CN119301816A

CN119301816A - Cavity slot antenna device and wireless communication device

Info

Publication number: CN119301816A
Application number: CN202280096713.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 雷斯蒂·蒙托亚·莫雷诺; 珍妮·伊尔沃宁; 托莫·卡塔亚马基
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-07-12
Filing date: 2022-07-12
Publication date: 2025-01-10
Also published as: WO2024012659A1; EP4526949A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an antenna device, which includes a low band (LB) cavity slot antenna and a high band (HB) cavity slot antenna on a single dielectric substrate. The LB cavity slot antenna includes an LB resonant cavity and one or more 3D slots extending through the top surface and side surfaces of the LB resonant cavity. The HB cavity slot antenna includes an HB resonant cavity and one or more 2D slots extending through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity. Each of the LB cavity slot antenna and the HB cavity slot antenna can be fed by one or more feeding elements. The antenna device can operate efficiently in both HB and LB of the radio spectrum. Due to the one or more 3D slots, the size of the LB cavity slot antenna can be reduced (without affecting the performance of the antenna device), so that the antenna device can be integrated into the housing of a handheld electronic device.

Description

Cavity slot antenna device and wireless communication device

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to the field of antennas for radiating radio waves. In particular, the present invention relates to a cavity slot antenna device for operating in the High Band (HB) and Low Band (LB) of the radio spectrum, and to a wireless communication device.

Background

Electronic devices often include different antennas that support wireless communications in different frequency bands (e.g., cellular frequency bands). In order to meet consumer demand for compact and aesthetically pleasing electronic devices, device manufacturers are constantly striving to miniaturize antennas. At the same time, device manufacturers have also been working to ensure that antennas operate efficiently in one or more frequency bands of interest and do not interfere with nearby circuitry in the electronic device. For example, if careless, a small antenna or an antenna shaped to fit within the limited housing of an electronic device may exhibit poor performance or create radio frequency interference.

Currently, the volume of antenna arrays in handheld electronic devices is very limited (e.g., 22 x3 x 1mm 3). The limited volume places stringent requirements on the size of the antenna array. This requirement may be particularly difficult to meet for non-planar cavity slot antennas (also known as back cavity slot antennas). Further, miniaturization of the antenna also causes problems such as limited performance, low isolation, poor cross polarization ratio, and the like.

Thus, there remains a need for a cavity slot antenna that is sized for a limited volume in a handheld electronic device while exhibiting suitable performance in different bands of the radio spectrum (e.g., HB and/LB).

Disclosure of Invention

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cavity slot antenna that is sized to be integrated in a handheld electronic device (e.g., a smart phone) and for efficient operation in HB and LB in the radio spectrum.

The above object is achieved by the features of the independent claims of the enclosed patent claims. Other embodiments and examples are apparent in the dependent claims, the detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

