Millimeter-wave antennas

With the continually increasing demand for bandwidth, and the development of components for higher and higher frequencies, millimeter-wave systems are finding numerous applications of a commercial nature rather than being limited to military and scientific applications only. Since active device performance deteriorates with increasing frequency, the performance of the antenna becomes critical as we go higher into the millimeter-wave band. This paper presents a review of some of the recent developments in the field of millimeter-wave antennas. Finally, some details of a specific antenna for imaging are given, illustrating the benefits and challenges of fabricating such antennas.     

微波毫米波平面共口径天线北大核心CSCD

随着无线通讯和雷达成像等现代无线系统的迅速发展和广泛应用,人们对系统前端的天线提出了更多的需求。共口径天线将多种不同频带或不同功能的天线集成在同一口径,通过在有限口径内对天线单元进行合理布局,显著提高空间利用效率,并在不同天线之间实现高隔离,确保各天线独立工作。根据辐射口径分布情况,共口径天线设计方法可以分为:嵌套技术、交错技术和复用技术。与立体型共口径天线相比,平面共口径天线具有尺寸小、重量轻、成本低、易于集成等优点。本文介绍了微波毫米波平面共口径天线的研究现状,重点介绍了基于交错技术和复用技术的毫米波平面共口径天线,并对共口径天线技术的发展进行了展望。     

Millimeter-wave generation and characterization of a GaAs FET byoptical mixing

Coherent mixing of optical radiation from a tunable continuous-wave dye laser and a stabilized He-Ne laser was used to generate millimeter-wave signals in GaAs FETs attached to printed-circuit millimeter-wave antennas. The generated signal was further down-converted to a 2-GHz IF by an antenna-coupled millimeter-wave local oscillator at 62 GHz. Detailed characterizations of power and S/N under different bias conditions have been performed. This technique is expected to allow signal generation and frequency-response evaluation of millimeter-wave devices at frequencies as high as 100 GHz     

An X-band experimental model of a millimeter-waveinterinjection-locked phased array system

An interinjection-locked 10 GHz model of a millimeter-wave phased-array system has been built and tested. It has been successfully demonstrated that this novel technique can be used to control limited-scan phased-array antennas. A beam shift of ±5° has been achieved with only one phase shifter in a four-oscillator system. Adaptability to monolithic fabrication and a reduction in the number of phase shifters required make this method attractive for use at millimeter-wave frequencies     

Conical Double-Dielectric Fresnel Zone Lens and Antenna

A conical double-dielectric phase-reversal Fresnel-zone plate (FZP) lens is introduced. We present the lens design equations as functions of cone opening angle. As an example, the phase-reversal lens has been applied to four millimeter-wave antennas with different lens opening semi-angles: 45deg, 60deg, and 75deg (conical lenses) and 90deg (plane lens). The radiation characteristics of these antennas have been calculated and contrasted one-to-another, and to those with the same semi-angles and linear dimensions binary (half-open) FZP lens antennas. The double-dielectric FZP conical arrangement can serve as a conical antenna lens and a radome simultaneously     

Microstrip antennas

Microstrip antennas have been one of the most innovative topics in antenna theory and design in recent years, and are increasingly finding application in a wide range of modern microwave systems. This paper begins with a brief overview of the basic characteristics of microstrip antennas, and then concentrates on the most significant developments in microstrip antenna technology that have been made in the last several years. Emphasis is on new antenna configurations for improved electrical performance and manufacturability and on advances in the analytical modeling of microstrip antennas and arrays     

CPW-fed stacked microstrip antennas

This paper presents a systematic parameter study of aperture-coupled stacked patch antennas fed by coplanar waveguide. These antennas are to be used at millimeter-wave frequencies in the 30-GHz range. The influence of the most important design parameters, such as patch dimensions, aperture dimensions, and substrate thicknesses, was studied extensively. It has been found that these antennas can easily be impedance-matched by tuning the dimensions of the excitation slot and adding a small tuning stub. In this way, an antenna element with a -10 dB impedance bandwidth of 36.8% has been designed. Furthermore, the results of this parameter study have allowed to formulate some general guidelines concerning the design of this type of antenna element.     

