Polarized wave shared array antenna and method for manufacturing the same

Abstract

A polarized wave shared array antenna according to an example embodiment includes: antenna elements 11a and 11b provided adjacent to each other on one surface of an antenna substrate 1, each of which being configured to generate two orthogonal linear polarized waves; feeding points 12a and 12b disposed in a first direction when viewed from each antenna element and feeding points 14a and 14b disposed in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction when viewed from each antenna element; transmission and reception units 21a, 21b, 22a, and 22b that are provided on an integrated circuit on the other surface of the antenna substrate 1 and are respectively connected to the feeding points, in which in a plan view, the feeding points are disposed so as to be arranged on a straight line, and wirings connecting the transmission and transmission units to the corresponding feeding points are equal in length.

Claims

1. A polarized wave shared array antenna, comprising: a first antenna element and a second antenna element provided adjacent to each other on one surface of an antenna substrate, each of the first and the second antenna elements being configured to generate two orthogonal linear polarized waves; a first feeding point disposed in the first antenna element in a first direction when viewed from a center of the first antenna element, and a second feeding point disposed in the first antenna element in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction when viewed from the center of the first antenna element; a third feeding point disposed in the second antenna element in the first direction when viewed from a center of the second antenna element, and a fourth feeding point disposed in the second antenna element in the second direction when viewed from the center of the second antenna element; an integrated circuit provided on another surface of the antenna substrate; a first transmission and reception unit, a second transmission and reception unit, a third transmission and reception unit and a fourth transmission and reception unit that are provided on the integrated circuit and are respectively connected to the first to the fourth feeding points; and a first wiring, a second wiring, a third wiring, and a fourth wiring that connect the first to the fourth feeding points to the first to the fourth transmission and reception units, respectively, wherein in a plan view, the first, the second, the third, and the fourth feeding points are disposed so as to be arranged on a first straight line, and the first to the fourth wirings are equal in length.

2. The polarized wave shared array antenna according to claim 1, wherein the first to the fourth transmission and reception units are disposed so as to be arranged on a second straight line parallel to the first straight line.

3. The polarized wave shared array antenna according to claim 2, wherein the first to the fourth transmission and reception units are arranged on the second straight line in order, and with respect to a third straight line that passes through a center of the second and the third transmission and reception units and is orthogonal to the second straight line, the first wiring and the fourth wiring are symmetric and the second and the third wirings are symmetric.

4. The polarized wave shared array antenna according to claim 3, further comprising: a third antenna element adjacent to the first antenna element and a fourth antenna element adjacent to the second antenna element, the third and the fourth antenna elements being disposed in a 2×2 array with the first and the second antenna elements; a fifth feeding point disposed in the third antenna element in the first direction when viewed from a center of the third antenna element, and a sixth feeding point disposed in the third antenna element in the second direction when viewed from the center of the third antenna element; a seventh feeding point disposed in the fourth antenna element in the first direction when viewed from a center of the fourth antenna element, and an eighth feeding point disposed in the fourth antenna element in the second direction when viewed from the center of the fourth antenna element; and a fifth transmission and reception unit, a sixth transmission and reception unit, a seventh transmission and reception unit, and an eighth transmission and reception unit that are provided on the integrated circuit and are respectively connected to the fifth to the eighth feeding points, wherein the fifth to the eighth transmission and reception units are disposed so as to be arranged on a fourth straight line that is parallel to the first straight line and is different from the second straight line, and a fifth wiring, a sixth wiring, a seventh wiring and an eighth wiring connecting the fifth to the eighth feeding points to the fifth to the eighth transmission and reception units, respectively, are symmetrical to the first to fourth wirings, respectively, with respect to a center line that passes through a center of the second and the third straight lines and is parallel to the second and the third straight lines.

5. The polarized wave shared array antenna according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second transmission and reception units are provided so as to be arranged on a second straight line orthogonal to the first straight line, and the third and the fourth transmission and reception units are provided so as to be arranged on a third straight line that is orthogonal to the first straight line and is different from the second straight line.

6. The polarized wave shared array antenna according to claim 5, wherein with respect to a center line that passes through a center of the second and the third straight lines and is orthogonal to the first straight line, the first wiring is symmetric to the fourth wiring, and the second wiring is symmetric to the third wiring.