According to a first aspect, an antenna arrangement is provided. The antenna device includes a dielectric substrate, and an LB antenna element and an HB antenna element disposed adjacent to each other on the dielectric substrate. The LB antenna element comprises an LB resonant cavity and one or more LB feed elements coupled to the LB resonant cavity. The LB resonant cavity has a top surface, a side surface, and one or more slits extending through each of the top surface and the side surface of the LB resonant cavity. The HB antenna element includes a HB resonant cavity and one or more HB feed elements coupled to the HB resonant cavity. The HB resonant cavity has a top surface, side surfaces, and one or more slits extending through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity. The antenna device thus configured can efficiently operate in both HB and LB of the radio spectrum. Furthermore, since the LB resonant cavity is provided with one or more 3D slots each extending through the top and side surfaces of the LB resonant cavity, the size of the LB antenna element (without affecting the performance of the antenna device) and thus the size of the entire antenna device can be reduced, so that the antenna device can be integrated in a limited housing of a handheld electronic device. Furthermore, this configuration of the antenna arrangement provides for smaller surface wave excitations.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, each of the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity is shaped to generate a obliquely polarized Electromagnetic (EM) wave or a linearly polarized EM wave when the LB resonant cavity is fed by the one or more LB feeding elements, and each of the one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity is shaped to generate a obliquely polarized EM wave or a linearly polarized EM wave when the HB resonant cavity is fed by the HB feeding elements. Thus, by appropriately selecting the shape of one or more slots of each of the HB and LB resonators, a desired radiation pattern of the antenna device may be provided. For example, one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity may be shaped to produce obliquely polarized EM waves, while one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity may be shaped to produce linearly polarized EM waves, or vice versa. For another example, the LB and HB cavity slots may be shaped to produce EM waves having the same polarization (i.e., oblique or linear polarization). These all allow for a more flexible use of the antenna arrangement.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, each of the one or more slots of the LB resonator extends through the side surface of the LB resonator perpendicular to the dielectric substrate. One or more 3D slots of such an LB-resonator can be easily realized.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, each of the one or more slots of the LB resonator reaches the dielectric substrate along the side surface of the LB resonator. In this embodiment, the one or more 3D slots of the LB cavity completely "cut" the side surfaces on one or more sides of the LB cavity (i.e., the LB cavity is "open" on one or more sides). Thus, the current fed to the LB resonant cavity through the one or more LB feed elements will take a longer path, thereby making the electrical length of the LB antenna element longer and thus causing the LB antenna element to resonate at a lower frequency.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the one or more slits of the LB resonator comprise a first straight slit and a second straight slit. Each of the first and second linear slits of the LB resonator extends through each of the top and side surfaces of the LB resonator. The first and second straight slits of the LB resonant cavity are mutually disjoint. Thus, non-intersecting (e.g., parallel or angled to each other without intersecting) 3D slots of different configurations may be provided in the LB resonant cavity, thereby changing the performance characteristics of the antenna device. These all allow for a more flexible use of the antenna arrangement.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the one or more slits of the HB resonant cavity comprise a first linear slit and a second linear slit. Each of the first and second linear slits of the HB resonant cavity extends through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity. The first and second linear slits of the HB resonant cavity do not intersect each other. Thus, non-intersecting (e.g., parallel or angled to each other without intersecting) 2D slots of different configurations may be provided in the HB resonant cavity, thereby changing the performance characteristics of the antenna device. These all allow for a more flexible use of the antenna arrangement.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the one or more slits of the LB resonator comprise a first straight slit and a second straight slit. Each of the first and second linear slits of the LB resonator extends through each of the top and side surfaces of the LB resonator. The first and second straight slits of the LB resonator intersect each other. Therefore, it is possible to provide intersecting 3D slots of different configurations in the LB resonant cavity, thereby changing the performance characteristics of the antenna device. These all allow for a more flexible use of the antenna arrangement.

In an embodiment of the first aspect, the first and second straight slits of the LB resonator form a 3D cross slit. By using a 3D cross-shaped slot, linearly polarized EM waves or obliquely polarized EM waves can be generated more efficiently in LB of the radio spectrum.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the one or more LB feed elements of the LB antenna element are coupled to the LB resonator near the intersection of the first and the second linear slot of the LB resonator. By this operation, the electrical length of the LB antenna element can be made even longer, thereby shifting the resonant frequency of the LB antenna element further down in the radio spectrum.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, each of the one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity comprises a first linear slot and a second linear slot. Each of the first and second linear slits of the HB resonant cavity extends through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity. The first and second linear slits of the HB resonant cavity intersect each other. Thus, different configurations of intersecting 2D slots may be provided in the HB resonant cavity, thereby changing the performance characteristics of the antenna device. These all allow for a more flexible use of the antenna arrangement.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the first and second linear slits of the HB resonant cavity form a 2D cross slit. By using a 2D cross-shaped slot, linearly polarized EM waves or obliquely polarized EM waves can be generated more efficiently in HB of the radio spectrum.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the one or more HB feed elements of the HB antenna element are coupled to the HB resonant cavity near an intersection of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity. By this operation, the electrical length of the HB antenna element may be made longer (i.e., the current path along the top surface of the HB resonant cavity is longer), further reducing the resonant frequency of the HB antenna element (which may be beneficial in some HB use scenarios).

