EP3073569B1 - Butler matrix compact, bi-dimensionales planare beam-former und planarantenne mit einer solchen butler matrix - Google Patents

Butler matrix compact, bi-dimensionales planare beam-former und planarantenne mit einer solchen butler matrix Download PDF

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EP3073569B1
EP3073569B1 EP16161459.9A EP16161459A EP3073569B1 EP 3073569 B1 EP3073569 B1 EP 3073569B1 EP 16161459 A EP16161459 A EP 16161459A EP 3073569 B1 EP3073569 B1 EP 3073569B1
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waveguides
butler matrix
waveguide
parallel
planar
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French (fr)
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EP3073569A1 (de
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Hervé Legay
Jean-Philippe Fraysse
Etienne Girard
Mauro Ettorre
Ronan Sauleau
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS
Universite de Rennes 1
Thales SA
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS
Universite de Rennes 1
Thales SA
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/26—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture
    • H01Q3/30—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array
    • H01Q3/34—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array by electrical means
    • H01Q3/40—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array by electrical means with phasing matrix
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01P—WAVEGUIDES; RESONATORS, LINES, OR OTHER DEVICES OF THE WAVEGUIDE TYPE
    • H01P1/00—Auxiliary devices
    • H01P1/18—Phase-shifters
    • H01P1/182—Waveguide phase-shifters
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01P—WAVEGUIDES; RESONATORS, LINES, OR OTHER DEVICES OF THE WAVEGUIDE TYPE
    • H01P3/00—Waveguides; Transmission lines of the waveguide type
    • H01P3/12—Hollow waveguides
    • H01P3/121—Hollow waveguides integrated in a substrate
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01P—WAVEGUIDES; RESONATORS, LINES, OR OTHER DEVICES OF THE WAVEGUIDE TYPE
    • H01P5/00—Coupling devices of the waveguide type
    • H01P5/02—Coupling devices of the waveguide type with invariable factor of coupling
    • H01P5/022—Transitions between lines of the same kind and shape, but with different dimensions
    • H01P5/024—Transitions between lines of the same kind and shape, but with different dimensions between hollow waveguides
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/27—Adaptation for use in or on movable bodies
    • H01Q1/28—Adaptation for use in or on aircraft, missiles, satellites, or balloons
    • H01Q1/288—Satellite antennas
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q15/00—Devices for reflection, refraction, diffraction or polarisation of waves radiated from an antenna, e.g. quasi-optical devices
    • H01Q15/0006—Devices acting selectively as reflecting surface, as diffracting or as refracting device, e.g. frequency filtering or angular spatial filtering devices
    • H01Q15/006—Selective devices having photonic band gap materials or materials of which the material properties are frequency dependent, e.g. perforated substrates, high-impedance surfaces
    • H01Q15/0073—Selective devices having photonic band gap materials or materials of which the material properties are frequency dependent, e.g. perforated substrates, high-impedance surfaces said selective devices having corrugations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q15/00—Devices for reflection, refraction, diffraction or polarisation of waves radiated from an antenna, e.g. quasi-optical devices
    • H01Q15/0006—Devices acting selectively as reflecting surface, as diffracting or as refracting device, e.g. frequency filtering or angular spatial filtering devices
    • H01Q15/006—Selective devices having photonic band gap materials or materials of which the material properties are frequency dependent, e.g. perforated substrates, high-impedance surfaces
    • H01Q15/008—Selective devices having photonic band gap materials or materials of which the material properties are frequency dependent, e.g. perforated substrates, high-impedance surfaces said selective devices having Sievenpipers' mushroom elements
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q15/00—Devices for reflection, refraction, diffraction or polarisation of waves radiated from an antenna, e.g. quasi-optical devices
    • H01Q15/0006—Devices acting selectively as reflecting surface, as diffracting or as refracting device, e.g. frequency filtering or angular spatial filtering devices
    • H01Q15/0086—Devices acting selectively as reflecting surface, as diffracting or as refracting device, e.g. frequency filtering or angular spatial filtering devices said selective devices having materials with a synthesized negative refractive index, e.g. metamaterials or left-handed materials
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q15/00—Devices for reflection, refraction, diffraction or polarisation of waves radiated from an antenna, e.g. quasi-optical devices
    • H01Q15/02—Refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens, prism
    • H01Q15/08—Refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens, prism formed of solid dielectric material