7. The polarized wave shared array antenna according to claim 4, further comprising: the third antenna element adjacent to the first antenna element and the fourth antenna element adjacent to the second antenna element, the third and the fourth antenna elements being disposed in a 2×2 array with the first and the second antenna elements; the fifth feeding point disposed in the third antenna element in the first direction when viewed from a center of the third antenna element, and the sixth feeding point disposed in the third antenna element in the second direction when viewed from the center of the third antenna element; the seventh feeding point disposed in the fourth antenna element in the first direction when viewed from a center of the fourth antenna element, and the eighth feeding point disposed in the fourth antenna element in the second direction when viewed from the center of the fourth antenna element; the fifth transmission and reception unit to the eighth transmission and reception unit that are provided on the integrated circuit and are respectively connected to the fifth to the eighth feeding points; and the fifth to the eighth wirings connecting the fifth to the eighth feeding points to the fifth to the eighth transmission and reception units, respectively, wherein the fifth and the sixth transmission and reception units are disposed so as to be arranged on the second straight line, the seventh and the eighth transmission and reception units are disposed so as to be arranged on the third straight line, the first, the second, the sixth, and the fifth transmission and reception units are arranged on the second straight line in order, and with respect to a fourth straight line that passes through a center of the second and the sixth transmission and reception units and is orthogonal to the second straight line, the fifth to the eighth wirings, respectively, are symmetric to the first to the fourth wirings.

8. The polarized wave shared array antenna according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and the second antenna elements has a square shape, the first and the second feeding points, respectively, are formed at central parts of two adjacent sides of the first antenna element, and the third and the fourth feeding points, respectively, are formed at central parts of two adjacent sides of the second antenna element.

9. The polarized wave shared array antenna according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and the second antenna elements has a circular shape.

10. A method for manufacturing a polarized wave shared array antenna, the method comprising: providing a first antenna element and a second antenna element so as to be adjacent to each other on one surface of an antenna substrate, each of the first and the second antenna elements being configured to generate two orthogonal linear polarized waves; disposing a first feeding point in the first antenna element in a first direction when viewed from a center of the first antenna element and a second feeding point in the first antenna element in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction when viewed from the center of the first antenna element; disposing a third feeding point in the second antenna element in the first direction when viewed from a center of the second antenna element and a fourth feeding point in the second antenna element in the second direction orthogonal to the first direction when viewed from the center of the second antenna element; providing an integrated circuit on another surface of the antenna substrate; providing a first transmission and reception unit, a second transmission and reception unit, a third transmission and reception unit and a fourth transmission and reception unit on the integrated circuit, the first to the fourth transmission and reception units, respectively, being connected to the first to the fourth feeding points; disposing the first, the second, the third, and the fourth feeding points so as to be arranged on a first straight line in a plan view; and forming a first wiring, a second wiring, a third wiring and a fourth wiring that connect the first to the fourth feeding points to the first to the fourth transmission and reception units, respectively, the first to the fourth wirings being equal in length.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description of certain example embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a polarized wave shared array antenna according to an example embodiment;

(3) FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of the polarized wave shared array antenna according to a first example embodiment;

(4) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of the polarized wave shared array antenna according to a second example embodiment;

(5) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of a configuration of the polarized wave shared array antenna according to the example embodiments;

(6) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an antenna according to a comparative example;

(7) FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5;

(8) FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the antenna according to the comparative example;

(9) FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the antenna according to the comparative example; and

(10) FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of the antenna according to the comparative example.

EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

(11) Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described. For the clarification of the description, the following description and drawings are omitted or simplified as appropriate.

(12) Example embodiments relate to a polarized wave shared planar array antenna that generates two orthogonal linear polarized waves. Prior to describing the example embodiments, a problem of a comparative example is described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an antenna according to the comparative example in which four antenna elements 5a to 5d are disposed in a 2×2 array. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

(13) As shown in FIG. 6, the antenna elements 5a to 5d are provided on one surface of an antenna substrate 1 made of a dielectric. Each of the antenna elements 5a to 5d is a square patch antenna. Each of the antenna elements 5a to 5d, of which feeding points 12a to 12d are located so as to be shifted from the center position in the horizontal axis direction in the figure, radiates a polarized wave (an H polarized wave) parallel to the horizontal direction in the figure as shown by a double-headed arrow in FIG. 5.

(14) Further, an integrated circuit 20 is mounted on the other surface of the antenna substrate 1. The integrated circuit 20 includes four transmission and reception units integrated therein, the PADs of transmission and reception units (hereinafter simply referred to as transmission and reception units 21a to 21d), respectively, are connected to wirings 13a to 13d via solder 2. Vias 3 are formed in the antenna substrate 1, and the wirings 13a to 13d are connected to the feeding points 12a to 12d of the antenna elements 5a to 5d via the vias 3, respectively.