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the antenna arrangement comprises an LB antenna element array and an HB antenna element array. The LB antenna element array includes the LB antenna element, and the HB antenna element array includes the HB antenna element. The LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array do not overlap each other. Thus, the LB antenna element may be combined in the same antenna arrangement as a similar (e.g. in terms of design and/or performance characteristics) LB antenna element and the HB antenna element as a similar (e.g. in terms of design and/or performance characteristics) HB antenna element.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the antenna arrangement comprises an LB antenna element array and an HB antenna element array. The LB antenna element array includes the LB antenna element, and the HB antenna element array includes the HB antenna element. The LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array are staggered. Thus, the LB antenna element may be combined in the same antenna arrangement as other (e.g. in terms of design and/or performance characteristics) LB antenna elements and the HB antenna element as other (e.g. in terms of design and/or performance characteristics) HB antenna elements.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array are provided in a staggered arrangement. By using an LB antenna element array and a staggered arrangement of HB antenna element arrays, the antenna arrangement can be made more compact.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the orientation of the LB antenna element and the HB antenna element are different from each other. The orientation of the antenna means the radiation direction of the antenna. Thus, the different orientations of LB antenna elements and HB antenna elements means that their radiation will propagate differently (i.e. along different radiation directions), which may be beneficial in some use scenarios.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, each of the LB and HB resonators has a cubic shape or a cylindrical shape. Thus, a different shape may be selected for each of the LB and HB cavities, which may make the antenna arrangement more flexible in use.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the LB antenna element may operate in a frequency range of 24.25 GHz to 29.5 GHz and the HB antenna element may operate in a frequency range of 37 GHz to 43.5 GHz. Therefore, the antenna device can be used in different LB usage scenarios and HB usage scenarios.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the LB and HB cavities are equal in size. This may make the antenna device more compact. In addition, since the HB resonant cavity and the LB resonant cavity have similar dimensions, higher directivity of the HB antenna element can be achieved.

In one embodiment of the first aspect, the LB resonator is smaller or larger than the HB resonator. By varying the size of the LB resonant cavity (and/or HB resonant cavity), the size of the entire antenna assembly may be adjusted to the limited volume available for the antenna assembly in the housing of the handheld electronic device.

According to a second aspect, a wireless communication device is provided. The wireless communication device comprises an antenna device according to the first aspect, and a transceiver connected to the antenna device. By using the antenna device, the wireless communication device can efficiently support wireless communication in HB and LB of the radio spectrum (for example, using a wireless communication service). Furthermore, given that the antenna device may occupy a relatively small volume within the wireless communication device (due to the 3D slot or slots of the LB antenna element), there is no need to significantly increase the size of the wireless communication device.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon viewing the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The invention is explained below in connection with the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1A and 1B show different views of an antenna device provided by a first embodiment, i.e. fig. 1A shows a top view of the antenna device and fig. 1B shows an isometric view of the antenna device;

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged isometric view of an LB antenna element included in the antenna device of fig. 1A and 1B;

Fig. 3 shows one possible implementation example of the HB antenna element included in the antenna device of fig. 1A and 1B;

fig. 4 shows a top view of the antenna device provided by the second embodiment;

fig. 5 shows a top view of an antenna arrangement provided by a third embodiment;

Fig. 6 shows a top view of an antenna arrangement provided by a fourth embodiment;

Fig. 7 shows a top view of an antenna device provided by the fifth embodiment;

Fig. 8A and 8B show experimental results obtained for the antenna device of fig. 5, i.e., fig. 8A shows the dependence of S parameter on frequency, and fig. 8B shows the dependence of cross polarization ratio (cross-polarization ratio, XPR) on frequency;

Fig. 9 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication apparatus provided by an embodiment.

Detailed Description

Various embodiments of the present invention are described in further detail in connection with the accompanying drawings. The present invention may be embodied in many other forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function disclosed in the following description. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description that the scope of the invention includes any embodiment of the invention disclosed herein, whether implemented independently or in combination with any other embodiment of the invention. For example, the apparatus disclosed herein may be implemented in practice using any number of the embodiments provided herein. Furthermore, it should be understood that any embodiment of the invention may be implemented using one or more of the features set forth in the appended claims.

The term "exemplary" is used herein in the sense of "serving as an explanation". Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments unless otherwise specified.

For convenience, any positional terms such as "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "above", "below", "upper", "lower", "horizontal", "vertical", and the like may be used herein to describe one element or feature's relationship to one or more other elements or features in accordance with the figures. It will be apparent that positioning terms are intended to include different orientations of the device disclosed herein, as well as one or more orientations depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is rotated 90 degrees clockwise, elements or features described as "left" and "right" with respect to other elements or features will be oriented "above" and "below" the other elements or features, respectively. Thus, the positioning terms used herein should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way.

