Patent Application
20230318183
The present disclosure relates to a metasurface for a smartphone antenna and a smartphone device having the same, and more particularly, to a metasurface designed with a non-uniform grid structure to increase the gain of a 5th generation (5G) millimeter wave patch antenna embedded in a smartphone and a smartphone device having the metasurface embedded therein.
This research is conducted by Seoul National University R&DB Foundation under the support of Broadcast Communications Industry Research & Development (R&D) (Development of dual band beamforming antenna-on-package technology based on millimeter wave metasurface for 5th generation (5G) smartphones, Project Serial Number: 1711126332) of Ministry of Science and ICT.
5th generation (5G) technology is the next stage that supersedes 4th generation mobile communication, and may be classified into communication technologies using the frequency band of 6 GHz or less used in the low speed wide area network and the frequency band of 24 GHz or more used in the ultrahigh speed local area network. In the present time, FR2 commercial services using the frequency band of 24 GHz or more are not yet established, and Sub-6 GHz commercial services using the frequency band of 6 GHz or less are being deployed.
In the millimeter wave band, ‘5G plus’ project is being conducted to plan for enlargement and commercialization of extra bandwidth to the existing 5G frequencies (26.5-28.9 GHz), and in the case of millimeter wave 5G, it is difficult to ensure the coverage due to much larger losses and narrower beams than Sub-6 GHz. In contrast, as the operating bandwidth and coverage requirements are getting higher and higher, global Information Technology (IT) companies are devoting efforts to the development of new antenna-on-package technology.
Meanwhile, metasurfaces are technology applied to increase the gain of antennas having fixed maximum performance or steer beams with minimum losses, and in this industry, metasurfaces are usually designed as flat structures in which unit cells are arranged in two dimensions on a substrate, each unit cell comprising a dielectric and a metal patch. There are many applications of metasurface technology in the frequency band of 10 GHz or more used in drones or automotive radars, but applications of metasurfaces to millimeter wave 5G smartphone antennas are rare.
An output radio signal from an antenna embedded in a smartphone is not directly sent in air and is sent through a dielectric and a tempered glass cover case that protect the antenna, and the influence of the dielectric and the tempered glass on the antenna performance is very large due to the characteristics of millimeter waves with higher frequencies than the existing communication frequencies, and thus, designing a metasurface structure is not easy due to the operating environment that is different from the existing smartphone antenna.
Accordingly, to apply the metasurface technology to the millimeter wave 5G smartphone antennas, it is necessary to minimize a performance difference between the design antenna and the real antenna considering the structure of the dielectric and the tempered glass cover case.
The present disclosure is directed to providing a metasurface structure designed considering a dielectric and a tempered glass cover case of a smartphone to increase the gain of a 5th generation (5G) millimeter wave patch antenna embedded in the smartphone.
The present disclosure is further directed to providing a smartphone device having the metasurface with reduced performance difference between the design antenna and the real antenna, and improved antenna performance while satisfying the bandwidth required for 5G technology.
A metasurface for a smartphone antenna according to an embodiment is located between a smartphone cover case and a patch type array antenna to increase a gain of the antenna, and has a two-dimensional grid structure having a plurality of rectangular openings.
According to an embodiment, the plurality of rectangular openings may be designed with an asymmetrical structure having different horizontal and vertical lengths.
According to an embodiment, antenna devices of the patch type array antenna may have different active reflection coefficients, and the horizontal and vertical lengths of the rectangular opening may be determined according to characteristics of the antenna devices located below each opening.
According to an embodiment, a thickness of the metasurface may be set to 15 μm or less.
According to an embodiment, an operating bandwidth of the antenna may be set to 26.1 GHz to 29.6 GHz.
According to an embodiment, a dielectric may be located between the metasurface and the patch type array antenna, and the smartphone cover case may include a tempered glass material.
According to an embodiment, the antenna may be designed considering reflection and refraction paths of radio waves according to constituent materials and thicknesses of the dielectric and the smartphone cover case.
A smartphone device having a metasurface for an antenna according to an embodiment includes a smartphone body; a patch type array antenna embedded in one surface of the smartphone body; a dielectric located on the patch type array antenna; a metasurface for a smartphone antenna located on the dielectric; and a cover case secured to the smartphone body while covering the metasurface, wherein the metasurface has a two-dimensional grid structure having a plurality of rectangular openings, and increases a gain of the antenna.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there may be provided the metasurface designed considering the dielectric and the tempered glass cover case of the smartphone to increase the gain of the 5th generation (5G) millimeter wave patch antenna embedded in the smartphone.