(15) In FIG. 5, the integrated circuit 20 is disposed so that the center point of the four transmission and reception units 21a to 21d (the point at which a short-dashed line connecting the transmission and reception unit 21a to the transmission and reception unit 21d intersects a short-dashed line connecting the transmission and reception units 21b to the transmission and reception unit 21c) and the center position of the feeding points 12a to 12d (the point at which an alternate long and short dashed line connecting the feeding point 12a to the feeding point 12d intersects an alternate long and short dashed line connecting the feeding point 12b to the feeding point 12c) overlap each other. This configuration makes it possible to form the wirings 13a to 13d connecting the transmission and reception units 21a to 21d to the feeding points 12a to 12d, respectively, so that they are equal in length and in the same shape.

(16) Between the antennas (the antenna elements 5a and 5c and the antenna elements 5b and 5d) adjacent to each other in the polarized wave direction, the positions of the feeding points are shifted in directions opposite to each other. However, the positions can be corrected by shifting the phase by 180° with a phase shifter included in each of the transmission and reception units of the integrated circuit 20. By doing so, it is possible to maintain the design symmetry excluding variations in the manufacturing and the mounting, thereby improving the accuracy of beamforming.

(17) Regarding four antenna elements 6a to 6d, each of which radiates a polarized wave (a V polarized wave) parallel to the vertical direction in the figure as shown by a double-headed arrow in FIG. 7, by disposing the integrated circuit 20 so that the center point of four transmission and reception units 22a to 22d and the center position of feeding points 14a to 14d overlap each other as in the case of the antenna of the comparative example arranged in a 2×2 array, it is possible to form wirings 15a to 15d connecting the transmission and reception units 22a to 22d to the feeding points 14a to 14d, respectively, so that they are equal in length and in the same shape.

(18) FIG. 8 shows a comparative example in which polarized shared antenna elements 11a to 11d, each of which is a polarized shared antenna element in which one antenna element generates two orthogonal polarized waves, are disposed in a 2×2 array. In the example of FIG. 8, the polarized wave directions of the antenna elements 11a to 11d are parallel to the direction in which the array is arranged. That is, the H polarized wave direction is parallel to the direction in which the antenna elements 11a and 11c are arranged, and the V polarized wave direction is parallel to the direction in which the antenna elements 11a and 11b are arranged.

(19) Two transmission and reception units integrated in the integrated circuit 20 are respectively connected to two feeding point disposed at positions different from each other in one antenna element, in order to generate two types of polarized waves simultaneously in each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d. For example, in the one antenna element 11a, the two transmission and reception units 21a and 22a are respectively connected to the two feeding points 12a and 14a disposed at positions different from each other.

(20) In order to make the characteristics of the two polarized waves of each antenna element equal when the above-described polarized wave shared antenna elements in which one antenna element generates two orthogonal polarized waves are arranged in an array, it is desired that all wirings to respective feeding points be made equal in length.

(21) However, as shown in FIG. 8, the center position of the feeding points 12a to 12d of the two polarized waves, the center position of the feeding points 14a to 14d of the two polarized waves, and the center point of the four transmission and reception units 21a to 21d cannot be matched with each other, and thus all the wirings 13a to 13d and 15a to 15d that connect the feeding points to the transmission and reception units, respectively, cannot be made equal in length. In order to make all wirings to respective feeding points equal in length, wirings of complicated shapes as shown in FIG. 9 are required, which causes a problem that wiring loss increases and a man-hour for designing increases.

(22) To address the above problem, the inventors have conceived the polarized wave shared array antenna described below. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a polarized wave shared array antenna 10 according to the example embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the polarized wave shared array antenna 10 according to the example embodiment includes the antenna elements 11a and 11b provided adjacent to each other on one surface of the antenna substrate, each of which generates two orthogonal linear polarized waves. In the antenna element 11a, when viewed from a center of the antenna element 11a, the feeding point 12a is disposed in a first direction and the feeding point 14a is disposed in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

(23) Further, in the antenna element 11b, when viewed from a center of the antenna element 11b, the feeding point 12b is disposed in the first direction and the feeding point 14b is disposed in the second direction. The integrated circuit 20 is provided on the other surface of the antenna substrate, and the transmission and reception units 21a, 22a, 21b, and 22b are formed on the integrated circuit 20 and are respectively connected to the feeding points 12a, 14a, 12b, and 14b. Further, the wirings 13a, 15a, 13b, and 15b that connect the feeding points 12a, 14a, 12b, and 14b to the transmission and reception units 21a, 22a, 21b, and 22b, respectively, are provided.