Although numerical terms such as "first," "second," "third," "fourth," etc. may be used herein to describe various embodiments and features, these embodiments and features should not be limited by the numerical terms. This numerical term is used merely to distinguish one feature or embodiment from another. For example, a first slot and a second slot discussed herein may be renamed to a second slot and a first slot, respectively, without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

In the present invention, the term "antenna device" may refer to a device for radiating and receiving radio waves. Radio waves may refer to one type of electromagnetic radiation that occurs in different bands of the radio spectrum, for example, in the centimeter wave (cm-wave) and millimeter wave (mm-wave) bands. For example, radio waves have been used for wireless communications, such as point-to-point communications, inter-satellite links, point-to-multipoint communications, and the like. But the application of radio waves is not limited to wireless communication, but they may also be used for e.g. vehicle navigation and control (air, ground or sea), road obstacle detection, etc. Thus, the antenna device according to embodiments disclosed herein may be used in the same usage scenario as radio waves. More specifically, the antenna apparatus may be implemented as part of a User Equipment (UE) that may refer to a wireless customer premise equipment (customer premises equipment, CPE) (e.g., wireless router, switch, etc.), mobile device, mobile station, terminal, subscriber unit, mobile phone, cellular phone, smart phone, cordless phone, personal digital assistant (personal DIGITAL ASSISTANT, PDA), wireless communication device, desktop computer, notebook computer, tablet computer, single-board computer, SBC) (e.g., a radio Pi device), game device, netbook, smart local, superlocal, medical device or medical equipment, biometric sensor, wearable device (e.g., smart watch, smart glasses, smart wristband, etc.), entertainment device (e.g., audio player, video player, etc.), vehicle component or sensor (e.g., driver assistance system), smart meter/sensor, unmanned vehicle (e.g., industrial robot, quad-vehicle, etc.) and its components (e.g., automated, industrial computer, manufacturing system, industrial computer manufacturing system, internet of things (lot-35 lot), industrial scale of MTC devices (lot-35, lot-scale of Internet of things), MTC devices (lot-scale of lot-of Industrial devices), or any other suitable device that operates using radio waves. In some embodiments, a UE may refer to at least two collocated and interconnected UEs as so defined.

The prior art antenna solution may comprise only one cumbersome antenna instead of two different types of antenna elements. Some slot antennas may use different feed types, such as Substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW), coaxial feed, or ideal feed. For example, a coaxial feed element for feeding a slot antenna may not be realized at millimeter wave frequencies due to pitch limitations. Furthermore, prior art antenna solutions may require additional components (e.g., parasitic resonators) to improve antenna performance.

It is known that the prior art does not disclose an antenna arrangement that would comprise a combination of cavity slot antennas for simultaneous operation in different bands of the radio spectrum (e.g. HB and LB).

The embodiments disclosed herein provide a solution that may alleviate or even eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks typical of the prior art. In particular, embodiments disclosed herein relate to an antenna apparatus including an LB cavity slot antenna and an HB cavity slot antenna on a single dielectric substrate. The LB cavity slot antenna comprises an LB resonant cavity and one or more 3D slots extending through a top surface and a side surface of the LB resonant cavity. The HB cavity slot antenna includes an HB resonant cavity and one or more 2D slots extending through a top surface of the HB resonant cavity. Each of the LB and HB cavity slot antennas may be fed by using one or more feeding elements. The antenna device thus configured can efficiently operate in both HB and LB of the radio spectrum. Furthermore, having one or more 3D slots, the size of the LB cavity slot antenna may be reduced (without affecting the performance of the antenna arrangement) and thus the overall antenna arrangement, such that the antenna arrangement may be integrated in a limited housing of a handheld electronic device (e.g. a smart phone).