Through-the-Wall Surveillance With Millimeter-Wave LFMCW Radars

The use of millimeter-wave radars allows a weight and size reduction of circuits and antennas, which is an important characteristic for Through-the-Wall Surveillance (TWS) applications. Furthermore, when using the millimeter-wave band, a large amount of bandwidth can be easily transmitted, given that the relative bandwidth is smaller. This leads to a high range resolution that allows for the discrimination of several targets that are very close in range, e.g., inside a room. The azimuth resolution is also improved due to the availability in this band of directive antennas with small dimensions. This paper studies the feasibility of using a millimeter-wave linear frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar in a TWS application. A TWS experiment in a real scenario has been done to demonstrate the validity of the theoretical analysis.      

Role of radar in microwaves

Radar has been highly influenced by the technology of microwaves, and likewise the development of microwaves has been significantly affected by the needs of radar. This paper addresses the relation between the two. It begins by briefly describing the introduction of microwave radar in World War II that was a major factor in the Allies achieving success in air defense and antisubmarine warfare. Microwave radar developments during and after the war are reviewed, along with a listing of current military and civilian applications. The dependence of modern radar on digital processing (with clock rates at microwave frequencies), high-power transmitters, and sophisticated antennas is discussed. The paper concludes by mentioning possible future directions for radar, and briefly describes two examples of future radar system opportunities. These are the ubiquitous radar and high-power transportable millimeter-wave radar based on the gyroklystron amplifier. The message is that microwaves and radar have mutually benefited from one another and that radar still offers many opportunities for microwave engineers to demonstrate their ingenuity and creativity     

Micromachined microstrip patch antenna with controlled mutualcoupling and surface waves

Silicon micromachining has been used to demonstrate the possibility of building high performance microwave and millimeter-wave antennas. To suppress higher order substrate modes and increase the bandwidth of a patch antenna, silicon substrate has been used and material has been selectively removed under the patch area. In addition, the effect of etched grooves around a patch element has been studied for performance improvement, it has been shown that micromachined substrate structure can effectively suppress unwanted surface wave modes resulting in improved radiation efficiency. Moreover, effective dielectric constant curves for the shielded micromachined substrates are provided for accurate design of patch antennas. We have demonstrated that mutual coupling between the radiating patch elements due to surface waves can be controlled using various micromachined substrate configurations     

毫米波雷达自适应门限点云成像方法研究

毫米波雷达作为一种重要的车载传感器,在自动驾驶领域得到了广泛地应用。近年来随着汽车智能化程度的提高,高质量雷达点云的生成受到了人们的极大关注。传统毫米波雷达点云成像由于存在杂波点太多、有效点云稀疏等缺点而限制了其在自动驾驶领域的发展。因此,如何提高毫米波雷达点云密度和质量成为了业界研究的重点问题。近年来,随着多输入多输出（MIMO）技术以及控制多片级联同步技术的成熟,使得毫米波雷达天线的角度分辨率得到了极大提升,推动了毫米波雷达在点云成像上的发展。在此基础上,本文设计了一套完整的毫米波雷达系统级点云成像算法,并使用TI公司的AWR2243级联雷达开发套件对实际场景进行数据采集,生成了较为致密可信的毫米波雷达三维点云图像,基本实现了对车载平台侧面场景的有效还原。     

MMIC development for millimeter-wave space application

The latest millimeter-wave monolithic-microwave integrated-circuit (MMIC) developments and technologies at the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Kanagawa, Japan, concerning high power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers and phase shifters have been summarized. It has been shown that high-efficiency, low-noise, and low-loss performance for millimeter-wave space applications can be achieved by employing pseudomorphic high electron-mobility transistor (p-HEMT) MMIC technology. The investigation for gamma-ray irradiation hardness has cleared that millimeter wave p-HEMT MMICs have over a 100 years of life against gamma-ray irradiation in the space environment     

低耗低剖面单层波导阵列天线研究

新型单层波导阵列天线具有低耗、低剖面、结构紧凑、实用性强等诸多优点, 在毫米波甚至太赫兹无线通信领域具有巨大应用潜力, 是当前的研究热点。 文章首先介绍了用于构建波导阵列天线的几类波导馈电网络的特点, 指出E 面波导馈电网络在毫米波应用领域的优势,接着针对E 面波导在单层并馈波导阵列天线和Butler矩阵多波束阵列天线方面的研究展开叙述,最后给出了可应用在单层波导阵列天线中的开口波导辐射单元在实现多频和圆极化等不同功能上的最新研究进展。 文章对于低耗低剖面单层波导阵列天线的发展及其应用具有参考价值。     