(24) In a plan view, the feeding points 12a, 14a, 12b, and 14b are disposed so as to be arranged on a straight line, and the wirings 13a, 15a, 13b, and 15b are equal in length. This configuration enables wirings from a plurality of transmission and reception units integrated in an integrated circuit to respective feeding points of polarized wave shared antenna elements to be made equal in length without making the shapes of the wirings complicated. Specific example embodiment will be described below.

First Example Embodiment

(25) FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a polarized wave shared array antenna according to a first example embodiment. The polarized wave shared array antenna 10 according to the first example embodiment includes the antenna elements 11a to 11d and the integrated circuit 20. Each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d is a polarized wave shared antenna element in which one antenna element generates two orthogonal polarized waves. The antenna elements 11a to 11d are arranged in a 2×2 array on one surface of the antenna substrate 1 as shown in FIG. 6.

(26) Further, the integrated circuit 20 is mounted on the other surface of the antenna substrate 1. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a part of the configuration of the polarized wave shared array antenna 10 when viewed from the side of the polarized wave shared array antenna 10 on which the integrated circuit 20 is formed. In FIG. 2, in order to explain the positional relation between the antenna elements 11a to 11d and the integrated circuit 20, the antenna substrate 1 is made invisible and thus the entirety of the antenna elements 11a to 11d and the integrated circuit 20 can be seen.

(27) Each antenna is a patch antenna, and is a microstrip antenna including a radiation conductor, a ground conductor, and a dielectric layer interposed between the radiation conductor and the ground conductor. The antenna elements 11a to 11d are radiation conductors that radiate radio waves and are formed on one surface of the antenna substrate 1 by a conductive layer. Note that a ground conductor is provided on the other surface of the antenna substrate 1 although it is not shown in the figure. The ground conductor functions as a ground of the microstrip antenna and is formed by a conductive layer.

(28) As shown in FIG. 2, each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d has a square shape. As described above, in each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d, two feeding points are formed and disposed at positions different from each other. In each of the antenna elements, the two feeding points, respectively, are formed at the central parts of two adjacent sides. For example, in the antenna element 11a, the feeding points 12a and 14a, respectively, are formed at the central parts of two adjacent sides. The feeding points 12b to 12d and the feeding points 14b to 14d of the antenna elements 11b to 11d are disposed in a manner similar to that of the antenna element 11a.

(29) The polarized wave direction of each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d is a direction shifted by 45° from the direction in which the array is arranged. That is, the H polarized wave direction is inclined by 45° from the direction in which the antenna elements 11a and 11c are arranged, and the V polarized wave direction is inclined by 45° from the direction in which the antenna elements 11a and 11b are arranged. That is, the antenna elements 11a to 11d shown in FIG. 2 are disposed by rotating each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d shown in FIG. 8 clockwise by 45°.

(30) When viewed from the center of each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d, the feeding points 12a to 12d are disposed in the first direction, and the feeding points 14a to 14d are disposed in the second direction orthogonal to the first direction. In this example, the first direction is the H polarized wave direction, and the second direction is the V polarized wave direction orthogonal to the H polarization.

(31) By this configuration, the feeding points 12a, 14a, 12b, and 14b are disposed so as to be arranged on a straight line A1 parallel to the direction in which the antenna elements 11a and 11b are arranged. Further, the feeding points 12c, 14c, 12d, and 14d are disposed so as to be arranged on a straight line B1 that is parallel to the direction in which the antenna elements 11a and 11b are arranged and is different from the straight line A1.

(32) The transmission and reception units 21a to 21d and the transmission and reception units 22a to 22d are disposed in the integrated circuit 20. The integrated circuit 20 has a rectangular shape and is disposed so that left and right sides thereof are parallel to the straight lines A1 and B1.

(33) The transmission and reception units 21a, 22a, 21b, and 22b are formed along the left side of the integrated circuit 20 in this order. The transmission and reception units 21a, 22a, 21b, and 22b are disposed so as to be arranged on a straight line C parallel to the straight line A1. The transmission and reception units 21a, 22a, 21b, and 22b are connected to the feeding points 12a, 14a, 12b, and 14b via the wirings 13a, 15a, 13b, and 15b, respectively.

(34) Further, the transmission and reception units 21c, 22c, 21d, and 22d are formed along the right side of the integrated circuit 20 in this order. The transmission and reception units 21c, 22c, 21d, and 22d are disposed so as to be arranged on a straight line D parallel to the straight line A1. The transmission and reception units 21c, 22c, 21d, and 22d are connected to the feeding points 12c, 14c, 12d, and 14d via the wirings 13c, 15c, 13d, and 15d, respectively. These wirings 13a to 13d and 15a to 15d are all equal in length.

