CN-122026098-A - Liquid crystal antenna, liquid crystal phased array and electronic equipment

CN122026098ACN 122026098 ACN122026098 ACN 122026098ACN-122026098-A

Abstract

The application provides a liquid crystal antenna, a liquid crystal phased array and electronic equipment, and relates to the technical field of liquid crystal antennas. The liquid crystal antenna comprises a waveguide, a coplanar waveguide coupling layer, a liquid crystal phase-shifting layer and an antenna radiation layer which are sequentially stacked in the transmission direction, wherein the waveguide is used for transmitting TE mode waves, the coplanar waveguide coupling layer is used for converting the TE mode waves into at least one TEM mode wave, the liquid crystal phase-shifting layer is used for phase-shifting the TEM mode waves into target beams, and the antenna radiation layer is used for outputting the target beam radiation. Therefore, signal interaction is carried out between the mode of transmitting TEM mode waves by the coplanar waveguide coupling layer and the liquid crystal phase shifting layer, so that the purpose of signal interaction between the waveguide and the liquid crystal phase shifting layer is achieved, and technical support is provided for the realization of the liquid crystal antenna. The liquid crystal antenna has a simple structure, and the liquid crystal material has the characteristics of low cost and low power consumption, so that the cost and the power consumption of a liquid crystal phased array adopting the liquid crystal antenna are reduced.

Inventors

CHEN TAOHUA
SUN XIAOMING
BAO YIFAN
XING YIFAN
WANG MINGYU
HAN XIAONAN
LIN BAIQUAN

Assignees

上海天马微电子有限公司

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20260320

Claims (20)

