Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q9/00—Electrically-short antennas having dimensions not more than twice the operating wavelength and consisting of conductive active radiating elements
  • H01Q9/04—Resonant antennas
  • H01Q9/0407—Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna
  • H01Q9/0414—Substantially flat resonant element parallel to ground plane, e.g. patch antenna in a stacked or folded configuration
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
  • H01Q1/40—Radiating elements coated with or embedded in protective material
  • H01Q1/405—Radome integrated radiating elements
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
  • H01Q21/00—Antenna arrays or systems
  • H01Q21/06—Arrays of individually energised antenna units similarly polarised and spaced apart
  • H01Q21/061—Two dimensional planar arrays
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T29/00—Metal working
  • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
  • Y10T29/49002—Electrical device making
  • Y10T29/49016—Antenna or wave energy "plumbing" making

Definitions

• Broadband antenna modules having at least two levels of protected radiating elements incorporating a radome structure.
• the frequency band of an antenna can be broadened by using several levels of radiating elements and in particular by using the coupling of pairs of radiating elements placed next to one another and therefore being able to resonate.
• a first level of radiating elements one can typically obtain a transmission on 4% of bandwidth, that is to say for a transmission of transmission frequency signal between frequencies V 1 and v 2 , the bandwidth ratio defined by the value:
• V 2 (V 2 - Vi) Z (V 1 + v 2 ) can typically be of the order of 4%; while using a first level and a second level of radiating elements facing each other can be tripled this percentage of bandwidth.
• a radome consisting of a cover made of dielectric material which allows the antenna to be sealed without disturbing the emitted signal.
• a first level N 1 comprising radiating elements ER- ⁇ developed on the surface of a dielectric that can typically be a substrate.
• RO4003 of thickness close to 1, 6 mm.
• a second level N 2 of radiating elements ER 2 i also produced on a multi-layer substrate of the same type RO4003 for integrating different electrical functions of filter type, calibration element, connection network, is compared with the first level via a metal armature Ar to ensure the desired electromagnetic coupling.
• the seal can be provided directly by the upper substrate.
• the present invention proposes to provide an antenna incorporating a radome function coupled to a radiating element support function through the use of a monolithic piece of dielectric material, having side tabs whose surfaces are made conductive.
• the subject of the invention is an antenna module comprising at least a first series of unitary radiating elements, a second series of unitary radiating elements facing the unitary radiating elements of the first series so as to widen the band of radiators. frequency of said antenna module, characterized in that it further comprises:
• a monolithic piece of dielectric material having a face supporting the first series of radiating elements and tabs whose surfaces are conductive;
• its surfaces of the legs are metalized.
• the elements of the first series of radiating elements and the surfaces of the legs are made with the same metal.
• the metal may typically be nickel, or copper protected with gold nickel, ....
• the dielectric constant of the monolithic piece is of the order of 3.
• the constituent material of the monolithic piece has a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the microwave dielectric circuit.
• the constituent material of the monolithic piece may be polycarbonate, PEEK or other composite material.
• the polycarbonate is reinforced by fiberglass incorporated.
• the fastening means comprise latching means cooperating with inserts.
• the fastening means may also comprise screws or even points of glue.
• the microwave dielectric circuit is a multilayer circuit comprising different electrical functions.
• the module comprises a connection network positioned in a triplate by metallized lathe or by electromagnetic contact.
• the invention also relates to a method of manufacturing an antenna module according to the invention, characterized in that it further comprises the following steps:
• the production of the conductive layer is carried out by catalytic deposition of metal.
• the production of the conductive layer is carried out by vapor deposition.
• the local withdrawal is performed by etching.
• FIG. 1 illustrates an antenna module according to the prior art comprising a metal armature providing the electromagnetic coupling function
• FIG. 2 illustrates an antenna module according to the invention incorporating a monolithic piece providing the radome function
• FIG. 3 illustrates a bottom view of the monolithic piece having cells in which are positioned the radiating elements
• FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a microwave dielectric circuit comprising the second series of radiating elements.
• an antenna module incorporating a radome providing both the protection function vis-à-vis the outside world, and contributing to the radiation of the antenna.