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q15/00—Devices for reflection, refraction, diffraction or polarisation of waves radiated from an antenna, e.g. quasi-optical devices
    • H01Q15/02—Refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens, prism
    • H01Q15/10—Refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens, prism comprising three-dimensional array of impedance discontinuities, e.g. holes in conductive surfaces or conductive discs forming artificial dielectric
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q15/00—Devices for reflection, refraction, diffraction or polarisation of waves radiated from an antenna, e.g. quasi-optical devices
    • H01Q15/14—Reflecting surfaces; Equivalent structures
    • H01Q15/16—Reflecting surfaces; Equivalent structures curved in two dimensions, e.g. paraboloidal
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q19/00—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic
    • H01Q19/10—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic using reflecting surfaces
    • H01Q19/12—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic using reflecting surfaces wherein the surfaces are concave
    • H01Q19/13—Combinations of primary active antenna elements and units with secondary devices, e.g. with quasi-optical devices, for giving the antenna a desired directional characteristic using reflecting surfaces wherein the surfaces are concave the primary radiating source being a single radiating element, e.g. a dipole, a slot, a waveguide termination
    • H01Q19/138—Parallel-plate feeds, e.g. pill-box, cheese aerials
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q21/00—Antenna arrays or systems
    • H01Q21/0006—Particular feeding systems
    • H01Q21/0031—Parallel-plate fed arrays; Lens-fed arrays
    • 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
    • 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
    • H01Q21/064—Two dimensional planar arrays using horn or slot aerials
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q25/00—Antennas or antenna systems providing at least two radiating patterns
    • H01Q25/007—Antennas or antenna systems providing at least two radiating patterns using two or more primary active elements in the focal region of a focusing device
    • H01Q25/008—Antennas or antenna systems providing at least two radiating patterns using two or more primary active elements in the focal region of a focusing device lens fed multibeam arrays

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a compact Butler array, a planar two-dimensional beam former and a planar multi-beam antenna comprising such a Butler array. It applies to any multibeam antenna, particularly in the field of space applications such as satellite telecommunications, and more particularly to thin antennas.
  • Beam formers are used in multibeam antennas to develop output beams from radio frequency input signals.
  • a conventional beam former comprises N inputs In1 to InN, P outputs Out1 to OutP, and a plurality of radiofrequency circuits 11, 12, 13 capable of dividing and recombining the radiofrequency input signals according to a phase law and of selected amplitude to form exit beams.
  • the radiofrequency circuits comprise a large number of individual waveguides 10 which intersect with each other so as to allow the combinations necessary for the formation of the different output beams by combiners 12 of radiofrequency signals.
  • These beam formers are suitable for a limited number of radiating elements and for forming a limited number of beams because they become very complex when the number of beams increases due to the necessary crossings between the waveguides.
  • the Butler matrix comprises couplers 15, of the 3 dB hybrid coupler type, 90 °, making it possible to combine or divide the power of the waves input radio frequency, phase shifters 16 capable of applying a phase delay of 45 °, and crossing devices 17 making it possible to cross two different transmission lines.
  • each crossing device 17 can consist of two 3 dB, 90 ° couplers connected in series.
  • Butler matrix architecture with four input ports A, B, C, D and four output ports A ', B', C ', D' is shown in the figure 2 .
  • the Butler matrix has four 3 dB, 90 ° couplers, two 45 ° phase shifters and a crossover device.
  • This type of beam former is well suited for the formation of a small number of beams but becomes too complex when the number of beams increases. In addition, it only allows beams to form in one direction of the space perpendicular to the transmission lines 18.
  • Other examples of Butler matrices are described in the document. YJCheng et al.
  • planar quasi-optical beam formers using electromagnetic propagation of radiofrequency waves coming from several power sources placed at the input, for example radiant horns, according to a mode of propagation generally TEM between two plates parallel metal.
  • the focusing and collimation of the beams can be carried out by an optical lens as described for example in the documents US 3 170 158 and US 5936588 which illustrate the case of a Rotman lens, or alternatively by a reflector as described for example in the documents FR 2944153 and FR 2 986377 , the optical lens or the reflector respectively being inserted on the propagation path of the radiofrequency waves, between the two parallel metal plates.
