenna was first proposed by Kraus in 1964. Since then, there have been some studies conducted but all were at relatively low microwave frequencies.
For a resonant grid array antenna, the sides of the meshes should be one wavelength by a half-wavelength in the dielectric, and the instantaneous currents would be out of phase on the long sides of the meshes and in phase on the short sides of the meshes, respectively. As a result, the long sides of the meshes behave as microstrip line elements and the short sides act as both radiating and microstrip line elements. The short sides will produce the main lobe of radiation in the boresight direction.
For a non-resonant grid array antenna, the length of the short side of the meshes can be slightly more than one-third wavelength and the length of the long side of the meshes should be two times longer but three times shorter than the length of the short side of the meshes in the dielectric. Assuming that it is fed from one end, the currents in the short sides of the meshes follow a phase progression producing the maximum radiation in a backward angle-fire direction.
The grid array antenna has caught considerable attention since the middle of 1990s.
(a) “meandering” the long sides of the meshes;
(b) dual-linearly-polarized grid array antenna by crossing the meshes; and
(c) a circularly-polarized grid array antenna by modifying the short sides of the meshes.
In addition, there has been developed a double-layer grid-array antenna. It consists of upper and lower grid array antennas, each being fed from its center terminal to radiate linearly-polarized waves. The upper and lower grid array antennas have the same configuration parameters. The orientation of the lower grid array antenna is rotated by 90° with respect to that of the upper grid array antenna. This perpendicular arrangement provides high isolation at both the center feeding terminals and results in one antenna radiating horizontally-polarized waves and the other antenna radiating vertically-polarized waves.
A cross-mesh array antenna is shown in
In the past, grid array antennas have been excited for single-ended signals. They may also be excited for differential signals.
Typical antennas for millimeter wavelength signals are reflector, lens, and horn antennas. Reflector antenna technology has achieved the highest level of development for high gain applications. Lens antennas are a second high gain technology; while horn antennas limit gain to about 30 dBi due to construction limitations. Although these antennas all have a high gain, they are not suitable for commercial mm-wave radios because they are expensive, bulky, heavy and, more importantly, they cannot be integrated with solid-state devices. Printed, deposited or etched antenna arrays are used for mm-wave radio systems.
It has been proposed to use linearly-polarized mm-wave 60-GHz antenna arrays constructed on multilayer LTCC substrates. These antenna arrays use 4×4 microstrip patch radiating elements fed by a quarter-wavelength matched T-junction network and a Wilkinson power divider network, respectively. The measured results indicate that the antenna array fed by the matched T-junction network performs better than that fed by the Wilkinson power divider. The measured impedance bandwidths are 9.5% and 5.8% and maximum gains are 18.2 dBi and 15.7 dBi, respectively, for the antenna arrays with and without an embedded cavity.
Some antenna arrays have achieved wide bandwidth by three major technologies: original antenna element, laminated waveguide and design method to adjust axial ratio of circular polarization. The antenna element has laminated resonator structure formed by filled via-holes and conductive pattern, which generate wide bandwidth characteristics. Measurement results show that the array of 6×8 radiating elements has a sidelobe level less than −15 dB, gain variation less than 1 dB around 19 dBi and axial ratio less than 3 dB over a bandwidth more than 4 GHz.
Due to the selection of a microstrip patch and a slot as radiating elements, available antenna arrays require complex feeding networks, sophisticated process techniques, and additional embedded cavities to achieve the required performance. Also, available antenna arrays, if intended to be connected with differential radios, will require a feeding network that would become even more complex. Differential radios are more dominant than single-ended radios in highly-integrated mm-wave radios. Furthermore, the available antenna arrays provide an antenna function to the millimeter-wave radio devices. Hence, one can conclude that the available antenna arrays are yet not suitable for highly-integrated mm-wave 60-GHz radios because of their high cost and lower functionality.
It is known that for a resonant grid array antenna the instantaneous currents should be in phase on the short sides of the meshes. As such, the phasing of the radiating elements (short sides of the meshes) is critical.
According to an exemplary aspect there is provided a grid array antenna configured to operate with millimeter wavelength signals, the grid array antenna comprising a plurality of mesh elements and at least one radiation element; each mesh element comprising at least one long side and at least one short side operatively connected to the at least one long side; at least one of:
The compensation may comprise an integrated element being at least one selected from: an inductor, a capacitor, and a resonator. The compensation may comprise a differential feeding network comprising a first terminal and a second terminal. The first terminal and the second terminal may each be operatively connected to an end of the at least one radiating element. The first terminal and the second terminal may be separated by at least a half guided wavelength. The first terminal and the second terminal may be connected at each end of the same radiating element; or the first terminal may be connected to a first radiating element's inner end, and the second terminal may be connected to a second radiating element's inner end. The first terminal and the second terminal may be separated by one and a half guided wavelengths. The compensation may comprise a patterned ground plane comprising reflective metal patches aligned with each of the at least one short sides. The at least one long side and the at least one short side may be inclined relative to each other to form mesh elements shaped as a parallelogram. A second grid array antenna may form a second layer parallel to the grid array antenna. The grid array antenna may comprise a wire grid array, and the second grid array antenna may comprise a slot grid array. The wire grid array and the slot grid array may be oriented at a relative rotation of 90° and their short sides may be relatively offset. The second grid antenna array and the grid array antenna may be parasitic of each other. The grid array antenna may further comprise a third layer as a ground plane and fences of vias to provide a cavity-back grid array. A tooth may be provided projecting perpendicularly from each of the at least one short sides and the at least one radiating element. Each of the short sides may comprise one of the at least one radiating element and each of the long sides may comprise a feeding element.