Single- and dual-polarized millimeter-wave slot-ring antennas

Single- and dual-polarized dielectric lens-supported slot-ring antennas have been developed for operation at millimeter-wave frequencies. The antennas are fed with a coplanar waveguide (CPW) to be compatible with uniplanar mixers and low-noise amplifiers, and the feedline is shown to have a minimal effect on the antenna performance. The measured antenna patterns agree well with theoretical results and have symmetric main beams, low sidelobe levels (<-15 dB), low cross polarization (<-20 dB), and 27 dB directivity. A 2×2 array of single-polarized slot-ring antennas for monopulse applications demonstrates excellent patterns at 94 GHz with -3 dB crossover power levels in both elevation and azimuth scans. The dual-polarized slot ring antenna patterns are nearly identical to those of the single-polarized antenna, and two-port isolation is as low as -25 dB. The dielectric lens-supported slot-ring antenna is an excellent candidate for compact, low-cost millimeter-wave systems with fixed or variable polarization capabilities     

Millimeter-wave and terahertz integrated circuit antennas

A comprehensive review of integrated circuit antennas suitable for millimeter and terahertz applications is presented. A great deal of research was done on integrated circuit antennas in the last decade, and many of the problems associated with electrically thick dielectric substrates, such as substrate modes and poor radiation patterns, have been understood and solved. Several antennas, such as the integrated horn antenna, the dielectric-filled parabola, the Fresnel plate antenna, the dual-slot antenna, and the log-periodic and spiral antennas on extended hemispherical lenses, which have resulted in excellent performance at millimeter-wave frequencies, are covered in detail. A review of the efficiency definitions used with planar antennas is included     

Millimeter-wave imaging using FET detectors integrated with printed circuit antennas

The application of field effect transistor (FET) detectors integrated with planar twin dipole microstrip antennas to millimeter-wave imaging has been demonstrated. Circuits were configured as practical heterodyne mixers, as elements in a 2×3 element planar focal plane array for imaging, and as receivers in frequency modulated (FM) radars for three-dimensional imaging, at 63 GHz. These experiments show that quasioptical circuits, using conventional present-day FETs and simple printed circuit construction, can be applied usefully in the millimeter-wave region.     

Dielectric image line groove antennas for millimeter waves, Part II: Experimental verification

In the first part of this paper the theory of radiation from discontinuities in the ground plane of a dielectric image line has been described. In this second part experimental verifications of the radiation theory as well as millimeter-wave antennas realized on the basis of the theory are described. In the antennas slots and holes in the ground plane of the dielectric image line are used as discontinuities. Experimental results for the radiation characteristics are discussed.     

平面带隙结构在微波和毫米波集成电路中的应用

介绍了平面带隙结构在微波集成电路应用方面的最新进展。光子带隙(PBG)结构是具有带阻特性的周期结构,最初应用于光学领域,后来扩展到其他领域。目前从可见光到红外都有研究,在微波和毫米波频段也有应用。PBG结构可以采用金属、介质、铁磁或铁电物质植入衬底材料,或者直接由各种材料周期性排列而成。目前国内外所提出的光子带隙结构多种多样,一维和二维的平面带隙结构由于易于实现且便于集成,因而在微波毫米波集成电路中得到了广泛的应用。     

The development of inflatable array antennas

Inflatable array antennas are being developed to significantly reduce the mass, the launch vehicle stowage volume, and the cost of future spacecraft systems. Three inflatable array antennas, previously developed for spacecraft applications, are a 3.3 m×1.0 m L-band synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) array, a 1.0 m-diameter X-band telecom reflectarray, and a 3 m-diameter Ka-band telecom reflectarray. All three antennas are similar in construction, and each consists of an inflatable tubular frame that supports and tensions a multi-layer thin-membrane RF radiating surface with printed microstrip patches, The L-band SAR array achieved a bandwidth of 80 MHz, an aperture efficiency of 74%, and a total mass of 15 kg. The X-band reflectarray achieved an aperture efficiency of 37%, good radiation patterns, and a total mass of 1.2 kg (excluding the inflation system). The 3 m Ka-band reflectarray achieved a surface flatness of 0.1 mm RMS, good radiation patterns, and a total mass of 12.8 kg (excluding the inflation system). These antennas demonstrated that inflatable arrays are feasible across the microwave and millimeter-wave spectrum. Further developments of these antennas are deemed necessary, in particular, in the area of qualifying the inflatable structures for space-environment usage