1. A liquid crystal antenna, comprising: The waveguide, the coplanar waveguide coupling layer, the liquid crystal phase shifting layer and the antenna radiation layer are sequentially stacked in the transmission direction; The waveguide is used for transmitting TE mode waves, the coplanar waveguide coupling layer is used for converting the TE mode waves into at least one TEM mode wave, the liquid crystal phase shifting layer is used for phase shifting and converting the TEM mode waves into target beams, and the antenna radiation layer is used for outputting the target beam radiation.
2. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 1, wherein the target beam comprises a switchable circularly polarized wave.
3. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 1, wherein the coplanar waveguide coupling layer comprises: A first metal formation including a coupling opening, the waveguide is electrically connected with the first metal stratum, and the waveguide is arranged corresponding to the coupling opening; The second metal stratum is positioned on one side, away from the waveguide, of the first metal stratum, the first metal stratum and the second metal stratum are electrically connected, the first metal stratum and the second metal stratum are oppositely arranged to form a waveguide cavity, and the coupling opening is positioned in a corresponding area of the waveguide cavity; The coupling metal layer is arranged between the first metal stratum and the second metal stratum, is positioned in the waveguide cavity and corresponds to the waveguide through the coupling opening.
4. A liquid crystal antenna according to claim 3, wherein the first metal formation comprises: The waveguide connecting part comprises the coupling opening, the waveguide is electrically connected with the waveguide connecting part, and the waveguide is arranged on one side of the waveguide connecting part, which is away from the second metal stratum; At least one first impedance matching part is connected to at least one side of the waveguide connection part in a first direction, and the first direction is a direction parallel to a plane where the first metal stratum is located.
5. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 4, wherein the second metal formation comprises: A waveguide cover portion disposed opposite to the waveguide connection portion; At least one second impedance matching part, in the first direction, at least one side of the waveguide covering part is connected with at least one second impedance matching part, and one second impedance matching part is arranged opposite to one first impedance matching part; at least one turning coplanar waveguide part, wherein at least one side of the second impedance matching part is connected with at least one turning coplanar waveguide part in a second direction, the second direction is a direction parallel to the plane of the first metal stratum, and the first direction and the second direction are intersected; At least one coupling-out portion, one of the coupling-out portions is electrically connected to one of the turn-in coplanar waveguide portions.
6. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 5, wherein the turning coplanar waveguide section comprises: a first transfer-in grounding plate and a second transfer-in grounding plate which are oppositely arranged in the first direction, wherein the first transfer-in grounding plate and the second transfer-in grounding plate are electrically connected with the second impedance matching part; And the turning center conductor strip is positioned between the first turning grounding plate and the second turning grounding plate and is electrically connected with the coupling output part.
7. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 5, wherein the coplanar waveguide coupling layer comprises: a first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer, wherein the first dielectric layer is positioned between the first metal stratum and the coupling metal layer, and the second dielectric layer is positioned between the coupling metal layer and the second metal stratum; the main connecting through holes penetrate through the lamination layers of the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer, and the first metal stratum and the second metal stratum are electrically connected through the main connecting through holes.
8. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 7, wherein all of the main connection vias are distributed around the coupling metal layer.
9. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 8, wherein the coplanar waveguide coupling layer further comprises: A plurality of auxiliary connection vias penetrating through the stack of the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer, the waveguide connection portion and the waveguide cover portion being electrically connected through the auxiliary connection vias; The auxiliary connection via holes are located between the main connection via holes and the coupling metal layer, and all the auxiliary connection via holes are distributed along the surrounding direction of the edge line of the waveguide covering part.
10. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 5, wherein the coupling metal layer comprises: the coupling input part is arranged between the waveguide connecting part and the waveguide covering part, and the coupling input part is arranged opposite to the waveguide through the coupling opening; at least one signal transmission part, at least one side of the coupling input part is connected with at least one signal transmission part in the first direction, and the signal transmission part is arranged between the first impedance matching part and the second impedance matching part which are oppositely arranged; At least one radio frequency wire part, in the second direction, at least one side of the signal transmission part is connected with at least one radio frequency wire part, and one radio frequency wire part is electrically connected with one turning-in center conductor.
11. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 10, wherein the coplanar waveguide coupling layer comprises: a second dielectric layer located between the coupling metal layer and the second metal formation; And the radio frequency wiring part is electrically connected with the turning-in central conductor belt through the signal transmission through hole.
12. The liquid crystal antenna according to claim 10, wherein in at least one of the first impedance matching section, the second impedance matching section, and the signal transmission section, a line width of a part of the line segments is different from a line width of the remaining line segments, and/or a material of a part of the line segments is different from a material of the remaining line segments.
13. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal phase shifting layer comprises: A first substrate; A second substrate disposed opposite the first substrate, the first substrate being positioned between the second substrate and the coplanar waveguide coupling layer; a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate; the phase shifter wiring layer is positioned between the first substrate and the liquid crystal layer; And the phase-shifting grounding layer is positioned between the liquid crystal layer and the second substrate.
14. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 13, wherein the phase shifter routing layer includes at least one first phase shifter routing comprising: A first coupling-in section for coupling-in the TEM mode wave; the input end of the first winding phase shifting part is electrically connected with the first coupling access part; The first coupling and outgoing part is electrically connected with the output end of the first winding phase shifting part.
15. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 14, wherein the phase shifter trace layer further comprises a second phase shifter trace disposed corresponding to the first phase shifter trace, the second phase shifter trace comprising: a second coupling-in section that is coupled to the same TEM mode wave as the first coupling-in section; the input end of the second winding phase shifting part is electrically connected with the second coupling access part, and the winding directions of the second winding phase shifting part and the first winding phase shifting part are opposite; And the second coupling and outgoing part is electrically connected with the output end of the second winding phase shifting part.
16. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 14 or 15, wherein the phase shifter routing layer further comprises a plurality of leg portions, and wherein the wire wound phase shifting portion of the phase shifter routing layer is electrically connected to the plurality of leg portions.
17. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 14 or 15, wherein the phase-shifting ground layer comprises: and the phase shifting hollowed-out part is arranged opposite to the coupling access part, the winding phase shifting part and the coupling access part in the phase shifter wiring layer.
18. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 1, wherein the antenna radiating layer comprises: the signal transfer-out layer is used for coupling and transferring out the target beam from the liquid crystal phase shifting layer; the antenna grounding layer is positioned at one side of the signal transfer-out layer, which is away from the liquid crystal phase shifting layer; The antenna coupling layer is positioned at one side of the antenna grounding layer, which is away from the signal transfer-out layer, and the signal transfer-out layer is electrically connected with the antenna coupling layer; and the antenna patch layer is positioned on one side of the antenna coupling layer, which is away from the signal turning-out layer.
19. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 18, wherein the signal-turning layer comprises at least one turning coplanar waveguide section comprising: The first turning-out grounding plate and the second turning-out grounding plate are oppositely arranged in the direction parallel to the plane of the signal turning-out layer; And the turning-out center conductor strip is positioned between the first turning-out grounding plate and the second turning-out grounding plate.
20. The liquid crystal antenna of claim 19, wherein the antenna coupling layer comprises: At least one coupling block, one of which is electrically connected to one of the roll-out center conductors.