According to another exemplary aspect there is provided an adaptive array antenna comprising at least two grid array antennas as described above. the adaptive array antenna may further comprise a DC feeding network operatively connected to a long side of the at least one grid array antenna at an inclined angle.
According to a further exemplary aspect there is provided a package comprising at least one grid array antenna as described above, the package comprising four laminated layers; a first layer comprising an antenna layer; a second layer with a first opening; a third layer with a second opening; and a fourth layer with a third opening; the first, second and third opening forming a cavity for a die.
The second opening may be larger than the first opening, and the third opening may be larger than the second opening. The first opening, the second opening and the third opening may all be aligned. The package may further comprise an adaptive array antenna as described above.
According to yet a further exemplary aspect there is provided a package comprising an adaptive array antenna as described above.
According to a penultimate exemplary aspect there is provided a package comprising at least one grid array antenna as described above, the packing comprising three co-fired laminated layers; the three co-fired laminated layers comprising: an antenna layer; a second layer having feeding traces comprising at least one of differential antenna feeding traces, and a single-ended feeding trace; and a third layer comprising a ground of the feeding traces and signal traces.
The differential feeding traces may comprise two quasi-coaxial cables cascaded with two striplines, another two quasi-coaxial cables, and vias through two apertures on the ground plane. The feeding traces may be in a GSGSG arrangement. The single-ended feeding trace may comprise a quasi-coaxial cable cascaded with a via through one aperture on the ground plane. The single-ended feeding trace may comprise a GSG arrangement. The package may further comprise an adaptive array antenna as described above.
According to a final exemplary aspect there is provided a chip-scale package comprising a system printed circuit board drawing an open cavity in surface thereof for housing and protecting a die mounted therein, the die comprising a package as described above.
In order that the invention may be fully understood and readily put into practical effect there shall now be described by way of non-limitative example only exemplary embodiments, the description being with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.
In the drawings:
Throughout the description common reference numerals are used for like components with a prefix number being the drawing figure number.
With reference to
The combination of integral inductors 906 and capacitors 1010 shown in
After using an EM simulator to understand the phase conditions of a design the phase adjusters may be added where phases need to be adjusted.
In addition to the above-phase compensation, the use of 45° linear polarization may be used in millimeter wavelength car radar applications as radiation with orthogonal polarization from cars coming from the opposite direction does not affect the radar operation.
A grid array antenna usually uses a solid, flat ground-plane. It has been proposed that the ground plane may be curved or corrugated; or may be a screen or a grid with holes or perforations whose peripheral length is less than one-half wavelength. Preferably, the holes have a peripheral long that is much less than one-half wavelength. The meshed ground plane required for mechanical reliability is structurally similar to a perforated ground plane. A prior art meshed ground plane shown in
Antennas in multi-layer structures have a size advantage. However, known double-layer grid array antennas do not fully offer this advantage because the upper and lower grid array antennas have the same configuration parameters. However, the lower grid array antenna is rotated by 90° with respect to that of the upper grid array antenna.
As shown in
The grid array antenna can be used as a basic element to design an adaptive array antenna or a switched beam array antenna.
A first way of integration of the grid array antenna 1900 in a ball grid array 1968 package for wire-bonding interconnect is shown in
There are also five metallic layers for the package. A first layer provides the grid array antenna 1900, the second layer is for the partly meshed antenna ground plane 1914, and the next two metal layers are in the second and third layers 1952, 1956 with one being for the antenna feeding traces and the other for signal traces. The final metal layer is for the package ground plane 1970, as well as being for solder ball pads 1968.
Another way of integration of dual grid array antennas 2100 (one antenna 2100 for transmission and the other antenna 2100 for reception) in a chip-scale package for flip-chip bonding is shown in
The wire-bonding technique is well established in consumer electronics. A bond wire functions as a series inductor which will drastically increase the loss as the frequency or the length are increased. Interconnection using the flip-chip technique has better performance than using the wire-bonding technique because the bump height is kept smaller than the length of the bond wire and the bump diameter is thicker than that of the bond wire.
Although both resonant and non-resonant grid array antennas are useful for many applications, the disclosed resonant grid array antenna is for millimeter wavelength signals. The design determines the dielectric substrate dimensions, the number of meshes, the microstrip line impedances, and the excitation location with the associated diameters of the metal via and the aperture. The grid array antennas may operate maybe, for example, 61.5 GHz with a maximum gain of ≧10 dBi. The impedance and radiation bandwidth is 7 GHz. The efficiency may be ≧80% for IEEE 802.15.3c standard applications.
Whilst there has been described in the foregoing description exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the technology concerned that many variations in details of design, construction and/or operation may be made without departing from the present invention.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/SG2008/000479 | 12/12/2008 | WO | 00 | 6/10/2011 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2010/068178 | 6/17/2010 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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3290668 | Kraus | Dec 1966 | A |
3290688 | Kraus | Dec 1966 | A |
4376938 | Conti et al. | Mar 1983 | A |
4535337 | MacAnlis | Aug 1985 | A |
Number | Date | Country |
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2140974 | Dec 1984 | GB |
Entry |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20110241969 A1 | Oct 2011 | US |