HIGH FREQUENCY ASSEMBLY

Abstract

Disclosed is a high-frequency assembly (1), including a cable, the cable including at least one dielectric waveguide fiber (11) with a first end (111) and an opposed second end (112). The high-frequency assembly includes a high-frequency circuit (14) and an interface unit (12, 13, 15, 16). The at least one dielectric waveguide fiber (11) is at the first end (111) operatively coupled with the high-frequency circuit via the interface unit (12, 13, 15, 16). The interface unit (12, 13, 15, 16) is designed to inject a high-frequency signal into the dielectric waveguide fiber and/or to receive a high-frequency signal from the at least one dielectric waveguide fiber (11) at the first end (111). The high-frequency signal has a first signal component of a first polarization direction and a second signal component of a second polarization direction, wherein the high-frequency assembly (1) is designed to inject the first signal component and the second signal component in a defined manner and/or to split a received high-frequency signal into the first signal component and the second signal component. Disclosed is further a method for transmitting a high-frequency signal using a high-frequency assembly.

Claims

1. A high-frequency assembly (1), including: a cable, the cable including at least one dielectric waveguide fiber (11) with a first end (111) and an opposed second end (112); a high-frequency circuit (14); an interface unit (12, 13, 15, 16), wherein the at least one dielectric waveguide fiber (11) is at the first end (111) operatively coupled with the high-frequency circuit via the interface unit (12, 13, 15, 16); wherein the interface unit (12, 13, 15, 16) is designed to inject a high-frequency signal into the dielectric waveguide fiber and/or to receive a high-frequency signal from the at least one dielectric waveguide fiber (11) at the first end (111); wherein the high-frequency signal has a first signal component of a first polarization direction and a second signal component of a second polarization direction, wherein the high-frequency assembly (1) is designed to inject the first signal component and the second signal component in a defined manner and/or to split a received high-frequency signal into the first signal component and the second signal component.

2. The high-frequency assembly (1) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one dielectric waveguide fiber (11) is a polymeric microwave fiber (PMF).

3. The high-frequency assembly (1) according to claim 1, wherein the first polarization direction and the second polarization direction are orthogonal to each other.

4. The high-frequency assembly (1) according to claim 1, wherein the interface unit includes an orthomode transducer (13) or a dual polarization antenna (16).

5. The high-frequency assembly (1) according to claim 1, wherein the high-frequency assembly includes a horn antenna (12) and/or a dielectric lens (15) arranged at the connection of the first end (111) and the interface arrangement.

6. The high-frequency assembly (1) according to claim 1, wherein the high-frequency assembly (1) is designed to evaluate a first signal level of the first signal component and a second signal level of the second signal component.

7. The high-frequency assembly (1) according to claim 6, wherein the high-frequency assembly (1) is configured to feed the first signal component only or the second signal component only into a receiving circuit (14) independence of the first signal level and/or the second signal level signal component.

8. The high-frequency assembly (1) according to claim 7, wherein the high-frequency assembly (1) is configured to switch from feeding the first signal component only into the receiving circuit (14) to feeding the second signal component only into the receiving circuit (14) if the signal level of the first signal component falls beyond a signal level threshold and to from feeding the second signal component only into the receiving circuit (14) to feeding the first signal component only into the receiving circuit (14) if the signal level of the second signal component falls beyond a signal level threshold.

9. The high-frequency assembly (1) according to claim 1, wherein the high-frequency assembly (1) is designed to generate a combined signal from the received first signal component and the received second signal component by superimposing the first signal component and the second signal component with an adjustable phasing such that a combined signal level of the combined signal is maximum.

10. The high-frequency assembly (1) according to claim 1, wherein the electronics circuit includes a first receiving circuit (141a) and a second receiving circuit (141b), wherein the high frequency assembly (1) is configured to feed the first signal component into the first receiving circuit (141a), and to separately feed the second signal component into the second receiving circuit (141b), and to superimpose a first output signal of the first receiving circuit (141a) and a second output signal of the second receiving circuit (141b).

11. The high-frequency assembly (1) according to claim 1, wherein the high-frequency assembly (1) is designed to determine a received signal level that is received at the second end (112) and to control the amplitude and phase relation of the first signal component and the second signal component injected into the at least one dielectric waveguide fiber.

12. The high-frequency frequency assembly (1) according to claim 1, wherein the high-frequency assembly (1) is configured to transmit and receive simultaneously in a polarization duplex operation mode by: the receiving circuit (X) evaluating an amplitude and phase relation of a first received signal and a second received signal at the first end, thereby determining a received effective polarization vector at the first end (111); calculating an orthogonal polarization vector to this received effective polarization vector; injecting a transmit signal into the at least one dielectric waveguide fiber (11) at the first end (111), the transmit signal being polarized according to the orthogonal polarization vector.