According to another embodiment, there may be provided the smartphone device with the improved antenna performance while satisfying the bandwidth required for 5G technology through the antenna and the metasurface structure designed considering the dielectric and the tempered glass of the smartphone.
The following is a brief introduction to necessary drawings in the description of the embodiments to describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure or the prior art more clearly. It should be understood that the accompanying drawings are for the purpose of describing the embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. Additionally, for clarity of description, illustration of some elements in the accompanying drawings may be exaggerated and omitted.
The following detailed description of the present disclosure is made with reference to the accompanying drawings showing particular embodiments for practicing the present disclosure by way of illustration. These embodiments are described in sufficiently detail for those skilled in the art to practice the present disclosure. It should be understood that various embodiments of the present disclosure are different but do not need to be mutually exclusive. For example, particular shapes, structures and features described herein in connection with one embodiment may be embodied in other embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It should be further understood that changes may be made to the positions or placement of individual elements in each disclosed embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the following detailed description is not intended to be taken in limiting senses, and the scope of the present disclosure, if appropriately described, is only defined by the appended claims along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the drawings, similar reference signs indicate same or similar functions in many aspects.
The terms as used herein are general terms selected as those being now used as widely as possible in consideration of functions, but they may differ depending on the intention of those skilled in the art or the convention or the emergence of new technology. Additionally, in certain cases, there may be terms arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meaning will be described in the corresponding description part of the specification. Accordingly, it should be noted that the terms as used herein should be interpreted based on the practical meaning of the terms and the context throughout the specification, rather than simply the name of the terms.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of a metasurface for a smartphone antenna and a smartphone device having the same will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The smartphone body 1 is a device capable of wireless communication, and may transmit and receive a signal and data via communication with an external device through the embedded antenna. The antenna and a communication module may be included to transmit and receive the signal, and the radio signal may be sent from the smartphone to the external device through the antenna or the signal may be received from the external device.
The term smartphone is used in the specification, but it does not refer to only a specific type of device or telephone, and includes any type of electronic device capable of wireless communication with the external device using the antenna and the communication module. For example, various types of communication terminals capable of 5th generation (5G) millimeter wave communication such as a tablet personal computer (PC), a laptop PC and a wearable device may be included in the concept of the smartphone.
Additionally, each of the antenna devices 21, 22, 23, 24 may be designed considering the reflection and refraction paths of radio waves according to the constituent materials and thicknesses of the dielectric 3 and the smartphone cover case 5.
The dielectric 3 is a layer of dielectric material and is disposed on the patch antenna to protect the antenna. Considering that the smartphone body is typically about 7 mm in in thickness, the thickness of the dielectric 3 may be set to about 1 mm.
The metasurface 4 is the component for improving the gain of the antenna through interactions with the output radio waves from the antenna 2, and is located between the dielectric 3 and the cover case 5. As shown in
Referring to
The metasurface is applied to single polarized patch antennas as well as circular patch antennas having circular polarization and dual polarized patch antennas, and thus has a wide range of applications. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the performance of various types of patch antennas by applying not only the metasurface of grid structure but also the metasurface having various patterns.
The cover case 5 covers the antenna 2 and the metasurface 4 inserted into the smartphone body 1 to protect them, and may be made of a material having permeability to radio waves and high strength such as tempered glass. The output signal from the smartphone antenna passes through not only the dielectric but also the tempered glass cover case, and this may have a great influence on the propagation of the high frequency signal such as 5G millimeter waves.
From each simulation result, the maximum gain (Max Gain) values at 26.5 GHz, 28 GHz and 29.5 GHz frequencies in the operating band may be compared. When comparing
According to the above-described embodiment, there is provided the metasurface designed considering the dielectric and the tempered glass cover case of the smartphone to increase the gain of the 5G millimeter wave patch antenna embedded in the smartphone. Additionally, there is provided the smartphone device with the improved antenna performance while satisfying the bandwidth required for 5G technology through the antenna and the metasurface structure designed considering the dielectric and the tempered glass of the smartphone.
While the present disclosure has been hereinabove described with reference to the embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that many modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure set forth in the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2020-0112183 | Sep 2020 | KR | national |
| 10-2021-0107229 | Aug 2021 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2021/011086 | 8/20/2021 | WO |
