Dual polarized antenna and antenna array

Abstract

The preset invention relates to a dual polarized antenna and an antenna array and, more particularly, to a dual polarized antenna comprising: a top portion having a radiation patch; a bottom portion forming a probe; and side portions formed along the outer peripheral edge of the top portion so as to have a predetermined height, wherein the side portions include a cup-shaped aluminum structure, and the top portion, the bottom portion, and the side portions are formed in an integrated form.

Claims

1. A dual polarized antenna comprising: a top portion having a radiation patch; a bottom portion forming a probe; and a side portion formed to have a predetermined height along an outer peripheral surface of the top portion, wherein the side portion comprises a cup-shaped aluminum structure, wherein the top portion, the bottom portion and the side portion are formed in an integrated form.

2. The dual polarized antenna of claim 1, wherein the bottom portion has a rectangular shape, wherein the probe is formed from each corner of the bottom portion of the rectangular shape to face a center of the bottom portion.

3. The dual polarized antenna of claim 1, wherein the side portion further comprises a shielding wall portion extending along an outer peripheral surface of the bottom portion so as to have a predetermined angle with respect to the top portion, wherein the aluminum structure is formed on the shielding wall portion.

4. The dual polarized antenna of claim 1, wherein the aluminum structure is formed to have a height less than or equal to a height of antenna element.

5. The dual polarized antenna of claim 1, wherein an area of the radiation patch is equal to or smaller than an area of the top portion, wherein the radiation patch has a shape of one of a rectangle, a rhombus, a circle, a triangle, and an octagon.

6. The dual polarized antenna of claim 1, wherein the aluminum structure is formed by one of a first method of metal plating, a second method of surface processing through a laser, and a third method of fusing a separate metal structure.

7. The dual polarized antenna of claim 1, wherein the probe has an ‘L’ shape.

8. The dual polarized antenna of claim 1, wherein the aluminum structure is formed in a sawtooth shape or a slot shape.

9. A dual polarized antenna array comprising a plurality of the dual polarized antennas of claim 1 arranged in an array form on a plane, wherein a distance between the dual polarized antennas is greater than or equal to 0.5 lamda.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a structure of a macro array antenna.

(2) FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a structure of a massive MIMO antenna.

(3) FIG. 3A is a front perspective view of an antenna element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

(4) FIG. 3B is a rear perspective view of the antenna element according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

(5) FIG. 3C is a perspective view illustrating a patterning configuration of a bottom portion in the antenna element according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

(6) FIG. 3D is a perspective view illustrating a ground configuration of the antenna element according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

(7) FIG. 4 is a side view of an example of disposition of the antenna element according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

(8) FIG. 5 is an isometric view of disposition of the antenna element according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

(9) FIG. 6A is a front perspective view of an antenna element according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

(10) FIG. 6B is a rear perspective view of the antenna element according to the other embodiment of the present disclosure.

(11) FIG. 7A is a diagram showing an antenna radiation pattern for an antenna element according to the prior art.

(12) FIG. 7B is a diagram showing an antenna radiation pattern for an antenna element according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(13) Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with eference to the accompanying drawings for thorough understanding of the configuration and effects of the present disclosure, Ho the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below. The present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and various modifications may be made thereto. It should be understood that the description of the embodiments is provided such that the disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art In the accompanying drawings, the size of the components is enlarged from the actual size for convenience of description, and the ratio of each component may be exaggerated or reduced.

(14) When it is stated that one component is “on” or “adjacent to” another, this statement should be understood as meaning that one component may be in direct contact with or directly connected to the other one or another component may be present between the components. On the other hand, when it is stated that one component is “directly on” or “directly adjacent to” another, this statement can be understood as meaning that no other component is interposed between the components. Other expressions that describe the relationship between components, for example, “between” and “directly between” can be construed in a similar manner.

(15) Terms including ordinal numbers such as first, second, etc. may be used in describing components, and the components should not be limited by these terms. The terms can be used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

(16) A singular expression includes a plural expression unless the two expressions are contextually different from each other. In this specification, a term “include” or “have” is intended to indicate that characteristics, figures, steps, operations, constituents, and parts disclosed in the specification or combinations thereof exist. The term “include” or “have” should be understood as not pre-excluding possibility of addition of one or more other characteristics, figures, steps, operations, constituents, parts, or combinations thereof.

(17) Unless defined otherwise, terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be interpreted as meanings commonly known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

(18) FIG. 3A is a front perspective view of an antenna element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 3B is a rear perspective view of the antenna element according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3C is a perspective view illustrating a patterning configuration of a bottom portion in the antenna element according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 3D is a perspective view illustrating a ground configuration of the antenna element according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

(19) Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, an antenna element 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a top portion 10, a bottom portion 20, and a side portion 30, and may have a dielectric structure in which each of these components is formed in an integrated form.

(20) The top portion 10 includes a radiation patch 11 having an area equal to or smaller than the area of the top portion 10.

(21) Here, the radiation patch is metallic and may be implemented in various shapes such as a rectangle, a rhombus, or a circle. In addition, in order to improve the RF characteristics, it may be changed into any shape, which may include a shape of some slots.

(22) The radiation patch 11 may be provided with a metallic property by surface processing, that is, etching of a dielectric structure in which the top portion 10, the bottom portion 20, and the side portion 30 are combined, through a laser based on the laser direct structuring (LDS) technology and the like. Alternatively, it may be implemented by fabricating and fusing a separate metal structure.

(23) The bottom portion 20 forms probes 21. Here, each probe is formed to face from each corner of the bottom portion 20, which has a rectangular shape, toward the center. Although ‘L’-shaped probes are shown in FIG. 3B, this is merely a basic shape of the probe. The probes may be implemented in various shapes to improve RF characteristics. A patterning part 22 is formed on one surface of the probe 21 such that the feed signal is connected thereto.