(35) The wirings 13a, 15a, 13b, and 15b, respectively, have shapes symmetrical to the wirings 13c, 15c, 13d, and 15d with respect to a center line E that passes through the center of the straight lines C and D and is parallel the straight lines C and D. The point at which the line connecting the transmission and reception unit 21a to the transmission and reception unit 21d intersects the line connecting the transmission and reception unit 21b to the transmission and reception unit 21c and the point at which the line connecting the transmission and reception unit 22a to the transmission and reception unit 22d intersects the line connecting the transmission and reception unit 22b to the transmission and reception unit 22c are disposed on the center line E.

(36) Further, in the first example embodiment, as the number of arrays in the vertical direction is two, which is an even number, the wirings 13a, 15a, 13c, and 15c, respectively, have shapes symmetrical to the wirings 13b, 15b, 13d, and 15d with respect to a straight line F that passes through the center of the transmission and reception units 22a and 21b and is orthogonal to the straight line C. Accordingly, the wirings 13a, 13c, 15b, and 15d have the same shape, and the wirings 15a, 15c, 13b, and 13d have the same shape. As described above, it is possible to make all the wirings equal in length without making the shapes of the wirings complicated with the wirings having two types of shapes. Thus, it is possible to make the characteristics of the two polarized waves of each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d equal.

Second Example Embodiment

(37) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of the polarized wave shared array antenna according to a second example embodiment. In the second example embodiment, the polarized wave direction of each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d is a direction shifted by 45° from the direction in which the array is arranged. The antenna elements 11a to 11d shown in FIG. 3 are disposed by rotating each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d shown in FIG. 8 clockwise by 135°.

(38) When viewed from the center of each of the antenna elements 11a to 11d, the feeding points 12a to 12d are disposed in the first direction, and the feeding points 14a to 14d are disposed in the second direction orthogonal to the first direction. By this configuration, the feeding points 12a, 14a, 12c, and 14c are disposed so as to be arranged on a straight line A2 parallel to the direction in which the antenna elements 11a and 11c are arranged. Further, the feeding points 12b, 14b, 12d, and 14d are disposed so as to be arranged on a straight line B2 that is parallel to the direction in which the antenna elements 11b and 11d are arranged and is different from the straight line A1.

(39) If the feeding points will be connected to the transmission and reception units shown in FIG. 2 with the shortest wiring in the above arrangement of the feeding points, the wirings are caused to intersect each other. Although it is possible to intersect the wirings to each other by making the substrate a multilayer structure, signal loss increases at high frequencies and thereby affects transmission power and noise characteristics of the receiver. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, in the second example embodiment, the transmission and reception units 21a, 22a, 22b, and 21b are disposed on the straight line C orthogonal to the straight line A2 in this order. Further, the transmission and reception units 21c, 22c, 22d, and 21d are disposed on the straight line D orthogonal to the straight line A2 in this order. Thus, the feeding points can be connected to the transmission and reception units without the wirings intersecting each other.

(40) The wirings 13a, 15a, 13b, and 15b, respectively, have shapes symmetrical to the wirings, 15c, 13c, 15d, and 13d with respect to the center line E that passes through the center of the straight lines C and D and is orthogonal to the straight line A2. Further, in the second example embodiment, as the number of arrays in the vertical direction is two, which is an even number, the wirings 13a, 15a, 13c, and 15c, respectively, have shapes symmetrical to the wirings 13b, 15b, 13d, and 15d with respect to the straight line F that passes through the center of the transmission and reception units 22a and 22b and is orthogonal to the straight line C. Accordingly, the wirings 13a, 13b, 15c, and 15d have the same shape, and the wirings 15a, 15b, 13c, and 13d have the same shape.

(41) As described above, in the example embodiments, it is possible to easily make the characteristics of the wirings connecting the antenna elements to the transmission and reception units equal between the arrays and make the characteristics of the two polarized waves equal. The example embodiments are used for radio communication devices and are effective particularly in the case of a phased array antenna.

(42) Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the aforementioned example embodiments and may be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. In the aforementioned examples, although a square antenna element is used, a circular antenna element or the like as shown in FIG. 4 may be used. Further, although the wiring in the above examples is formed by a straight line bent at a right angle, it is not limited to this form. For example, the wiring may be formed by a straight line bent at an angle other than a right angle or may be formed by a curved line.

(43) The first and second example embodiments can be combined as desirable by one of ordinary skill in the art.

(44) While the disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to example embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not limited to these example embodiments. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims.