US-12627048-B2 - Antenna unit and multi-beam antenna

US12627048B2US 12627048 B2US12627048 B2US 12627048B2US-12627048-B2

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an antenna unit and a multi-beam antenna. The antenna unit includes: a first dielectric substrate; a reference electrode layer; a first feed line and a radiation layer, the first feed line being electrically coupled to the radiation layer; and at least one layer of metasurface including a second dielectric substrate and at least one patch unit, the patch unit including a plurality of patch structures arranged at intervals and side by side. For any one of the patch units, an electromagnetic wave radiated by the radiation layer has different transmission phases after passing through the plurality of patch structures, and transmission phases of the plurality of patch structures increase or decrease sequentially.

Inventors

Qianhong WU
Jingwen GUO
Chunxin Li
Jianxing Liu
Zibo Cao
Jianyun ZHAO

Assignees

Beijing Boe Technology Development Co., Ltd.
BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240422

Claims (20)

1 . An antenna unit, comprising: a first dielectric substrate having a first surface and a second surface arranged opposite to the first surface; a reference electrode layer arranged at a side of the second surface away from the first surface; a first feed line and a radiation layer arranged at a side of the second surface away from the first surface, the first feed line being electrically coupled to the radiation layer; and at least one layer of metasurface including a second dielectric substrate and at least one patch unit, the second dielectric substrate having a third surface and a fourth surface arranged opposite to the third surface, the second surface being arranged opposite to the third surface, the patch unit being arranged at a side of the fourth surface away from the third surface, and the patch unit including a plurality of patch structures arranged at intervals and side by side, wherein for any one of the patch units, an electromagnetic wave radiated by the radiation layer has different transmission phases after passing through the plurality of patch structures, and transmission phases of the plurality of patch structures increase or decrease sequentially.
2 . The antenna unit according to claim 1 , wherein for any one of the patch units, an electromagnetic wave radiated by the radiation layer has an equal phase difference after passing through adjacent patch structures.
3 . The antenna unit according to claim 2 , wherein the patch structure includes a first sub-patch, a second sub-patch, a third sub-patch, a fourth sub-patch, a fifth sub-patch, and a sixth sub-patch; the first sub-patch and the second sub-patch are arranged in a crosswise manner; orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are all of an annular-sector shape; each of the orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate has a first arc edge and a second arc edge arranged opposite to the first arc edge, and the first arc edges of the orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are located on a same circle, and the second arc edges of orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are located on a same circle; and two ends of the first sub-patch are respectively coupled to the third sub-patch and the fourth sub-patch, and two ends of the second sub-patch are respectively coupled to the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch.
4 . The antenna unit according to claim 2 , wherein the radiation layer is formed integrally with the first feed line.
5 . The antenna unit according to claim 2 , wherein there is a plurality of layers of metasurfaces, a spacing is provided between adjacent metasurfaces, and the patch structures in the metasurfaces are arranged in a one-to-one manner.
6 . The antenna unit according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of patch structures on the metasurface is arranged in an array form, the patch units are arranged side by side in a row direction, and the plurality of patch structures arranged side by side in the row direction has an equal transmission phase for the electromagnetic wave.
7 . The antenna unit according to claim 6 , wherein the patch structure includes a first sub-patch, a second sub-patch, a third sub-patch, a fourth sub-patch, a fifth sub-patch, and a sixth sub-patch; the first sub-patch and the second sub-patch are arranged in a crosswise manner; orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are all of an annular-sector shape; each of the orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate has a first arc edge and a second arc edge arranged opposite to the first arc edge, and the first arc edges of the orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are located on a same circle, and the second arc edges of orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are located on a same circle; and two ends of the first sub-patch are respectively coupled to the third sub-patch and the fourth sub-patch, and two ends of the second sub-patch are respectively coupled to the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch.
8 . The antenna unit according to claim 6 , wherein the radiation layer is formed integrally with the first feed line.
9 . The antenna unit according to claim 6 , wherein there is a plurality of layers of metasurfaces, a spacing is provided between adjacent metasurfaces, and the patch structures in the metasurfaces are arranged in a one-to-one manner.
10 . The antenna unit according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of patch structures on the metasurface is arranged in an array form, the patch units are arranged side by side in a column direction, and the plurality of patch structures arranged side by side in the column direction has an equal transmission phase for the electromagnetic wave.
11 . The antenna unit according to claim 10 , wherein the patch structure includes a first sub-patch, a second sub-patch, a third sub-patch, a fourth sub-patch, a fifth sub-patch, and a sixth sub-patch; the first sub-patch and the second sub-patch are arranged in a crosswise manner; orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are all of an annular-sector shape; each of the orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate has a first arc edge and a second arc edge arranged opposite to the first arc edge, and the first arc edges of the orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are located on a same circle, and the second arc edges of orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are located on a same circle; and two ends of the first sub-patch are respectively coupled to the third sub-patch and the fourth sub-patch, and two ends of the second sub-patch are respectively coupled to the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch.
12 . The antenna unit according to claim 10 , wherein the radiation layer is formed integrally with the first feed line.