  • optical lenses can be used, these optical lenses essentially serving as phase correctors and in most cases making it possible to convert one or more cylindrical waves emitted by the sources into one or more plane waves propagating in the waveguide with parallel metal plates.
  • the optical lens may have two opposite edges with parabolic profiles, input and output respectively.
  • the optical lens can be a dielectric lens, or an index gradient lens with straight edges, or any other type of optical lens.
  • a quasi-optical beam former with an optical lens to obtain a planar antenna, it suffices to place radiating input elements around the input edge of the optical lens and to fix radiofrequency probes on the output edge of the optical lens, then to connect each radiofrequency probe to an output radiating element via a transmission line, for example a coaxial cable.
  • pillbox beam former In the case of a pillbox beam former, to obtain a planar antenna, input radiating elements are placed in front of the integrated parabolic reflector, and output radiating elements are placed on the path of the radiofrequency waves reflected by the parabolic reflector .
  • pillbox beam former solutions using one or more reflectors as described for example in the document Rotman W: "Wide-Angle Scanning With Microwave Double-Layer Pillboxes" IRE Transactions On Antennas And Propagation, IEEE, USA, vol.10, N ° 1, January 1, 1958, P. 96-105 .
  • a quasi-optical beam former is much simpler to produce than traditional beam former with individual waveguides because it does not have a coupler or a crossing device.
  • all known planar beam formers are only capable of forming beams in one dimension of space, in a direction parallel to the plane of the metal plates.
  • connection interfaces in particular input / output connectors
  • connection interfaces in particular input / output connectors
  • the object of the invention is to remedy the drawbacks of known beam formers and to produce a planar two-dimensional beam former comprising continuous transmission lines and making it possible to form beams in two dimensions of space without any connection interface or no interconnect cables.
  • Another object of the invention is to produce a new Butler matrix which is particularly compact and has a new architecture with parallel plates compatible with the trainers of quasi-optical beams.
  • the invention relates to a compact Butler matrix comprising N waveguides, where N is an integer greater than three and chosen from the powers of two, couplers intended to couple two adjacent waveguides, phase shifters and at least one crossing device capable of crossing two adjacent waveguides, the crossing device comprising two couplers connected in series.
  • the Butler matrix consists of a planar multilayer structure comprising N + 1 metal plates parallel to each other, stacked one above the other, and regularly spaced from each other, each space between two consecutive metal plates forming a guide wave with parallel plates having two opposite walls, respectively upper and lower, constituted by the two consecutive metal plates, two adjacent metal plate waveguides comprising a common wall constituted by one of the metal plates, and the couplers, the phase shifters and the crossing device consist of metasurfaces integrated in the respective walls of the waveguides to be coupled, crossed and phase-shifted, respectively in coupling, phase-shifting, and crossing zones.
  • the metasurfaces constituting each coupler and the crossing device between two adjacent waveguides can consist of a metallized support provided with a plurality of through holes regularly distributed in a coupling area, respectively a crossing area, of the wall common to the two corresponding adjacent waveguides, the crossing zone consisting of two coupling zones arranged in cascade one behind the other.
  • the metasurfaces constituting each phase shifter integrated in a waveguide can consist of corrugations arranged in a phase shift zone, on the two opposite walls of the corresponding waveguide.
  • each metal plate can consist of a metal coating deposited on a dielectric substrate and each coupler and crossing device between two adjacent waveguides can consist of a plurality of slots etched in the metal coating, the slots being regularly distributed throughout the coupling zone, respectively throughout the crossing zone, the crossing zone consisting of two coupling zones arranged in cascade one behind the other.
  • each phase shifter can consist of a set of metal patches periodically photo-etched on the dielectric substrate of the two walls of a waveguide to be phase-shifted.
  • the invention also relates to a planar beam former capable of synthesizing beams according to two dimensions of space, comprising at least one Butler matrix with N + 1 parallel plates.
  • the beam former can comprise two different Butler matrices stacked one above the other and respectively dedicated to two different polarizations orthogonal to each other.
  • the beam former can further comprise N optical lenses respectively integrated, at the output, or alternatively at the input, of the Butler matrix, in the N waveguides delimited by the N + 1 metal plates.
  • each optical lens can be a lens of constant thickness and with an index gradient.