(24) The side portion 30 is formed to have a predetermined height along the outer peripheral surface of the top portion. Here, the side portion 30 includes a cup-shaped aluminum structure for isolation and prevention of cross polarization. The aluminum structure is a structure made of aluminum and formed to surround the outer peripheral surface of the side portion 30. In addition, this aluminum structure may be implemented to have a height less than or equal to the height of the antenna element 1 for the purpose of improving RF characteristics. It may be implemented in a sawtooth shape or a slot shape, and may be implemented in a pattern having the property of frequency selective surface (FSS).

(25) The aluminum structure may be formed through metal plating, or may be directly made to have a metal property by surface processing, that is, etching, through a laser based on the laser direct structuring (LDS) technology. Alternatively, it may be implemented by manufacturing a separate metal structure and fusing the same. That is, the aluminum structure may be formed through one of a first method of metal plating, a second method of surface processing through a laser, and a third method of fusing a separate metal structure.

(26) However, the integrated antenna element shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B merely corresponds to an embodiment. The antenna element may be configured and combined with a PCB. In the case of this combined type, the band may be changed by replacing the PCB at any time.

(27) Referring to FIG. 3C, the antenna element 1 is patterned on the bottom portion 20, wherein the patterning is performed on the probe 21 of the bottom portion 20. Referring to FIG. 3D, ground of the antenna element 1 is formed on the top portion 10 and the side portion 30.

(28) The antenna element of this configuration may be mounted on, for example, a printed circuit board (PCB) on which a 33 massive MIMO system is implemented, and the circuit may be connected to the probe by soldering. An RF signal is transmitted from the PCB to the probe. The RF signal is induced in the radiation patch through electromagnetic coupling. The induced RF signal is radiated into space through the radiation patch to serves as an antenna.

(29) FIG. 4 is a side view of an example of disposition of the antenna element according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

(30) In general, the array spacing of a massive MIMO antenna is at least 0.5 lamda. Accordingly, FIG. 4 shows an example of a structure optimized to have sufficient characteristics without interference in the arrangement with the spacing of at least 0.5 lamda. In a single antenna element including the aluminum structure, widening the array spacing with the optimized reflection characteristics has no significant effect. Also, in general, as the array spacing increases, the isolation increases to converge.

(31) As the array spacing of the optimized radiation patterns arranged at the minimum spacing becomes wider, the characteristics converge to the theoretical array characteristics by the array factor.

(32) FIG. 5 is an isometric view of disposition of the antenna element according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

(33) Referring to FIG. 5, a single antenna element may be freely disposed horizontally and vertically at a separation distance L greater than or equal to 0.5 lamda. The vertical and horizontal separation distances may be equal to or different from each other. For example, it may be arranged in the same row and column, or in a zigzagged manner. The arrangement is not limited. Here, the separation distance L is a length optimized for isolation.

(34) That is, a plurality of dual polarized antennas may be arranged in an array form on a plane, and spaced from each other by 0.5 lamda or more to configure a polarized antenna array.

(35) Here, since the characteristics of the antenna element 1 and the side portion 30 are aligned, there is no effect on the ground. The side portion 30 is formed first and the size of the radiation pattern is determined according to the characteristics thereof.

(36) FIG. 6A is a front perspective view of an antenna element according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 6B is a rear perspective view of the antenna element according to the other embodiment of the present disclosure.

(37) Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, an antenna element 2 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which is basically the same as the structure of the antenna element 1 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, further includes a shielding wall portion 40. The shielding wall portion 40 is formed to extend from the outer peripheral surface of the bottom portion 20 toward the top portion 10 at a predetermined angle. In the case of the antenna element 2 according to this other embodiment, the shielding wall portion 40 rather than the side portion 30 includes a cup-shaped aluminum structure.

(38) Similarly, this aluminum structure may be directly formed to have metal properties through metal plating or surface processing, that is, etching, through a laser based on the LDS technology. Alternatively, it may be implemented by manufacturing a separate metal structure and then fusing the same.

(39) The angle of the beam width of one antenna element 2 may be 60° to 65°. Here, the beam width may be changed according to the angle of the shielding wall portion 40.

(40) The antenna element 2 may be formed by filling the entire portion within part B with a dielectric and performing patterning.

(41) FIG. 7A is a diagram showing an antenna radiation pattern for an antenna element according to the prior art, and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing an antenna radiation pattern for an antenna element according to the present disclosure.

(42) Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, with the antenna element according to the present disclosure, an F/B ratio may be improved. Compared to the conventional radiation pattern, the F/B ratio at 130° is improved from 15 dBc to 25 dBc or more, thereby addressing interference with the side rear sector. XPD at 0° may also be improved from 15 dBc to 25 dBc compared to the conventional radiation pattern, and accordingly the MIMO effect may be improved.

(43) Furthermore, the antenna element according to the present disclosure is implemented as an integrated unit unlike the conventional assembly, and therefore may secure structural stability and uniformity. The antenna element has a structure that can be mounted on a PCB having a massive MIMO system by applying an automated process. Accordingly, mis-assembly caused by manual operation may be prevented and assembly quality and stability may be secured. All the above processes may be automated, and thus process time may be dramatically reduced compared to manual operation.

(44) In the present specification and drawings, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been disclosed. Although specific terms are used, these are only used in a general meaning to easily explain the technical content of the present disclosure to provide understanding of the disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. It is apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that, in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein, other modifications are possible based on the technical idea of the present disclosure.