• the radome is constituted in a piece of dielectric material advantageously low porosity, waterproof and having low dielectric losses at the frequency of use of the antenna.
• the monolithic piece R has on the one hand P- ⁇ tabs and on the other hand carries on its inner side a first series of radiating elements ER-n still commonly known as radiating patch.
• the antenna module of the invention further comprises a microwave dielectric circuit C h on the surface of which are produced another series of radiating elements ER 2J .
• the tabs Pu have conductive walls p P u, typically metallic which provide a reinforced coupling between the radiating elements ERn and ER 2J .
• the inner face of the radome is machined so as to form a grid as illustrated in FIG. 3 which shows a bottom view of the monolithic piece in which the lugs Pn are produced by etching.
• FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of the monolithic piece in which the lugs Pn are produced by etching.
• the radiating elements ER- ⁇ is deposited so as to make the conductive tabs to provide the necessary electromagnetic coupling.
• the radiating elements and the conductive tabs it may be advantageous to metallize the entire recessed inner face of the monolithic part and tabs. We thus have a whole conductive surface, on which we iocal and discontinuous removal of the metal is carried out so as to isolate radiating conductor elements ERn and conductive tabs Pi.
• the antenna module according to the invention also comprises a second level of radiating elements ER 2.
• the advantage of using two patches instead of one as a radiating element makes it possible to considerably increase the bandwidth of the radiator.
• antenna indeed, a single patch has a narrow bandwidth of the order of 4 to 6%; that the bandwidth of 2 patches can reach 15 or 20%. This is achieved by the electromagnetic coupling between the two patches; arranged one above the other, by adjusting their respective characteristics (dimensions, thickness, and distance between them), we obtain a resonance of the device allowing the antenna to operate in broadband.
• the radome thus obtained is snapped or glued, or screwed onto the microwave dielectric circuit, and the assembly made is a compact antenna panel, able to operate outdoors without further protection.
• a radome improves the radiation performance of the radiating network through a significant reduction of the couplings between the patches of the network.
• the use for this radome of a polycarbonate material with 30% glass fiber, enciqued in the microwave dielectric circuit is very advantageous for several reasons:
• the permittivity of this material is that of a microwave dielectric substrate, close to 3.
• the expansion coefficients of this material have the same values as a microwave dielectric circuit.
• the microwave dielectric circuit supporting the second series of radiating elements ER 2 J is advantageously a multilayer circuit comprising a set of functions for ensuring the microwave operation of the antenna module of the invention. It comprises in particular as illustrated in FIG. 4, a first dielectric layer 21 comprising said radiating elements ER 2 , radiating elements are coupled to elementary filters F i i and to elementary calibration couplers C 21 within a second dielectric layer 22, a third dielectric layer 23 comprises the "routing" which corresponds to a connection network making it possible to connect electrically the radiating elements with electrical outputs Si, intended to be able to connect the radiating elements individually to TR modules.
• the presence of a filter used either at transmission or at reception makes it possible to attenuate the signal transmitted and / or received in the frequency bands where the antenna does not operate: the role of the filter is therefore not to polluting the frequency bands other than that of the transmitting antenna, and protecting themselves in the other bands on reception.
• the calibration coupler associated with a calibration distribution takes a very small part of the transmitted or received signal, which constitutes the calibration signal. This one allows to calibrate the antenna thus to get rid of the imperfections of the elements which constitute the antenna and which are located behind the radiating elements (like the filters).
• the principle of dielectric layer distributor in the antenna has virtues of simplicity, robustness and stability over time.
• the elementary filters, the elementary couplers and the elementary electrical outputs can advantageously be developed at a second single elementary layer.

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Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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• 2007
  • 2007-07-27 FR FR0705523A patent/FR2919432B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2008
  • 2008-07-22 EP EP08775287A patent/EP2174381A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2008-07-22 WO PCT/EP2008/059615 patent/WO2009016071A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2008-07-22 US US12/670,924 patent/US20100315311A1/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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