  • the beam former can comprise two stacked stages, respectively lower and upper, each stage comprising an identical number of parallel plate waveguides, the Butler matrix being located on the upper stage, each waveguide of the lower stage being connected in series to a waveguide of the upper stage by a respective intermediate waveguide comprising parallel metal plates arranged orthogonally to the plane XOY of the two lower and upper stages, the parallel metal plates constituting the walls of each intermediate waveguide forming a reflector integrated in the beam former.
  • the invention also relates to a planar antenna comprising at least one Butler matrix with N + 1 parallel plates, the antenna further comprising M radiating feed horns connected at the input of each waveguide to parallel metal plates, ie MN supply radiant horns for the N metal plate waveguides, where M is greater than 2, and N output radiant horns respectively connected to the N metal plate waveguides.
  • each radiating outlet horn can be a longitudinal horn coupled to a radiating linear opening extending transversely over the entire width of the corresponding parallel plate waveguide.
  • the radiating linear openings can be oriented in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the parallel plates of the corresponding parallel plate waveguide.
  • the Butler matrix consists of a planar multilayer structure comprising N + 1 metal plates 20, parallel to each other, stacked one above the other, and regularly spaced from each other.
  • the metal plates are parallel to the plane XOY, the direction X corresponding to the longitudinal direction of propagation of the radiofrequency waves in each waveguide with parallel plates.
  • the Butler matrix therefore has N parallel plate waveguides, stacked one on top of the other in the direction Z orthogonal to the plane XOY, where N is an integer greater than three and chosen from the powers of two.
  • the Butler matrix also includes couplers, for example of the hybrid coupler type 3dB, 90 °, each coupler being intended to couple two adjacent waveguides together, phase shifters at 45 ° and crossing devices (in English: crossover) intended to cross two adjacent waveguides.
  • the couplers 15, the crossing devices 17 and the phase shifters 16 are locally integrated in the metal plates forming the walls of the waveguides PPW1, PPW2, PPW3, PPW4 in respective coupling zones 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, crossing 24 and phase shift 23a, 23b, located on the propagation path of the radiofrequency waves and extending transversely, parallel to the direction Y, over the entire width D of the corresponding metal plate 20.
  • the metal plate forming the common wall between the two adjacent waveguides includes coupling zones and crossing zones formed by metasurfaces locally integrated in said common wall.
  • a metasurface is a textured surface made up of a dense planar distribution of small elements, identical or not, fixed, or printed, or engraved, on a very fine support.
  • a metasurface is characterized by a surface impedance which locally modifies the longitudinal propagation of a wave guided in a waveguide.
  • a metasurface has very interesting properties from an electromagnetic point of view because it makes it possible to control the propagation of electromagnetic waves along its surface.
  • the elements fixed, or printed, or engraved may for example be metal studs or metal patches or holes, or slots, regularly distributed or of variable density, the distance between two consecutive elements being less than the central operating wavelength.
  • the metasurface is constituted a metallized support 26 provided with a plurality of through holes 25 regularly distributed throughout the coupling zone, respectively throughout the crossing zone. The distance between two adjacent holes is much less, by at least a factor of three, than the wavelengths guided in the parallel plate guide.
  • the metasurface has a high reactive surface impedance, for example 100 Ohms, the value of which depends on the density of the holes and the length L of the coupling zone.
  • a 90 ° 3dB coupler synthesized by a metasurface having a reactive surface impedance of 100 Ohms was obtained with regularly distributed holes over a length L equal to 35 mm.
  • the two metal plates forming the upper and lower walls of the corresponding waveguide comprise phase shift zones 23a, 23b which may consist of corrugations arranged locally on the internal surface of the two corresponding metal plates and whose width is equal to the transverse width D of the corresponding metal plates.
  • the number N of waveguides is equal to four, and the number of metal plates 20 is equal to five.
  • a first coupling zone 22a is integrated in the second metal plate common to the first waveguide PPW1 and to the second waveguide PPW2 and a second coupling zone 22b is integrated in the fourth metal plate common to the third waveguide PPW3 and to the fourth waveguide PPW4.
  • the Butler matrix Downstream of the two coupling zones 22a, 22b, the Butler matrix comprises a crossing zone 24 made up of two 3dB hybrid couplers, 90 °, integrated in cascade, one behind the other, in the third metal plate common to the second and third waveguides PPW2, PPW3, and two phase shift zones 23a, 23b respectively arranged in the upper and lower walls of the first and fourth waveguides PPW1, PPW4.
