US-12627074-B2 - Antenna device, and base station with antenna device

US12627074B2US 12627074 B2US12627074 B2US 12627074B2US-12627074-B2

Abstract

An antenna device comprising an antenna array for transmitting a signal. The antenna array includes a plurality of radiating elements with each radiating element configured to radiate the signal with a predetermined phase. The antenna device further including another radiating element that is not part of the antenna array. The phase of the signal for each radiating element of the antenna array is controlled such that the signals radiated by the radiating elements of the array interfere destructively at at least part of the other radiating element.

Inventors

Ignacio Gonzalez
Bruno BISCONTINI

Assignees

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230119

Claims (20)

1 . An antenna device comprising: an antenna array for transmitting a signal, the antenna array comprising: a plurality of radiating elements each configured to radiate the signal with a predetermined phase; another radiating element of another antenna array that is not part of the antenna array, the another antenna array is located along a base axis that is perpendicular to a radiating direction of the another radiating element to allow for destructive superposition of the signals radiated by the plurality of radiating elements of the antenna array at the at least part of the another radiating element of the another antenna array, wherein the phase of the signal for each radiating element of the antenna array is controlled to cause the signals radiated by the radiating elements of the array to interfere destructively with other signals radiated at at least part of the another radiating element of the another antenna array.
2 . The antenna device of claim 1 , wherein the antenna array is an end fire array.
3 . The antenna device of claim 1 , wherein the another radiating element is located adjacent to the antenna array.
4 . The antenna device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of radiating elements are each configured to radiate the signal with a different amplitude, and wherein the amplitude of the signal for each radiating element is determined such that a magnitude of a superposition of the signals is minimised at the at least part of the another radiating element.
5 . The antenna device of claim 4 , wherein the amplitude of the signal for each radiating element includes a variation based on the frequency of the signal.
6 . The antenna device of claim 1 , wherein the phase of the signal for each radiating element is controlled such that the signals radiated by the radiating elements of the array interfere destructively at an input port of the another radiating element.
7 . The antenna device of claim 1 , wherein a distance between the antenna array and the another radiating element is determined such that the signals radiated by the radiating elements of the array interfere destructively at the at least part of the another radiating element.
8 . The antenna device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of radiating elements are spaced apart along an axis that is parallel to a radiating direction of the antenna array.
9 . The antenna device of claim 1 , the another antenna array including a plurality of radiating elements, the plurality of radiating elements of the another antenna array including said another radiating element.
10 . The antenna device of claim 9 , wherein the signals radiated by the radiating elements of the antenna array interfere destructively at at least part of each radiating element of the another antenna array.
11 . The antenna device of claim 9 , wherein the antenna array and the another antenna array are arranged parallel to each other.
12 . The antenna device of claim 9 , wherein the another antenna array is configured to radiate in a frequency range that at least partially overlaps with a frequency range of the antenna array.
13 . The antenna device of claim 1 , further comprising a phase change element arranged between one or more of the radiating elements and the another radiating element, wherein, in response to the signal radiated by one or more of the radiating elements passing through the phase change element, the phase change element is configured to introduce a phase adjustment into the signal, and wherein the phase adjustment of the phase change element is determined such that the signals radiated by the radiating elements of the array interfere destructively at the at least part of the another radiating element.
14 . The antenna device of claim 1 , further comprising a processor configured to control the phase of the signal for each radiating element.
15 . A base station comprising: one or more antenna devices, wherein each of the antenna device includes: an antenna array for transmitting a signal, the antenna array including: a plurality of radiating elements each configured to radiate the signal with a predetermined phase; the antenna device further including another radiating element of another antenna array that is not part of the antenna array, the another antenna array is located along a base axis that is perpendicular to a radiating direction of the another radiating element to allow for destructive superposition of the signals radiated by the plurality of radiating elements of the antenna array at the at least part of the another radiating element of the another antenna array, wherein the phase of the signal for each radiating element of the antenna array is controlled to cause the signals radiated by the radiating elements of the array to interfere destructively with other signals radiated at at least part of the another radiating element of the another antenna array.
16 . The base station of claim 15 , wherein the antenna array is an end fire array.