Fig. 1A and 1B show different views of an antenna device 100 provided by the first embodiment. More specifically, fig. 1A shows a top view of the antenna device 100, while fig. 1B shows an isometric view of the antenna device 100. As shown in fig. 1A and 1B, the antenna device 100 includes a dielectric substrate 102, and an LB antenna element 104 and an HB antenna element 106 disposed adjacent to each other on the dielectric substrate 102. In order not to overly complicate fig. 1A and 1B, the media substrate 102 is shown as planar. It is assumed that the dielectric substrate 102 may also extend upward, for example, up to the top of each of the LB antenna element 104 and HB antenna element 106 (i.e., the LB antenna element 104 and HB antenna element 106 may be at least partially embedded in the dielectric substrate 102). As the dielectric substrate 102, a liquid crystal polymer (liquid crystal polymer, LCP) or a printed circuit board (printed circuit board, PCB) substrate may be used. In some embodiments, the dielectric substrate 102 may have a ground layer on its back side that is opposite to the surface on which the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106 are disposed. It should also be noted that the antenna device 100 may also be coated with dk elements from the top to reduce the size of the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106. For example, the Dk element may be represented by a plastic, ceramic, or artificial dielectric layer (ARTIFICIAL DIELECTRIC LAYER, ADL) (ADL provides a way to increase the dielectric constant (Dk) of a plastic by adding a small patch that creates additional capacitance. The LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106 are cavity slot antennas designed to operate in LB and HB, respectively, of the radio spectrum. For example, LB may correspond to a frequency range of 24.25 GHz to 29.5 GHz, while HB may correspond to a frequency range of 37 GHz to 43.5 GHz. The antenna device 100 may be used for both end-fire and side-fire radiation.

The LB antenna element 104 comprises an LB resonator 108 and the HB antenna element 106 comprises an HB resonator 110.LB resonator 108 has a cross-shaped slot 112 formed therein and HB resonator 110 has a cross-shaped slot 114 formed therein. The gap 112 extends through the top and side surfaces of the LB resonator 108, while the gap 114 extends only through the top surface of the HB resonator 110. Thus, slit 112 may be referred to as a "3D slit" and slit 114 may be referred to as a "2D slit". Each of the slits 112 and 114 may be considered as a combination of two vertical slits and a horizontal slit that intersect each other at right angles to form a cross.

The LB antenna element 104 further comprises four feed elements 116 coupled to the LB resonator 108, and the HB antenna element 106 further comprises four feed elements 118 coupled to the HB resonator 110. As shown in fig. 1B, each of the feeding elements 116 is implemented as a leg extending within the LB resonant cavity 108 and coupled to the LB resonant cavity 108 near the intersection of the horizontal and vertical slits forming the 3D slit 112. Similarly, each of the feed elements 118 is implemented as a leg extending within the HB resonant cavity 110 and coupled to the HB resonant cavity 110 near the intersection of the horizontal and vertical slots forming the 2D slot 114. Such implementation of the feeding elements 116 and 118 should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way and in some other embodiments the feeding elements 116 and 118 may be coupled to the outside of the LB and HB cavities 108 and 110, respectively. Each of the feeding elements 116 and 118 may also be coupled to a current source (at the other end), for example, by a microstrip line and/or waveguide (e.g., coplanar waveguide) extending through the dielectric substrate 102. When LB antenna element 104 and HB antenna element 106 are differentially fed by feed elements 116 and 118, respectively (see positive "+" and negative "-" in fig. 1A), this will result in obliquely polarized EM waves being generated by each of 3D slot 112 and 2D slot 114 (obliquely polarized is schematically shown as elliptical dashed lines in fig. 1A).

For each of the LB antenna element 104 and HB antenna element 106, the slot and cavity dimensions should be about λg/2, where λg is the wavelength or waveguide wavelength in the medium, typically λg = λg/Sqrt (dk), where dk is the dielectric constant of the medium or plastic in which the LB antenna element 104 and HB antenna element 106 are placed. Assuming that the LB and HB resonators 108 and 110 are the same size, the slot sizes a and b are equal to 1.75 mm and 2.25 mm, respectively. For the LB antenna element 104, the height h (see fig. 1B) is also a fraction of the slot size. The height h is assumed to be 0.8 mm. Thus, the total length of each of the horizontal and vertical slits forming the 3D slit 112 is, for example, 2.25+0.8x2=3.85 mm. The total length of each of the horizontal and vertical slits forming the 2D slit 114 is equal to a. In general, the total length of the 3D slit 112 may be, for example, between λg/4 and λg, and thus, the 3D slit 112 should have a width s below λg/2 (e.g., s may be equal to 0.5 mm in this numerical example). The resonance may be tuned by modifying the size of the 3D slot 112 or folding the 3D slot 112 along the wall of the LB cavity 104.