  • a third and a fourth coupling zones 23c, 23d are respectively integrated in the second metal plate common to the first and second waveguides PPW1, PPW2 and in the fourth metal plate common to the third and fourth waveguides PPW3, PPW4.
  • the radiofrequency signals propagating in the two adjacent waveguides intersect and then exchange their propagation waveguide mutually, which allows you to group two by two signals that propagate initially in non-adjacent waveguides to couple them together.
  • the radiofrequency signals which propagate initially in the waveguides PPW2 and PPW3 are exchanged in the crossing zone 24 and then propagate, downstream of the crossing zone, respectively in the waveguides PPW3 and PPW2. They can therefore then be respectively coupled to the radio frequency signals which propagate in the waveguides PPW4 and PPW1.
  • phase shift, coupling and crossing zones are compact and therefore that the surface impedances are high.
  • the dimension of the phase shift, coupling and crossing zones is all the more reduced as the Butler matrix operates over a wider band and for higher incidences of radio frequency waves.
  • the Butler matrix can be produced according to a printed circuit technology using a multilayer composite structure comprising a stack of several layers consisting of etched and metallized substrates S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 possibly optionally separated by spacers E1, E2, E3, E4.
  • Each layer forms a waveguide comprising two metallized walls parallel to each other, each wall consisting of a metal coating 33 deposited on a dielectric substrate 32, the spacer located between two metallized walls being able to consist of air or comprise a material transparent to radio frequency waves, such as for example a honeycomb material, or a quartz material, or a material of Kevlar, or an expanded polymer foam.
  • the role of a spacer is to reduce propagation losses, but this spacer is not essential.
  • the metal coating 33 deposited on the substrate 32 is then equivalent to a metal plate 20.
  • the coupling zones 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d and crossing 24 between two adjacent waveguides then consist of a plurality of etched slots in the metallic coating, the slots being regularly distributed throughout the coupling zone, respectively throughout the crossing zone, the length of the crossing zone 24 being equal to twice the length of a coupling zone.
  • the phase shift zones are made up of metasurfaces, deposited on the metal coating, which modify the propagation delay of the radiofrequency waves.
  • the metasurfaces in the phase shift zone 23a, 23b of a waveguide, can, for example, consist of a set of metal pads, or of metal patches 30 periodically photo-etched by photolithography on the face internal of the dielectric substrate of the two walls of the corresponding waveguide.
  • the metal patches can for example be short-circuited by connecting them to the metal coating of the wall of the corresponding waveguide, by a metallized through hole 31 arranged in the corresponding dielectric substrate.
  • the distribution period of the metal patches equal to the distance between two adjacent metal patches, is less than the propagation wavelength of the radiofrequency waves in the waveguide with parallel metal walls.
  • the Butler matrix according to the invention constitutes a one-dimensional beam former when used alone.
  • the two-dimensional planar beam former comprises a Butler matrix 41 comprising N PPW waveguides with parallel plates, stacked one above the other, where N is an integer greater than three and chosen among the powers of two, for example, 4, 8, 16, 32 ..., and further comprises an optical device of the optical lens or reflector type.
  • N is an integer greater than three and chosen among the powers of two, for example, 4, 8, 16, 32 ...
  • the number N of waveguides PPW1, PPW2, PPW3, PPW4 is equal to 4.
  • the structure of the Butler matrix is identical to that represented on the Figures 3a and 3b .
  • the beam former comprises N optical lenses 42 respectively integrated in the N waveguides delimited by the N + 1 parallel metal plates.
  • the optical lenses 42 are arranged in the PPW waveguides, at the input of the Butler matrix 41, between feed horns 43 input of each waveguide and the Butler matrix 41, while on the figure 7 , the optical lenses 42 are arranged in the PPW waveguides at the outlet of the Butler matrix 41, between the Butler matrix and output horns 44.
  • Each optical lens 42 can for example be a dielectric lens whose dielectric permittivity is different from that of the propagation medium of the parallel plate waveguides PPW1, PPW2, PPW3, PPW4 (which is equal to 1 if the waveguides PPW1, ..., PPW4 are filled with air or equal to the permittivity of the substrate 32 in the case where the waveguides consist of a stack of layers of metallized and etched substrates).
  • Each optical lens 42 integrated in a parallel plate waveguide may have parabolic edges as shown on the PPW waveguide of the figure 8a , or be a variable thickness lens, or, to avoid discontinuities in shape, be a lens with straight edges, of constant thickness and with a refractive index gradient as shown on the PPW waveguide of the figure 8b , or any other type of optical lens with variable refractive index making it possible to phase the radiofrequency waves according to a predefined phase law.
  • planar beam former thus produced allows, with the Butler matrix 41, to synthesize beams in the XOZ plane perpendicular to the parallel plates and allows with the optical lens 42 to synthesize beams in the XOY plane parallel to the parallel plates without any discontinuity of propagation in the parallel plate waveguides and without using any interconnection or any connecting cable.
  • each PPW wave can be connected to several radiating output elements or to a single longitudinal radiating horn 44 coupled to a radiating linear opening.
  • the number M of feed horns 43 is equal to 7 per waveguide, i.e. M ⁇ N horns total input, equal to 28 for the four PPW waveguides.
  • a single longitudinal radiating horn 44 is used at the output of each PPW waveguide.
  • each radiating linear opening coupled to the longitudinal radiating horn 44 of outlet, extends transversely over the entire width D of the corresponding waveguide.
  • each radiating linear opening is oriented to radiate in a direction Z perpendicular to the plane XOY of the parallel plates but this is not essential, the linear openings could also be in the extension of the parallel plates.
  • the radiation plane of the longitudinal radiating horns is not in the extension of the parallel plates, but is folded relative to the parallel plates. Of course, this is not essential.
  • a longitudinal horn has the advantage of radiating energy over the entire opening width of the parallel plate waveguide, which makes it possible to produce an antenna with a large operating bandwidth and with a high beam-stripping capacity. formed and makes it possible to get rid of the lobes of networks.
  • the dimensions of the beam former including optical lenses are strongly constrained by the focal distance between each optical lens 42 and the input feed horns 43.
  • the optical lenses are arranged at the outlet of the Butler matrix as shown in the figure 7 , the focal distance required between each optical lens and the feed horns is advantageously used by the Butler matrix, which makes it possible to reduce the dimensions of the beam former which is then more compact.
  • the radiofrequency waves which propagate in the Butler matrix are no longer plane but cylindrical.
  • the figure 9 illustrates another embodiment of a two-dimensional planar beam former having no discontinuity in spread.
  • the planar beam former comprises 2N + 1 parallel plates 20 constituting the respective walls of 2N parallel plate waveguides distributed over two stages, respectively lower 50 and upper 51.
  • Each stage comprises N guides PPW technology wave, stacked on top of each other, where N is greater than three.
  • Each parallel plate waveguide PPW1, PPW2, PPW3, PPW4 of the lower stage is respectively connected in series to a parallel plate waveguide PPW8, PPW7, PPW6, PPW5 of the upper stage via a respective intermediate waveguide, with parallel plates PPWP1, PPWP2, PPWP3, PPWP4, arranged orthogonally to the plane XOY of the two stages of the beam former.
  • the parallel metal plates constituting the walls of each intermediate waveguide then form a reflector integrated in the beam former, as in a beam former of pillbox type.
  • the parallel metal plates constituting the walls of the intermediate waveguides may have a profile of selected shape, which may for example be of straight shape as illustrated in the figure 9 or of curved shape, for example of parabolic shape, as illustrated on the Figures 10a and 10b , which represent two stages, lower and upper, of a planar antenna comprising such a beam former.
  • the N waveguides PPW8, PPW7, PPW6, PPW5 of the upper stage are coupled together by a Butler matrix according to the invention and as described in conjunction with the Figures 3a and 3b .
  • each waveguide PPWP1, PPWP2, PPWP3, PPWP4 of the lower stage of the beam former with several radiating horns 43 supplying and leaving the matrix of Butler 41, to couple each waveguide PPW8, PPW7, PPW6, PPW5 of the upper stage to a longitudinal horn 44 of output coupled to a radiating linear opening extending transversely over the entire width D of the waveguide to corresponding metal plates, as shown on Figures 10a and 10b .
  • the invention For double polarization, for example circular operation, the invention consists in using two identical Butler matrices, respectively dedicated to each polarization, and stacked one above the other as shown in the figure 11 where each Butler matrix has four waveguides A, B, C, D and A ', B', C ', D', in PPW parallel plate waveguide technology.
