US-12627062-B2 - Antenna system

Abstract

An antenna system comprises a substrate, an antenna positioned on the substrate, and a circuit component positioned on the substrate. The antenna is positioned on a first surface of the substrate and operable to emit a radiation pattern. The circuit component is positioned on the substrate in a null region of the radiation pattern. The thickness of portions of the substrate are modified to achieve a desired performance characteristic of the antenna.

Inventors

• Kyle J. Byers
• Brian C. Rutherford
• Matt Clewell

Assignees

• HONEYWELL FEDERAL MANUFACTURING & TECHNOLOGIES, LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220715

Claims (6)

1. 1 . A method of fabricating an antenna system, the method comprising: depositing an antenna on a first surface of a substrate, the antenna being configured to emit a radiation pattern having a radiation region; positioning a circuit component on the substrate below at least a portion of the antenna outside of the radiation region; modifying a thickness of the substrate to a desired thickness corresponding to a desired capacitance between a ground plane and the antenna, the desired capacitance being configured to help the antenna generate a predetermined fringe electric field; and depositing the ground plane on a second surface of the substrate to obtain the desired capacitance between the ground plane and the antenna.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the antenna is deposited via additive manufacturing.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the substrate is modified via at least one of laser ablation, ion milling, or etching.
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of forming a recess on a second surface of the substrate, the second surface opposing the first surface, wherein the step of positioning the circuit component includes positioning the circuit component in the recess.
5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of forming a platform on a second surface of the substrate, the second surface opposing the first surface, wherein the step of positioning the circuit component includes positioning the circuit component on the platform.
6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of forming a chamber in the substrate below the first surface of the substrate, wherein the step of positioning the circuit component includes positioning the circuit component in the chamber.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a divisional application and claims the priority benefit of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/542,476, filed on Aug. 16, 2019, and entitled “ANTENNA SYSTEM”, which claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/720,528, filed Aug. 21, 2018, both of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties herein. STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT This invention was made with Government support under Contract No.: DE-NA00002839 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to electrically small antennas, antenna circuits, and methods of manufacturing the same. BACKGROUND Many devices use antennas for various radio frequency (RF) applications. For example, antennas are used in communication systems, global positioning systems (GPS), telecommunication systems, cellular systems, radio systems, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, Bluetooth® and Wifi systems, and the like. The size and shape of antennas are often a function of frequency requirements, power needs, and/or additional considerations. For various application-related reasons, such as portability, battery size, component complexity, z available space for antennas within a device is often limited. Additionally, the signals from antennas can interfere with the functionality and/or performance of nearby electronics, and the electronics sometimes interfere with the signals to and/or from the antennas. Enclosing electronic components in conductive material, or shielding, is often used to prevent such interference. However, shielding increases manufacturing costs and time, occupies additional space in the devices, and can sometimes degrade the performance of antennas and/or other circuit components. The background discussion is intended to provide information related to the present invention which is not necessarily prior art. SUMMARY The present invention solves the above-described problems and other problems by providing an antenna system that enables more compact circuit packaging without affecting electrical performances of the antenna and circuit components. An antenna system constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention comprises a substrate, an antenna positioned on a first surface of the substrate, and a circuit positioned on the substrate. The antenna emits a radiation pattern with a null region. The circuit component is positioned on the substrate in the null region of the radiation pattern so as to avoid electromagnetic interference on the circuit component due to the radiation pattern of the antenna. Another embodiment of the antenna system comprises a hemispherical antenna, a substrate supporting the antenna, and a circuit component. The hemispherical antenna has a plurality of arms that wind down from a top of the hemispherical antenna and define a space above the substrate. The antenna emits a radiation pattern with a null region in the space. The circuit component may include a matching circuit for the hemispherical antenna and functional components for the hemispherical antenna. The circuit component is located on the substrate in the null region so as to avoid electromagnetic interference on the circuit due to the radiation pattern of the antenna. Another embodiment of the invention is a method of fabricating an antenna system. The method comprises depositing an antenna on a first surface of a substrate, the antenna being configured to emit a radiation pattern that forms a radiation region. The method further comprises positioning one or more circuit components on the substrate below at least a portion of the antenna outside of the radiation region. This avoids electromagnetic interference on the circuit due to the radiation pattern of the antenna. This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein: FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of an exemplary antenna system constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of an exemplary antenna system having a circuit component platform constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a side perspective vie