13. A method for transmitting a high-frequency signal via at least one dielectric waveguide fiber (11) of a cable, the dielectric waveguide fiber (11) having a first end (111) and an opposed second end (112), the method comprising: injecting a high-frequency signal into the at least one dielectric waveguide fiber (11) and/or to receiving a high-frequency signal from the at least one dielectric waveguide fiber (1) at the first end (111), wherein the high-frequency signal has a first signal component of a first polarization direction and a second signal component of a second polarization direction, wherein the method includes injecting the first signal component and the second signal component in a defined manner and/or splitting a received high-frequency signal into the first signal component and the second signal component.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a high-frequency assembly in a schematic functional view;

[0034] FIG. 2 shows a further embodiment of a high-frequency assembly in a schematic functional view;

[0035] FIG. 3 shows a still further embodiment of a high-frequency assembly in a schematic functional view; and

[0036] FIG. 4 shows a still further embodiment of a high-frequency assembly in a schematic functional view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] in the following, reference is first made to FIG. 1, showing an embodiment of a high-frequency assembly. For the sake of conciseness, this embodiment is explained in greatest detail, while the description of the further embodiments is focused on the differences respectively particular aspects of the embodiments.

[0038] The high-frequency assembly 1 includes a waveguide cable with at least one polymer waveguide fiber (PMF) 11 as dielectric waveguide fiber.

[0039] Thee waveguide cable and accordingly the PMF 11 have a first end 111 and an opposed second end 112. Here and in the following it is exemplarily assumed that a signal is injected into the PMF 11 at the second end 112 as input respectively injection side and is transmitted respectively conducted in the PMF 11 as electromagnetic wave to the first end 111 as output respectively receiving side. The signal may be injected into the PMF 11 by any suitable high-frequency circuit or assembly (not shown). It is to be understood that the first end second end may be reversed in the PMF 11, the electromagnetic wave propagates with the fundamental mode HE11, having a first signal component that is polarized in a first direction (X) and a second signal component that is polarized in an orthogonal second direction (Y). The two signal components may be understood as two superimposed electromagnetic waves in the fundamental HE11 mode and the indicated polarization directions X, Y, respectively. The directions X, Y, are traverse to the propagation direction of the electromagnetic wave.

[0040] At the first end 111 of the PMF 11, a horn antenna 12, which may in particular be a circular horn antenna, is arranged. In some embodiments, the PMF has a circular cross section. However, other cross sections such as a rectangular cross sections may also be used. In any case, the PMF 11 and the horn antenna are matched appropriately.

[0041] Via the horn antenna 12 the electromagnetic wave of fundamental mode HE11 is transformed into an electromagnetic wave of fundamental mode TE10 at the output side of the horn antenna 12, having two orthogonal signal components of polarization directions X′, Y′.

[0042] As explained in the general description, the signal components in the X— direction and the Y-direction at the first end 111 and accordingly also the signal components in the X′-direction and the Y′ direction of the electromagnetic wave emitted by the horn antenna 12 are arbitrary.

[0043] The horn antenna 13 radiates its electromagnetic signal into an orthomode transducer 13 as generally known in the art in the orthomode transducer, the signal is divided respectively split into its orthogonal components in the X′— direction and Y′-direction, respectively. Those signal components are separately fed into associated receiving circuits 141a, 14b. In the receiving circuits 141a, 141b, the signal is demodulated and converted into the digital domain. In a superimposing unit, 142, the output signals of the receiving are superimposed to improve signal to noise ratio before further processed.

[0044] In the following, reference is additionally made to FIG. 2. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, only a single receiving circuit 141 is present. The superimposition of the signal components is done between the output of the horn antenna 13 and the input of the receiving circuit 141. For this purpose, a superimposition unit 142′ is provided that superimposes the signal components with polarization directions X′, Y′ of the fundamental mode TE 10 mode signal as emitted by the horn antenna 13. The output signal of the superimposing unit 142′ is fed into the receiving circuit 141 as generally explained before. A phase shilling unit 143 is arranged in one of the two signal branch (in this example in the branch of for the signal component with Y′-polarization), thereby allowing the phasing between the signal components with X′-polarization and Y′-polarization to be adjusted. The phasing is controlled by the receiving circuit 141 such that the output level is always maximum.

[0045] In the following, reference is additionally made to FIG. 3. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, only a single receiving circuit 141 with a single input line is present, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 2. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, however, the two signal components with X′-polarization and Y′-polarization are not superimposed. Instead a switching unit 144 is provided into which the two signal components are fed. Either of them is forwarded to the input of the receiving circuit 141, in dependence of the state of the switching 144. The switching unit 144 is controlled by the receiving circuit 144 to switch respectively toggle between the first signal component and the second signal component in dependence of a signal level threshold as explained in the general description. In a variant, the signal level threshold may be adaptively increased or decreased in dependence of the number of switching's in a specific time respectively time window.

[0046] In the following, reference is additionally made to FIG. 4. The embodiment of FIG. 4 is generally similar to the embodiment of FIG. 2. In contrast to the embodiment of FIG. 2, however, interface unit includes a dual polarization antenna 16 instead of the orthomode transducer 14. At the first end 111 of the PMF 11 respectively at the connection of the PIMP 11 and the polarization antenna 16, a dielectric lens is 15 is arranged. It is noted that the dielectric lens, although it may help to increase the antenna efficiency and reduce RF-leakage, it may be omitted or exchanged by other RF energy focusing elements like tubular parts, directors, mirrors, and/or prisms.

[0047] The signal transmission from the dual polarization antenna 143 to the receiver circuit 141 is in this example realized by microstrip lines.