Description

Liquid crystal antenna, liquid crystal phased array and electronic equipment Technical Field The application relates to the technical field of liquid crystal antennas, in particular to a liquid crystal antenna, a liquid crystal phased array and electronic equipment. Background For satellite communications, particularly low-orbit satellite communications, to be commercially available in the future, phased array antennas have become a critical infrastructure for building global low-orbit satellite communications networks due to their ability to beam quickly be controlled, high gain, and wide angle coverage. The traditional active phased array needs more T/R channels when forming a large array surface due to the existence of T/R components, so that the cost is high, the power consumption is high, and the landing of the active phased array on a terminal product is difficult. In recent years, the development iteration of high-performance electromagnetic liquid crystal material technology provides an effective solution for the design of low-cost and low-power consumption phased array antennas, and the liquid crystal phased array antenna technology is a revolutionary technical innovation and is the focus of attention of a plurality of manufacturers for research and development. Disclosure of Invention In view of the above, the application provides a liquid crystal antenna, a liquid crystal phased array and electronic equipment, which effectively solve the technical problems existing in the prior art, provide technical support for the realization of the liquid crystal antenna, and simultaneously reduce the cost and the power consumption of the liquid crystal phased array. In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical scheme provided by the application is as follows: A liquid crystal antenna comprising: The waveguide, the coplanar waveguide coupling layer, the liquid crystal phase shifting layer and the antenna radiation layer are sequentially stacked in the transmission direction; The waveguide is used for transmitting TE mode waves, the coplanar waveguide coupling layer is used for converting the TE mode waves into at least one TEM mode wave, the liquid crystal phase shifting layer is used for phase shifting and converting the TEM mode waves into target beams, and the antenna radiation layer is used for outputting the target beam radiation. Based on the same inventive concept, the application also provides a liquid crystal phased array, which comprises the liquid crystal antenna. Based on the same inventive concept, the application also provides electronic equipment, which comprises the liquid crystal antenna or the liquid crystal phased array. Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme provided by the application has at least the following advantages: The application provides a liquid crystal antenna, a liquid crystal phased array and electronic equipment, wherein the liquid crystal antenna comprises a waveguide, a coplanar waveguide coupling layer, a liquid crystal phase shifting layer and an antenna radiation layer which are sequentially stacked in a transmission direction, the waveguide is used for transmitting TE mode waves, the coplanar waveguide coupling layer is used for converting the TE mode waves into at least one TEM mode wave, the liquid crystal phase shifting layer is used for phase shifting the TEM mode waves into target beams, and the antenna radiation layer is used for outputting the target beam radiation. Therefore, signal interaction is carried out between the mode of transmitting TEM mode waves by the coplanar waveguide coupling layer and the liquid crystal phase shifting layer, so that the purpose of signal interaction between the waveguide and the liquid crystal phase shifting layer is achieved, and technical support is provided for the realization of the liquid crystal antenna. The liquid crystal antenna provided by the application has a simple structure, and meanwhile, the cost and the power consumption of the liquid crystal phased array prepared by the liquid crystal antenna are reduced due to the low cost and the low power consumption of the liquid crystal material. Drawings In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings that are required to be used in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only embodiments of the present application, and that other drawings can be obtained according to the provided drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art. Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal antenna according to the present application; fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of another liquid crystal antenna according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a first metal layer according to an embodiment