Search

EP-4082075-B1 - EMBEDDED ANTENNAS STRUCTURES FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS AND RADAR

EP4082075B1EP 4082075 B1EP4082075 B1EP 4082075B1EP-4082075-B1

Inventors

  • CHOUDHURY, DEBABANI
  • CAMACHO PEREZ, JOSE RODRIGO
  • YAMADA, SHUHEI
  • SKINNER, HARRY
  • BURGER, VIDA ILDEREM
  • HORINE, BRYCE

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20191227

Claims (15)

  1. A retro-directive antenna array system for wireless communications comprising: an antenna array (602, 612, 622) comprising one or more antenna elements; and a negative refractive-index engineered material, NIM, deposited over at least one of the one or more antenna elements, wherein the retro-directive antenna array system is configured such that signal received by the antenna array system passes through the NIM material prior to being received by the antenna array (602, 612, 622).
  2. The retro-directive antenna array system of claim 1, wherein the NIM has a permittivity of about -1 and a permeability of about -1.
  3. The retro-directive antenna array system of any one of claims 1 or 2, further comprising: a retro-directive antenna array circuitry operatively coupled to the antenna array.
  4. The retro-directive antenna array system of claim 3, wherein the retro-directive antenna array circuitry does not include phase conjugation circuitry configured to perform phase conjugation of signals received by the antenna array system.
  5. The retro-directive antenna array system of any one of claims 3 or 4, wherein the retro-directive array circuity does not include a frequency mixer to conjugate phases of signals received by the antenna array system with signals to be transmitted from the antenna array system.
  6. The retro-directive antenna array system of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the retro-directive array circuity does not include a harmonic or subharmonic mixer to conjugate phases of signals received by the antenna array system with signals to be transmitted from the antenna array system.
  7. The retro-directive antenna array system of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the NIM is configured to achieve a phase conjugation of the signal received by the antenna array system.
  8. The retro-directive antenna array system of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the NIM is configured to negatively refract signals and provide the negatively refracted signals to the antenna array (602, 612, 622).
  9. The retro-directive antenna array system of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the antenna array (602, 612, 622) comprises a first subset of antenna elements for reception and a second subset of antenna elements for transmission, wherein the NIM is deposited over the first subset of antenna elements.
  10. The retro-directive antenna array system of claim 9, wherein the NIM is deposited only over the first subset of antenna elements and not over the second subset of antenna elements.
  11. The retro-directive antenna array system of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the antenna array (602, 612, 622) comprises a dual-polarized antenna with a first polarity in a reception direction for signals received by the antenna array system and a second polarity in a transmission direction for signals transmitted from the antenna array system, wherein the first polarity and the second polarity are different.
  12. The retro-directive antenna array system of claim 11, wherein the NIM is aligned with the antenna array (602, 612, 622); and wherein the retro-directive antenna array system is configured such that signals received by the antenna array system are negatively refracted by the NIM.
  13. The retro-directive antenna array system of claim 12, wherein only phases of the signals received by the antenna array system are reversed and phases of the signals transmitted from the antenna array system are not reversed.
  14. The retro-directive antenna array system of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the NIM has a tunable surface configured to be adjusted via application of a stimulus.
  15. The retro-directive antenna array system of claim 14, wherein the stimulus is at least one of an electric stimulus or a magnetic stimulus.

Description

Technical Field Various embodiments relate generally to wireless communications and wireless technologies. Background Vehicle embedded radar and communication systems are required to have precise antenna beam control to enable beam searching and tracking processes for optimal performance. In general, a narrower antenna beamwidth reduces spatial ambiguity, results in better resolution and accurate sensing capability in radar sensing applications. Also in wireless communication technology, the higher directivity helps to achieve improved link budget and the narrow beamwidth helps to make the communication secure. However it becomes more challenging to implement the beam search and tracking processes with intensely narrowed antenna beamwidth. In current wireless systems, sector level sweep (SLS) with beam broadening/refinement technique is used to overcome such a problem. However this process often involves complex signal processing andrequires scanning time to identify optimal scan angle. Also the system needs to have fine resolution phase shifter to support such precise beam controlling. Further, academic and industrial researchers including wireless OEMs and service providers are proposing to enable V2X scenarios that needs vehicular embedded antenna system architecture definition. Driving factors for connected vehicles need to address requirements from automotive companies, including the aerodynamics; aesthetics;, coverage with no blind-spots; reliable performance in a challenging and dynamic environment; and so on. Enablement of low-cost, high-volume manufacturing (HVM) of mmW antenna system modules, meeting many stringent requirements from auto- companies is a MUST for the success of antenna system embodiment in connected vehicles of future. In addition, the advent of 5G to the auto industry implies the increasing demand for communication systems and antennas on the vehicle. This implies the need to integrate an increasing number of antennas to provide 360deg coverage for most bands (e.g. 0.9-7GHz, 28GHz, 39GHz, etc.) without impacting the aesthetics or aerodynamics of the vehicles in the future. This challenge gets further complicated considering the need to integrate these wireless radio systems within a wide variety of vehicles sharing the roads: from cars, to trucks and others models like convertibles, three-wheelers/auto-rickshaws, motorcycles and even bicycles. Cars, SUVs, and other vehicles, especially autonomous vehicles, need to be always connected with a reliable and fast wireless connectivity with ultra-high bandwidth. A vehicular communication system, such as V2X, relies on wireless connectivity to provide secure, interference-free, and ubiquitous connectivity to ensure reliable communication between vehicles and infrastructure to enhance traffic safety. US 2012/327516 A1 discloses a beamforming apparatus including a number of beam ports NB arranged in a circular array, the circular array having a radius a, an annular shaped lens encircling the number of beam ports NB, the annular shaped lens having an inner radius a, an outer radius b, and an inhomogeneous refractive index n(r) that may be a negative refractive index, and a number of array ports NA coupled to the outer rim of the annular shaped lens. "Kalaagi Mohammed et al: "Design of Dual Polarized Retrodirective Metasurfaces", 2018 IEEE Radio and Antenna Days of the Indian Ocean (RADIO), 2018-10-15, Radio Society, Pages: 1-2, 2018-10-15, DOI: 10.23919/RADIO.2018.8572395 discloses the design of retrodirective metasurfaces following the generalized phase law of reflection for dual polarizations TM and TE at a given incident angle at 14.7GHz. Two different unit cells (patch and cross) structures have been proposed in the design approach having two and three degrees of freedom respectively. To highlight on the applicative potential of metasurfaces for radar cross section enhancement at oblique incident angles, the monostatic RCS for a cross structured metasurface has been calculated showing a high level of retrodirectivity at the desired angle for TM and TE polarizations. US 10270508 B2 discloses methods and systems for communication between a network base station and a remote device. The methods include providing, at a base station coupled to the network, a modulated signal to mixers in a retro-directive metamaterial antenna, and receiving an RF transmission beam from the remote device, at the retro-directive metamaterial antenna, and radiating from the antenna a modulated retro-directed beam, using mixer products, directed toward the remote device. Brief Description of the Drawings According to the present invention, a a retro-directive antenna array system is provided as set forth in claim 1. Preferred embodiments are set forth in dependent claims. In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed up