U.S. patent application number 13/994789 was filed with the patent office on 2015-10-22 for co-linear mm-wave phased array antenna with end-fire radiation pattern.
The applicant listed for this patent is Helen K. Pan. Invention is credited to Helen K. Pan.
Application Number | 20150303587 13/994789 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46828033 |
Filed Date | 2015-10-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150303587 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pan; Helen K. |
October 22, 2015 |
CO-LINEAR MM-WAVE PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA WITH END-FIRE RADIATION
PATTERN
Abstract
A system according to one embodiment includes a plurality of
phased array antennas, each of the plurality of phased array
antennas comprising a plurality of antenna elements, the plurality
of antenna elements configured in a linear array, wherein each of
the plurality of antenna elements generates an end-fire beam
pattern; and driver circuitry coupled to each of the plurality of
phased array antennas, the driver circuitry configured to provide a
phase offset between each of the plurality of phased array
antennas.
Inventors: |
Pan; Helen K.; (Saratoga,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Pan; Helen K. |
Saratoga |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
46828033 |
Appl. No.: |
13/994789 |
Filed: |
November 14, 2011 |
PCT Filed: |
November 14, 2011 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US11/60601 |
371 Date: |
January 28, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61452754 |
Mar 15, 2011 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
342/372 ;
342/371 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B 7/0413 20130101;
H05K 999/99 20130101; Y10T 29/49018 20150115; H01Q 3/34 20130101;
H01Q 21/064 20130101; H01Q 21/24 20130101; H01Q 1/2266 20130101;
H04B 7/10 20130101; H01Q 25/00 20130101; H01Q 7/00 20130101; H01Q
1/20 20130101; H01Q 21/067 20130101; H01Q 13/085 20130101; H01Q
3/36 20130101; H01Q 1/2291 20130101; H01Q 13/16 20130101; H01Q
21/0087 20130101; H01P 11/001 20130101; Y10T 29/49016 20150115 |
International
Class: |
H01Q 21/06 20060101
H01Q021/06; H01Q 1/22 20060101 H01Q001/22; H01Q 3/34 20060101
H01Q003/34 |
Claims
1. A system, comprising: a plurality of phased array antennas, each
of said plurality of phased array antennas comprising a plurality
of antenna elements, said plurality of antenna elements configured
in a linear array, wherein each of said plurality of antenna
elements generates an end-fire beam pattern; and driver circuitry
coupled to each of said plurality of phased array antennas, said
driver circuitry configured to provide a phase offset between each
of said plurality of phased array antennas.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said system is configured to
operate in a millimeter wave frequency range.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of antenna
elements are taper slot antennas.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of phased
array antennas is disposed on one of a plurality of printed circuit
board layers.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein said driver circuitry further
comprises a plurality of transceivers, said plurality of
transceivers configured to provide independently adjustable phase
delay to each of said plurality of antenna elements.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of transceivers
implement phased array beam scanning by controlling said adjustable
phase delay to each of said plurality of antenna elements.
7. The system of claim 4, further comprising a broadside phased
array antenna disposed on one of said plurality of printed-circuit
board layers, said broadside phased array antenna coupled to said
driver circuitry.
8. A method, comprising: configuring a plurality of antenna
elements in a linear array, wherein said linear array is a phased
array antenna and each of said plurality of antenna dements
generates an end-fire beam pattern; configuring a plurality of said
phased array antennas into a plurality of parallel layers; and
coupling driver circuitry to each of said plurality of phased array
antennas, said driver circuitry configured to provide a phase
offset between each of said plurality of phased array antennas.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising configuring said
plurality of phased array antennas and said driver circuitry to
operate in a millimeter wave frequency range.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein each of said plurality of
antenna elements are taper slot antennas.
11. The method of claim 8, further comprising disposing each of
said plurality of phased array antennas on one of a plurality of
printed circuit board layers.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising configuring a
plurality of transceivers associated with said driver circuitry to
provide independently adjustable phase delay to each of said
plurality of antenna elements.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising implementing phased
array beam scanning by controlling said adjustable phase delay to
each of said plurality of antenna elements.
14. An apparatus, comprising: a plurality of phased array antennas,
each of said plurality of phased array antennas comprising a
plurality of antenna elements, said plurality of antenna elements
configured in a linear array, wherein each of said plurality of
antenna elements generates an end-fire beam pattern; and driver
circuitry coupled to each of said plurality of phased array
antennas, said driver circuitry configured to provide a phase
offset between each of said plurality of phased array antennas.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said system is configured to
operate in a millimeter wave frequency range.
16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein each of said plurality of
antenna elements are taper slot antennas.
17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein each of said plurality of
phased array antennas is disposed on one of a plurality of printed
circuit board layers.
18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said driver circuitry
further comprises a plurality of transceivers, said plurality of
transceivers configured to provide independently adjustable phase
delay to each of said plurality of antenna elements.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said plurality of
transceivers implement phased array beam scanning by controlling
said adjustable phase delay to each of said plurality of antenna
elements.
20. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a broadside
phased array antenna disposed on one of said plurality of printed
circuit board layers, said broadside phased away antenna coupled to
said driver circuitry.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims the benefit of the filing
date of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/452,754, filed
Mar. 15, 2011, the entire disclosure of which is hereby
incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to millimeter wave (mm-wave)
phased array antennas, and more particularly, to co-linear mm-wave
phased array antennas with end-fire radiation patterns.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Electronic devices, such as laptops, tablets, notebooks,
netbooks, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones, for
example, increasingly tend to include a variety of wireless
communication capabilities. The wireless communication systems used
by these devices are expanding into the higher frequency ranges of
the communication spectrum, such as, for example, the millimeter
wave region and, in particular, the unlicensed 5-7 GHz wide
spectral band at 60 GHz. This expansion to higher frequencies is
driven in part by the requirement for increased data rate
communications used by applications such as high definition video,
for example, that require multi-gigbit data rates. Propagation
losses and attenuation tend to increase at these higher
frequencies, however, and it can become difficult to implement
antenna systems on the device platform that provide sufficient gain
to overcome these losses while providing the desired spatial
coverage along the sides of the platform. This is particularly true
as platform thicknesses decrease, as is the case with so-called
"ultra-thin" laptops and tablets where space along the edge may be
insufficient to deploy a conventional 3-dimensional antenna
structure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] Features and advantages of embodiments of the claimed
subject matter will become apparent as the following Detailed
Description proceeds, and upon reference to the Drawings, wherein
like numerals depict like parts, and in which:
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a system diagram of one exemplary
embodiment consistent with the present disclosure;
[0006] FIG. 2 illustrates a system diagram of another exemplary
embodiment consistent with the present disclosure;
[0007] FIG. 3 illustrates a system diagram of another exemplary
embodiment consistent with the present disclosure;
[0008] FIG. 4 illustrates a cross sectional view of one exemplary
embodiment consistent with the present disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 5 illustrates a system block diagram of one exemplary
embodiment consistent with the present disclosure; and
[0010] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of operations of one
exemplary embodiment consistent with the present disclosure.
[0011] Although the following Detailed Description will proceed
with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many
alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be
apparent to those skilled in the art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] Generally, this disclosure provides systems and methods for
achieving increased antenna gain and spatial coverage in the
mm-wave radio frequency (RF) range, particularly along the edges of
a device platform, by deploying co-linear mm-wave phased array
antennas with reduced thickness. The phased array antennas may
comprise taper slot antenna elements that radiate in the end-fire
direction, i.e., along the axis of the slot and in the plane of the
phased array antenna. The two linear phased arrays may be disposed
on the top and bottom layers of a circuit board or other type of
packaging. The two linear phased arrays may be fed by signals with
a 180 degree phase offset to reduce cross talk interference white
maintaining reduced separation between the layers. There may
optionally be more than two linear phased arrays and they may be
disposed on multiple layers. Deploying multiple linear phased array
antennas provides for increased antenna gain. The linear phased
array antennas may perform beam scanning in the end-fire direction
to further increase RF spatial coverage and directional gain. The
system may be configured to operate in the millimeter wave
(mm-wave) region of the RF spectrum and, in particular, the 60 GHz
region associated with the use of wireless personal area network
(WPAN) and wireless local area network (WLAN) communication
systems.
[0013] In some embodiments, the co-linear phased array antennas may
be operated with other phased array antennas deployed at other
locations on the device platform and some or all of these antennas
may optionally be integrated with a radio frequency integrated
circuit (RFIC) and a baseband integrated circuit (BBIC) an a
circuit board.
[0014] The term Personal basic service set Control Point (PCP) as
used herein, is defined as a station (STA) that operates as a
control point of the mm-wave network.
[0015] The term access point (AP) as used herein, is defined as any
entity that has STA functionality and provides access to the
distribution services, via the wireless medium (WM) for associated
STAs.
[0016] The term wireless network controller as used herein, is
defined as a station that operates as a PCP and/or as an AP of the
wireless network.
[0017] The term directional band (DBand) as used herein is defined
as any frequency band wherein the Channel starting frequency is
above 45 GHz.
[0018] The term DBand STA as used herein is defined as a STA whose
radio transmitter is operating on a channel that is within the
DBand.
[0019] The term personal basic service set (PBSS) as used herein is
defined as a basic service set (BSS) which forms an ad hoc
self-contained network, operates in the DBand, includes one PBSS
control point (PCP), and in which access to a distribution system
(DS) is not present but an intra-PBSS forwarding service is
optionally present.
[0020] The term scheduled service period (SP) as used herein is
scheduled by a quality of service (QoS) AP or a PCP. Scheduled SPs
may start at fixed intervals of time, if desired.
[0021] The terms "traffic" and/or "traffic stream(s)" as used
herein, are defined as a data flow and/or stream between wireless
devices such as STAs. The term "session" as used herein is defined
as state information kept or stored in a pair of stations that have
an established a direct physical link (e.g., excludes forwarding);
the state information may describe or define the session.
[0022] The term "wireless device" as used herein includes, for
example, a device capable of wireless communication, a
communication device capable of wireless communication, a
communication station capable of wireless communication, a portable
or non-portable device capable of wireless communication, or the
like. In some embodiments, a wireless device may be or may include
a peripheral device that is integrated with a computer, or a
peripheral device that is attached to a computer. In some
embodiments, the terms "wireless device" may optionally include a
wireless service.
[0023] It should be understood that the present invention may be
used in a variety of applications. Although, the present invention
is not limited in this respect, the circuits and techniques
disclosed herein may be used in many apparatuses such as stations
of a radio system. Stations intended to be included within the
scope of the present invention include, by way of example only,
WLAN stations, wireless personal network (WPAN), and the like.
[0024] Types of WPLAN stations intended to be within the scope of
the present invention include, although are not limited to,
stations capable of operating as a multi-band stations, stations
capable of operating as PCP, stations capable of operating as an
SAP, stations capable of operating as DBand stations, mobile
stations, access points, stations for receiving and transmitting
spread spectrum signals such as, for example, Frequency Hopping
Spread Spectrum (FHSS), Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS),
Complementary Code Keying (CCK), Orthogonal Frequency-Division
Multiplexing (OFDM) and the like.
[0025] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various
devices and systems, for example, a video device, an audio device,
an audio-video (A/V) device, a Set-Top-Box (STB), a Blu-ray disc
(BD) player, a BD recorder, a Digital Video Disc (DVD) player, a
High Definition (HD) DVD player, a DVD recorder, a HD DVD recorder,
a Personal Video Recorder (PVR), a broadcast HD receiver, a video
source, an audio source, a video sink, an audio sink, a stereo
tuner, a broadcast radio receiver, a display, a flat panel display,
a Personal Media Player (PMP), a digital video camera (DVC), a
digital audio player, a speaker, an audio receiver, an audio
amplifier, a data source, a data sink, a Digital Still camera
(DSC), a Personal Computer (PC), a desktop computer, a mobile
computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet
computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld
device, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld PDA
device, an on-board device, on off-board device, a hybrid device, a
vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable
device, a consumer device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a
wireless communication station, a wireless communication device, a
wireless AP, a wired or wireless router, a wired or wireless modem,
a wired or wireless network, a wireless area network, a Wireless
Video Are Network (WVAN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a WLAN, a
PAN, a WPAN, devices and/or networks operating in accordance with
existing WirelessHDTM and/or Wireless-Gigabit-Alliance (WGA)
specifications and/or future versions and/or derivatives thereof,
devices and/or networks operating in accordance with existing IEEE
802.11 (IEEE 802.11-2007: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC)
and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications) standards and amendments
("the IEEE 802.11 standards"), IEEE 802.16 standards, and/or future
versions and/or derivatives thereof, units and/or devices which are
part of the above networks, one way and/or two-way radio
communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communication
systems, Wireless-Display (WiDi) device, a cellular telephone, a
wireless telephone, a Personal Communication Systems (PCS) device,
a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a
mobile or portable Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a device
which incorporates a GPS receiver or transceiver or chip, a device
which incorporates an RFID element or chip, a Multiple Input
Multiple Output (MIMO) transceiver or device, a Single Input
Multiple Output (SIMO) transceiver or device, a Multiple Input
Single Output (MISO) transceiver or device, a device having one or
more internal antennas and/or external antennas, Digital Video
Broadcast (DVB) devices or systems, multi-standard radio devices or
systems, a wired or wireless handheld device (e.g. BlackBerry, Palm
Treo), a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) device, or the
like.
[0026] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more
types of wireless communication signals and/or systems, for
example, Radio Frequency (RF), Infra Red (IR), Frequency-Division
Multiplexing (FDM), Orthogonal FDM (OFDM), Time-Division
Multiplexing (TDM), Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Extended
TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), extended GPRS,
Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA
2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, Multi-Carrier
Modulation (MDM), Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT), Bluetooth.RTM., Global
Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee.TM., Ultra-Wideband
(UWB), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G,
3.5G. Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), or the like.
Other embodiments may be used in various other devices, systems
and/or networks.
[0027] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with suitable
limited-range or short-range wireless communication networks, for
example, "piconets", e.g., a wireless area network, a WVAN, a WPAN,
and the like.
[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates a system diagram 100 of one exemplary
embodiment consistent with the present disclosure. Platform 102 is
shown as a laptop computer, in both a closed and open position, in
this illustration, but it may be any device including a notebook,
notebook, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, network
hub or any device for which wireless communication capability may
be desired. A co-linear phased array antenna 106 with an end-fire
radiation pattern is shown to be located along the upper edge of
open laptop lid 104. Alternatively, or additionally, phased array
antenna 106 may be located at the rear end of the base of platform
102 as shown in the illustration of closed laptop lid 104. Phased
array antenna 106 may be located at any suitable position on the
platform 102, particularly along one or more of the edges, and
there may be any number of such antennas. The co-linear phased
array antenna 106 comprises two parallel 1.times.8 linear arrays.
Although only the radiating edge of the co-linear phase array
antenna 106 is shown in this figure, the plane of the co-linear
phased array antenna 106 extends downward through the laptop lid
104 and is parallel to the plane of the laptop lid 104, in the
illustration of the open laptop lid 104. The term "end-fire
radiation pattern" indicates that the antenna beam pattern lies in
the plane of the phased array antenna, which in this case is
parallel to the plane of the laptop lid 104.
[0029] The number of co-linear phase array antennas 106 and their
placement may be chosen, for example, based on RF requirements such
as spatial coverage including scan directions, antenna gain and
bandwidth, as well as other design and/or manufacturing
considerations. In some embodiments, co-linear phased array
antennas 106 may be disposed on interior surfaces or portions of
platform 102.
[0030] Co-linear phased array antenna 106 may comprise a number of
antenna elements 108 which may be taper-slot antennas, Yagi
antennas, folded dipole antennas, bending dipole antennas, monopole
antennas or any other suitable type of antenna element.
[0031] Also shown in FIG. 1 are exemplary antenna beam patterns 110
generated by co-linear phased array antenna 106. The beam patterns
110 may be scanned through directed angles to cover increased
spatial areas over the edge of the platform 102. Although only one
beam 110 is shown for illustrative purposes, in practice, the
phased array antenna may generate a beam that is scanned or steered
through many more positions by incrementally adjusting the relative
phases of the antenna elements to repeatedly sweep the beam through
an are of desired coverage as will be explained in greater detail
below.
[0032] Also shown in FIG. 1 is an RFIC module 112 electrically
coupled to co-linear phased array antenna 106 through electrical
connection 114. The operation of RFIC module 112 will be explained
in greater detail below.
[0033] FIG. 2 is a system diagram 200 of another exemplary
embodiment consistent with the present disclosure. FIG. 2 shows
platform 102, co-linear phased array antenna 106 located along the
upper edge of laptop lid 104, and RFIC module 112 as in FIG. 1.
Additionally, FIG. 2 shows a single linear 1.times.8 phased array
antenna 202 with an associated end-fire beam pattern 208 on one
edge of the laptop lid 104. A second single linear 1.times.8 phased
array antenna 204 with an associated end-fire beam pattern 210 may
be located on the other edge of the laptop lid 104. A third phased
array antenna 206 is also shown with a broadside radiation pattern
212. The term "broadside radiation pattern" indicates that the
antenna beam pattern is directed perpendicular, or normal, to the
plane of the phased array antenna. In this case phased array
antenna 206 is a planar array disposed on the laptop lid 104 and is
therefore parallel to the plane of the laptop lid 104 with
broadside radiation pattern 212 directed perpendicularly outward
from the laptop lid 104.
[0034] Phased array antennas 108, 202, 204 and 206 may all be
electrically coupled to RFIC module 112. The combination of phased
array antennas 108, 202, 204 and 206 may provide near
onmi-directional coverage for the platform 102, i.e., front, top
and side beam scanning coverage. The number of phased array
antennas, as well as their location and type (broadside, end-fire,
etc.), may again be chosen, for example, based on RF requirements
such as spatial coverage including scan directions, antenna gain
and bandwidth, as well as other design and/or manufacturing
considerations.
[0035] FIG. 3 is a system diagram 300 showing another exemplary
embodiment consistent with the present-disclosure. FIG. 3
illustrates the co-linear phased array antenna 106 with end-fire
radiation pattern comprising antenna elements 108 is greater
detail. A first and second planar phased array antenna, 302 and 304
respectively, comprise antenna elements 108 arranged in a
1.times.10 linear pattern, although any number of elements may be
used. Generally the gain of the antenna increases as the number of
antenna elements increase.
[0036] Antenna elements 108 may be taper slot antennas which
radiate in the end-fire direction, i.e., along the axis of the slot
308 which is in the plane of the phased array antennas 302, 304. In
some embodiments, antenna elements 108 may be Yagi antennas, folded
dipole antennas, bending dipole antennas, monopole antennas or any
other suitable type of antenna element.
[0037] In some embodiments, the antenna elements 108 that are
configured in a phased array 302, 304 may comprise dummy antenna
elements 310 at some or all of the edges of the phased array 302,
304. The edge antenna elements 310 may generally be located at the
end of the transmission line that couples the driver, to be
discussed below, to the antenna elements 108. The dummy antenna
elements 310 may be termination load resistors that reduce
reflections of the RF signal at the end of the transmission line by
providing termination impedance that is matched to the
characteristic impedance of the transmission line. This may
increase the stability of the frequency and bandwidth properties of
the phased array as it scans the beam through different angles.
[0038] The first and second planar phased array antennas, 302 and
304 may be stacked, one over the other, in parallel planes with a
spacing 306 that, in some embodiments, may be in the range of 400
to 500 micrometers. The first and second planar phased army
antennas, 302 and 304, may be electrically coupled to driver
circuitry, such as RFIC 112, with a 180 degree phase offset between
each antenna 302 and 304. The phase offset may increase electrical
isolation and reduce crosstalk interference between the antennas
302 and 304.
[0039] Planar phased array antennas 302, 304 may be disposed on
opposite sides of a printed circuit board (PCB) or other form of
antenna packaging. In some embodiments, more than two planar phased
array antennas may be deployed, for example to further increase
gain. In such a configuration, each of the planar phased array
antennas may be disposed on a given layer of a multi-layer PCB and
each of the planar phased array antennas may be driven by
electrically coupled signals from RFIC 112 with alternating 180
degree phase offsets for each layer to increase isolation and
reduce crosstalk interference between antenna layers.
[0040] FIG. 4 illustrates a cross sectional view 400 of one
exemplary embodiment consistent with the present disclosure. Shown,
are BBIC/RFIC module 402, planar phased array antennas 302, 304,
circuit board 406 and signal routing layers 408, 410. BBIC/RFIC
modulo 402 may be electrically coupled to signal routing layers
408, 410 through flip-chip connection points 404. Flip-chip
connections, which are also known as "controlled collapse chip
connections," are a method of connecting ICs to external circuitry
with solder bumps that are deposited on chip pads located on the
top side of the chip. Daring the connection process, the chip is
flipped onto the external circuitry such that the top side of the
chip faces down and the solder pads on the chip align with the
solder pads on the external circuitry. Solder may then be flowed to
complete the connection.
[0041] Signal routing layer 408, 410 include electrical traces or
transmission lines (not shown) coupling BBIC/RFIC module 402 to
each of the antenna elements 108 of planar phased array antennas
302, 304 disposed on the circuit board 406.
[0042] In some embodiments, the circuit board 406 may employ
standard PCB laminate technologies (e.g., the National Electrical
Manufacturing Association (NEMA) FR-4 standard), including low loss
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) materials, for reduced manufacturing
cost. In some embodiments, for example where the platform is a
mobile device, circuit board 406 may be a plug-in card including a
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) express connector.
[0043] In a preferred embodiment, a single BBIC/RFIC module 402 may
drive multiple phased army antennas 106, 202, 204, 206. The use of
a single BBIC/RFIC module 402 may permit reduction in cost, power
consumption and space consumption. The RFIC may be implemented in
silicon complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (Si CMOS)
technology or other suitable technologies.
[0044] FIG. 5 illustrates a system block diagram 500 of one
exemplary embodiment consistent with the present disclosure. Shown
am BBIC/RFIC module 402 and antenna elements 108, which may be
configured as phased array antenna elements. The BBIC/RFIC module
402 may be a bidirectional circuit, configured to both transmit and
receive. In the transmit direction, an IF signal 504 may be
provided from BBIC 502. An RF carrier is generated by RF carrier
generator 508 and mixed with IF signal 504 by mixer 506 to
tip-convert the IF signal 504 to an RF signal. Mixer 506 may be a
passive bi-directional mixer. The RF signal may be amplified by
bi-directional amplifier 510 and then coupled to one or more phased
array antenna systems 522 (only one shown). The phased array
antenna system 522 transmits the RF signal in a scanned beam
pattern, the direction of which is adjustable. To accomplish this,
the RF signal is split by splitter/summer 514 and fed to a
plurality of transceivers 516. Each transceiver 516 is configured
with a phase shifter 518 capable of independently adjusting the
phase of the split RF signal being fed to that transceiver 516. The
phase shifted RF signal is further amplified by power amplifier
(PA) 520 and fed to the antenna element 314 associated with the
transceiver 516.
[0045] The phase shifter 518 may be under the control of phased
array controller 524, which controls the amount and timing of the
phase shift adjustments for each transceiver 516. By independently
adjusting the phase of each of the split RF signals transmitted
through each antenna element 108, a pattern of constructive and
destructive interference may be generated between the antenna
elements 108 that results in a beam pattern of a desired shape that
can be steered to a particular direction. By varying the phase
adjustments in real-time, the resultant transmit beam pattern can
be scanned through a desired range of directions. In some
embodiments the phased array controller 524 may be a general
purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), programmable
logic or firmware.
[0046] A similar process may operate in the receive direction. Each
antenna element 108 receives an RF signal which is processed by
associated transceiver 516, where it is amplified by low noise
amplifier (LNA) 520 and phase shifted by phase shifter 518 under
control of phased array controller 524. The outputs of each
transceiver 516 are summed by splitter/summer 514. Received RF
signals arriving from different directions generally reach each of
antenna elements 108 at different times. Phase shifting, which is
equivalent to time shifting, may be employed to time align the
received RF signals arriving from a particular direction while
leaving received RF signals arriving from other directions
unaligned. The summation of these RF signals by splitter/summer 514
results in a gain for the time aligned components associated with
signals arriving from that particular direction. This results in a
beam pattern gain in that direction. By varying the phase
adjustments in real-time, the resultant receive beam pattern can be
scanned through a desired range of directions.
[0047] The received RF signal from phased array antenna system 522
may be further amplified by bi-directional amplifier 510 and then
mixed by mixer 506 with the RF carrier generated by RF carrier
generator 508 to down-convert the RF signal to an output IF signal
504 which is sent to BBIC 502 for baseband processing.
[0048] In some embodiments, the system is configured to operate on
RF signals in the frequency range from 57-60 GHz and IF signals in
the frequency range from 11.4-13.2 GHz. Baseband signals may be in
the approximate range of 2 GHz.
[0049] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of operations 600 of one
exemplary embodiment consistent with the present disclosure. At
operation 610, a plurality of antenna elements are configured in a
linear array such that the linear array is a phased array antenna
and each of the plurality of antenna elements generates an end-fire
beam pattern. At operation 620, a plurality of phased array
antennas arc configured into a plurality of parallel layers. At
operation 630, driver circuitry is coupled to each of the plurality
of phased array antennas. The driver circuitry is configured to
provide a phase offset between each of the plurality of phased
array antennas.
[0050] Embodiments of the methods described herein may be
implemented in a system that includes one or more storage mediums
having stored thereon, individually or in combination, instructions
that when executed by one or more processors perform the methods.
Here, the processor may include, for example, a system CPU (e.g.,
core processor) and/or programmable circuitry. Thus, it is intended
that operations according to the methods described herein may be
distributed across a plurality of physical devices, such as
processing structures at several different physical locations.
Also, it is intended that the method operations may be performed
individually or in a subcombination, as would be understood by one
skilled in the art. Thus, not all of the operations of each of the
flow charts need to be performed, and the present disclosure
expressly intends that all subcombinations of such operations are
enabled as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the
art.
[0051] The storage medium may include any type of tangible medium,
for example, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical
disks, compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), compact disk
rewritables (CD-RWs), digital versatile disks (DVDs) and
magneto-optical disks, semiconductor devices such as read-only
memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs) such as dynamic and
static RAMs, erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs),
electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs),
flash memories, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media
suitable for storing electronic instructions.
[0052] "Circuitry" as used in any embodiment herein, may comprise,
for example, singly or in any combination, hardwired circuitry,
programmable circuitry, state machine circuitry, and/or firmware
that stores instructions executed by programmable circuitry.
[0053] The terms and expressions which have been employed herein
are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there
is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of
excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described (or
portions thereof), and it is recognized that various modifications
are possible within the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the
claims are intended to cover all such equivalents. Various
features, aspects, and embodiments have been described herein. The
features, aspects, and embodiments are susceptible to combination
with one another as well as to variation and modification, as will
be understood by those having skill in the art. The present
disclosure should, therefore, be considered to encompass such
combinations, variations, and modifications.
* * * * *