  • Each Butler matrix being dedicated to one of the two polarizations, at the output of the beam former, the PPW waveguides operating in the same polarization are adjacent to each other.
  • the invention also consists in successively crossing adjacent waveguides chosen to group two by two, the waveguides of different polarizations.
  • the crossings are made by metasurfaces integrated in the metal plates common to two adjacent waveguides to cross, as explained in conjunction with the figure 3b . So in the example of the figure 11 , a first crossing is made between the waveguides D and A 'by a metasurface integrated in the fifth metal plate 5. Then two successive crossings are made respectively between the waveguides D and C and between the waveguides B and C by corresponding metasurfaces integrated in the fourth and third metal plates 4, 3.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
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Claims (14)

  1. Kompakte Butler-Matrix, beinhaltend N Hohlwellenleiter, wobei N eine Ganzzahl größer als drei und aus den Potenzen von zwei gewählt ist, Koppler (22a, 22b, 22c, 22d), welche konfiguriert sind, um zwei benachbarte Hohlwellenleiter zu koppeln, Phasenschieber (23a, 23b) und mindestens eine Kreuzungsvorrichtung (24), welche konfiguriert ist, um zwei benachbarte Hohlwellenleiter zu kreuzen, wobei die Kreuzungsvorrichtung (24) zwei in Reihe verbundene Koppler beinhaltet, wobei die Butler-Matrix aus einer mehrschichtigen planaren Struktur gebildet ist, beinhaltend N+1 zueinander parallele Metallplatten (20), welche übereinander gestapelt und in regelmäßigem Abstand voneinander angeordnet sind, wobei jeder Raum zwischen zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Metallplatten einen Hohlwellenleiter mit parallelen Platten (PPW1, PPW2, PPW3, PPW4) bildet, welche zwei gegenüberliegende Wände besitzt, jeweils eine obere und eine untere, gebildet aus zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Metallplatten, wobei zwei benachbarte Metallplatten-Hohlwellenleiter eine gemeinsame Wand besitzen, welche aus einer der Metallplatten gebildet ist, und
    wobei die Koppler (22a, 22b, 22c, 22d), die Phasenschieber (23a, 23b) und die Kreuzungsvorrichtung (24) aus Metaoberflächen bestehen, die in den jeweiligen Wänden (20) der zu koppelnden, zu kreuzenden und phasenzuverschiebenden Hohlwellenleiter, beziehungsweise in Kopplungs-, Kreuzungs- und Phasenverschiebungsbereichen, integriert sind.
  2. Butler-Matrix nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Metaoberflächen, welche jeden Koppler (22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) und die Kreuzvorrichtung (24) zwischen zwei benachbarten Hohlwellenleitern (PPW1, PPW2), (PPW2, PPW3), (PPW3, PPW4) bilden, aus einem metallisierten Träger (26) bestehen, welcher mit einer Vielzahl von Durchgangslöchern (25) versehen ist, welche in regelmäßigem Abstand in einem Kopplungsbereich bzw. einem Kreuzungsbereich der den beiden entsprechenden benachbarten Hohlwellenleitern gemeinsamen Wand verteilt sind, wobei der Kreuzungsbereich aus zwei Kopplungsbereichen besteht, welche kaskadenförmig hintereinander angeordnet sind.
  3. Butler-Matrix nach Anspruch 2, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die jeden Phasenschieber (23a, 23b), welcher in einem Hohlwellenleiter (PPW1), (PPW4) integriert ist, bildenden Metaoberflächen aus Korrugationen bestehen, welche in einem Phasenverschiebungsbereich an den beiden gegenüberliegenden Wänden des entsprechenden Hohlwellenleiters gebildet sind.
  4. Butler-Matrix nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass jede Metallplatte aus einer Metallbeschichtung (33) gebildet ist, welche auf einem dielektrischen Substrat (32) abgelagert ist und dadurch, dass jeder Koppler (22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) und die Kreuzungsvorrichtung (24) zwischen zwei benachbarten Hohlwellenleitern aus einer Vielzahl von in der Metallbeschichtung gravierten Schlitzen gebildet ist, wobei die Schlitze regelmäßig in dem gesamten Kopplungsbereich bzw. in dem gesamten Kreuzungsbereich verteilt sind, wobei der Kreuzungsbereich aus zwei kaskadenförmig hintereinander angeordneten Kopplungsbereichen gebildet ist.