13 . The antenna unit according to claim 1 , wherein the patch structure includes a first sub-patch, a second sub-patch, a third sub-patch, a fourth sub-patch, a fifth sub-patch, and a sixth sub-patch; the first sub-patch and the second sub-patch are arranged in a crosswise manner; orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are all of an annular-sector shape; each of the orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate has a first arc edge and a second arc edge arranged opposite to the first arc edge, and the first arc edges of the orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are located on a same circle, and the second arc edges of orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are located on a same circle; and two ends of the first sub-patch are respectively coupled to the third sub-patch and the fourth sub-patch, and two ends of the second sub-patch are respectively coupled to the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch.
14 . The antenna unit according to claim 13 , wherein a spacing between the third sub-patch and the fifth sub-patch is a first spacing, a spacing between the third sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch is a second spacing, a spacing between the fourth sub-patch and the fifth sub-patch is a third spacing, a spacing between the fourth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch is a fourth spacing, and values of the first spacing, the second spacing, the third spacing and the fourth spacing are equal.
15 . The antenna unit according to claim 1 , wherein the radiation layer is formed integrally with the first feed line.
16 . The antenna unit according to claim 1 , wherein there is a plurality of layers of metasurfaces, a spacing is provided between adjacent metasurfaces, and the patch structures in the metasurfaces are arranged in a one-to-one manner.
17 . A multi-beam antenna, comprising a plurality of the antenna units according to claim 1 , wherein at least two of the antenna units have different feed directions.
18 . The multi-beam antenna according to claim 17 , wherein the multi-beam antenna includes four antenna units arranged in an array form and having different feed directions.
19 . The multi-beam antenna according to claim 18 , wherein a coordinate system is established with a center of the multi-beam antenna as an origin, a row direction as an X-axis, a column direction as a Y-axis, and a thickness direction of the multi-beam antenna as a Z-axis; and two of the plurality antenna units arranged adjacent to each other in the row or column direction are arranged rotationally symmetrical with each other about the Z-axis.
20 . The multi-beam antenna according to claim 18 , wherein a coordinate system is established with a center of the multi-beam antenna as an origin, a row direction as an X-axis, a column direction as a Y-axis, and a thickness direction of the multi-beam antenna as a Z-axis; and two of the plurality antenna units arranged adjacent to each other in the row or column direction are arranged symmetrical with each other about a plane formed by the Y-axis, the origin, and the Z-axis.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application of the PCT application No. PCT/CN2023/082084 filed on Mar. 17, 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to the field of communications technology, in particular to an antenna unit and a multi-beam antenna. BACKGROUND Antennae include omnidirectional antennae and directional antennae, depending on radiation characteristics. The omnidirectional antenna has a wide coverage range, but a gain in each direction is low. The directional antenna has high-gain radiation in a specified direction, and the higher the gain, the narrower the radiation beam width. Each of the two types of radiating antennae has a single function, and it is impossible to meet the diverse requirements on a modern communication system. Hence, the design of a multi-beam antenna is of great significance. Common implementation schemes for the multi-beam antenna include matrix beamforming schemes. For example, multiple beams are generated through Butler matrix multi-port feeding, or a plurality of feed sources is arranged on a surface of lens, e.g., Luneberg lens, so as to generate beams in different directions. For the former, a feeding network is complex; and for the latter, a three-dimensional (3D) printing technology needs to be adopted, so a manufacturing process is relatively difficult. SUMMARY An object of the present disclosure is to provide an antenna unit and a multi-beam antenna, so as to at least solve one of the technical problems in the related art. In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides in some embodiments an antenna unit, including: a first dielectric substrate having a first surface and a second surface arranged opposite to the first surface; a reference electrode layer arranged at a side of the second surface away from the first surface; a first feed line and a radiation layer arranged at a side of the second surface away from the first surface, the first feed line being electrically coupled to the radiation layer; and at least one layer of metasurface including a second dielectric substrate and at least one patch unit, the second dielectric substrate having a third surface and a fourth surface arranged opposite to the third surface, the second surface being arranged opposite to the third surface, the patch unit being arranged at a side of the fourth surface away from the third surface, and the patch unit including a plurality of patch structures arranged at intervals and side by side. For any one of the patch units, an electromagnetic wave radiated by the radiation layer has different transmission phases after passing through the plurality of patch structures, and transmission phases of the plurality of patch structures increase or decrease sequentially. In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, for any one of the patch units, an electromagnetic wave radiated by the radiation layer has an equal phase difference after passing through adjacent patch structures. In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of patch structures on the metasurface is arranged in an array form, the patch units are arranged side by side in a row direction, and the plurality of patch structures arranged side by side in the row direction has an equal transmission phase for the electromagnetic wave. In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of patch structures on the metasurface is arranged in an array form, the patch units are arranged side by side in a column direction, and the plurality of patch structures arranged side by side in the column direction has an equal transmission phase for the electromagnetic wave. In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the patch structure includes a first sub-patch, a second sub-patch, a third sub-patch, a fourth sub-patch, a fifth sub-patch, and a sixth sub-patch; the first sub-patch and the second sub-patch are arranged in a crosswise manner; orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are all of an annular-sector shape; each of the orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate has a first arc edge and a second arc edge arranged opposite to the first arc edge, and the first arc edges of the orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are located on a same circle, and the second arc edges of orthogonal projections of the third sub-patch, the fourth sub-patch, the fifth sub-patch and the sixth sub-patch onto the first dielectric substrate are located on a same circle; and two ends of the first sub-patch are respectively coupled to the third sub-patch and the fourth sub-patch, and