17 . The base station of claim 15 , wherein the another radiating element is located adjacent to the antenna array.
18 . The base station of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of radiating elements are each configured to radiate the signal with a different amplitude, and wherein the amplitude of the signal for each radiating element is determined such that a magnitude of a superposition of the signals is minimised at the at least part of the another radiating element.
19 . The base station of claim 18 , wherein the amplitude of the signal for each radiating element includes a variation based on the frequency of the signal.
20 . The base station of claim 15 , wherein the phase of the signal for each radiating element is controlled such that the signals radiated by the radiating elements of the array interfere destructively at an input port of the another radiating element.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/EP2020/070449, filed on Jul. 20, 2020, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND The use of wireless terminals is on the rise worldwide, from cell phones, to tablet PCs and personal digital assistants (PDAs), among many other devices that have wireless connectivity capability. This tremendous proliferation of wireless devices with Internet connectivity has posed demands for higher data throughput. In fifth generation (5G) mobile terminals, MIMO (multiple-input-multiple-output) technology is a major enabling technology for such increase in data throughput using multiple antenna elements on the mobile device, as well as at the base-station. One of the key technologies to enable the new generation of mobile communications is mMIMO (massive MIMO) below 6 GHz. Although mMIMO antenna systems will be key in 5G standards, the regulations in some countries are a limiting factor. For instance, some proposed regulations require that for site acquisition and site upgrades, the dimension of the new antennas should be comparable to legacy products. In addition, to be able to maintain the mechanical support structures at the sites, the wind load of the new antennas should be equivalent to the legacy products. These factors lead to a very strict limitation for width of the antenna. As a result, in response to placing several independent antenna arrays in a small reflector of the antenna, as required for achieving high throughput, coupling is usually high enough to affect the antenna performance. In particular, in response to a dipole being placed in a side-by-side configuration on a small reflector, the horizontal beam width increases and directivity drops, the signal between adjacent arrays becomes more correlated, and thus the antenna array performance degrades. Such a coupling effect also poses a limitation on the antenna miniaturization. Current approach to tackle high coupling between antenna arrays relies on placing structures that behave as perfect electric conductors (PEC) in between the antenna arrays. In that way, electromagnetic fields are reflected, and the side-by-side antenna arrays does not receive power from each other, thereby improving the isolation. However, this approach has the limitation that by placing the PECs to isolate the antenna arrays, the available aperture for each antenna array is reduced, and consequently the antenna performance suffers. Other existing solutions rely on narrow band circuits to cancel the coupling. In an example, “Yagi-Uda” antenna, also known as a Yagi antenna, employs end fire antenna arrays which use reflection arrangement to cause a traverse of at least part of the energy of an end fire slow wave array back along the array to increase the effective length of the array and, therefore, cause an increase in antenna gain. In another example, Electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) structure is used that creates a stopband to block electromagnetic waves of certain frequency bands by forming a fine, periodic pattern of small metal patches on dielectric substrates, and thereby reduce the mutual coupling. In yet another example, metamaterial electromagnetic insulators are formed on the antennas by embedding circuit metamaterials operating in a non-propagating spectral region. In still another example, neutralization lines are provided to compensate for the existing electromagnetic coupling through a direct connection via a conductive link. The conductive link acts as a neutralization device by picking up a certain amount of the signal on one antenna and feeding the signal back to the other antenna. There are one or more drawbacks associated with the existing solutions. Therefore, in light of the foregoing discussion, the aforementioned drawbacks associated with conventional antenna devices are to be overcome. SUMMARY In at least one embodiment, an antenna device is provided, and a base station that comprises one or more antenna devices is provided. At least one embodiment seeks to provide a solution to the existing problem of high coupling associated with conventional antenna devices having a plurality of radiating elements. An aim of at least one embodiment is to provide a solution that overcomes at least partially the problems encountered in prior art and provide an improved isolation between the plurality of radiating elements in the antenna device. The object of at least one embodiment is achieved by the solutions provided in the enclosed independent claims. Advantageous implementations of the at least one embodiment are further defined in the dependent claims. In an aspect, an antenna device is provided. The antenna device comprises an antenna array for transmitting a signal. The antenna array comprises a plurality of radiating elements each configured to radiate the signal with a predetermined phase. The antenna device further