  5. Butler-Matrix nach Anspruch 4, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass jeder Phasenschieber aus einer Gruppe von Metall-Patchs (30) besteht, welche in regelmäßigem Abstand in dem dielektrischen Substrat (32) der beiden Wände eines phasenzuverschiebenden Hohlwellenleiters fotogeätzt sind.
  6. Planarer Strahlformer, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass er mindestens eine Butler-Matrix (41) nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 5 beinhaltet.
  7. Planarer Strahlformer nach Anspruch 6, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass er zwei unterschiedliche, übereinander gestapelte Butler-Matrizen beinhaltet, welche jeweils für zwei unterschiedliche, zueinander rechtwinkligen Polarisationen vorgesehen sind.
  8. Planarer Strahlformer nach Anspruch 6, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass er zudem N optische Linsen (42) beinhaltet, welche jeweils am Ausgang einer jeden Butler-Matrix (41) in den durch die N+1 parallelen Metallplatten begrenzten N Hohlwellenleitern integriert sind.
  9. Planarer Strahlformer nach Anspruch 6, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass er zudem N optische Linsen (42) beinhaltet, welche jeweils am Eingang einer jeden Butler-Matrix (41) in den durch die N+1 Metallplatten begrenzten N Hohlwellenleitern integriert sind.
  10. Planarer Strahlformer nach einem der Ansprüche 8 oder 9, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass jede optische Linse (42) eine Linse mit konstanter Dicke und mit Index-Gradient ist.
  11. Planarer Strahlformer nach Anspruch 6, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass er zwei gestapelte Stufen beinhaltet, jeweils eine untere (50) und eine obere (51), wobei jede Stufe eine identische Anzahl an Hohlwellenleitern mit parallelen Platten beinhaltet, wobei jede Butler-Matrix (41) in der oberen Stufe (51) befindlich ist, wobei jeder Hohlwellenleiter mit parallelen Platten (PPW1, PPW2, PPW3, PPW4) der unteren Stufe (50) in Reihe mit einem Hohlwellenleiter mit parallelen Platten (PPW5, PPW6, PPW7, PPW8) der oberen Stufe (51) durch einen jeweiligen Zwischenhohlwellenleiter (PPWP1, PPWP2, PPWP3, PPWP4) verbunden ist, welcher parallele Metallplatten beinhaltet, welche rechtwinklig zur Ebene XOY der beiden Stufen, der unteren und der oberen, angeordnet sind, wobei die Metallplatten, welche die Wände eines jeden Zwischenhohlwellenleiters bilden, einen in dem Strahlformer integrierten Reflektor bilden.
  12. Flachantenne, beinhaltend mindestens eine Butler-Matrix nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 5, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass sie zudem M Speisungs-Hornstrahler (43) beinhaltet, welche am Eingang eines jeden Hohlwellenleiters mit parallelen Metallplatten (20) verbunden sind, d. h. M∗N Speisungs-Hornstrahler für die N Hohlwellenleiter mit parallelen Metallplatten, wobei M größer ist als 2, und N Ausgangs-Hornstrahler (44), welche jeweils mit den N Hohlwellenleitern mit parallelen Metallplatten verbunden sind.
  13. Flachantenne nach Anspruch 12, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass jeder Ausgangs-Hornstrahler (44) ein länglicher Horn ist, welcher mit einer linearen Strahlöffnung gekoppelt ist, welche sich quer über die gesamte Breite des entsprechenden Hohlwellenleiters mit parallelen Platten erstreckt.
  14. Flachantenne nach Anspruch 13, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die linearen Strahlöffnungen entlang einer Richtung rechtwinklig zur Ebene der parallelen Platten (20) des entsprechenden Hohlwellenleiters mit parallelen Platten ausgerichtet sind.
EP16161459.9A 2015-03-23 2016-03-21 Butler matrix compact, bi-dimensionales planare beam-former und planarantenne mit einer solchen butler matrix Active EP3073569B1 (de)

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US10840573B2 (en) 2017-12-05 2020-11-17 The United States Of America, As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force Linear-to-circular polarizers using cascaded sheet impedances and cascaded waveplates
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US9887458B2 (en) 2018-02-06

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