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged isometric view of the LB antenna element 104 included in the antenna device 100. It can be seen that the 3D slot 112 of the LB antenna element 104 is "folded" along the side surfaces (i.e., each side wall) of the LB resonant cavity 108 (for this reason, the 3D slot 112 may be referred to as a "folded slot", and the LB antenna element 104 may be correspondingly referred to as a "folded slot antenna"). Thus, unlike HB cavity 110, LB cavity 108 is "open" on its sides. Such "opening" of the HB resonant cavity 110 will result in a longer current travel path fed through the feeding element 116, as schematically shown by the arrow for only one (left) "folded portion" of the 3D slot 112 in fig. 2. This in turn will make the LB antenna element 104 longer in electrical length so that it resonates at a lower frequency. With this configuration of the LB antenna element 104, HB resonance is avoided. Both oblique and linear polarizations may be excited in the same band. Thus, filtering may not be required. Due to the reduced size of the LB antenna element 104 (due to the 3D slot), the two antenna elements may be approximately the same size (see fig. 1A and 1B). In view of this, higher directivity of the HB antenna element 106 can be achieved. Furthermore, if an LPC/PCB substrate is used, its width is sufficient to obtain good antenna performance even at 2.5 mm. By comparison, the width and height of the prior art cavity slot antenna may be nearly twice the width and height of the antenna device 100.

Although each of the LB resonator 108 and the HB resonator 110 is illustrated in fig. 1A and 1B as having a cubic shape, this should not be construed as any limitation of the present invention. In another embodiment, each of the LB resonator 108 and the HB resonator 110 may have a cylindrical shape, i.e., a circular cross-section in its top view.

Similarly, the substantially identical dimensions of LB and HB resonant cavities 108 and 110 are shown in fig. 1A and 1B only to emphasize the miniaturization advantage provided by the use of 3D (folded) slits 112 in LB resonant cavity 108. In some other embodiments, however, the LB and HB resonators 108, 110 may have different dimensions (e.g., any of the parameters a, b, s, and/or h may be smaller for the LB resonator 108 than the HB resonator 110).

Other embodiments are possible in which the 3D slot 112 extends through the side surface of the LB resonant cavity 108 at a different angle (not equal to 90 degrees, as shown in fig. 1A and AB) relative to the dielectric substrate 102, and/or in which the orientation of the LB antenna element 104 and the HB antenna element 106 are different from each other. With different orientations, each of LB antenna element 104 and HB antenna element 106 will have a different radiation direction, which may be beneficial in some use scenarios.

In general, the antenna apparatus 100 may exhibit performance characteristics in that the tilt may be + -45 degrees for an LB beam and + -40 degrees for an HB beam. The beam may be more tilted but grating lobes may appear. The design of the antenna device 100 may enable smaller surface wave excitations. Thus, a more uniformly distributed E-field is provided, thereby improving the radiation pattern.

Fig. 3 shows one possible embodiment of the HB antenna element 106 included in the antenna device 100. It should be noted that the LB antenna element 104 may be implemented in a similar manner. As shown in fig. 3, the HB resonant cavity 110 of the HB antenna element 106 may be made of a patterned layer array 300 stacked one on top of the other. Each patterned layer in the patterned layer array 300 (except for the uppermost patterned layer 302) is configured as a rectangular (e.g., square) planar frame such that when the patterned layers are stacked on top of each other, a (hollow) interior of the HB resonant cavity 110 is formed. The uppermost patterned layer 302 is shaped to form the 2D slit 114. Obviously, when manufacturing the LB-resonator 108 of the antenna element 104 in this way, the patterning layer arranged below the uppermost layer 302 should also be shaped taking into account the 3D (folded) slit 112. Each patterned layer in patterned layer array 300 may be made of a conductive material (e.g., metal). To ensure that the patterned layers are rigidly fixed to each other, pins 304 (e.g., rivets, bolts, etc.) may be used, each pin 304 may pass through aligned holes formed in the patterned layers in the patterned layer array 300.

Fig. 4 shows a top view of an antenna arrangement 400 provided by the second embodiment. Similar to the antenna device 100, the antenna device 400 includes a dielectric substrate 402, and an LB antenna element 404 and an HB antenna element 406 disposed adjacent to each other on the dielectric substrate 402. The media substrate 402 may be implemented similarly to the media substrate 102. Both LB antenna element 404 and HB antenna element 406 are cavity slot antennas designed to operate in LB and HB, respectively, of the radio spectrum. The LB antenna element 404 comprises an LB cavity 408 and the HB antenna element 406 comprises an HB cavity 410. Each of the LB cavity 408 and HB cavity 410 may be made of a conductive material (e.g., metal) on an LCP or PCB substrate that is used as the dielectric substrate 402. The antenna device 400 is different from the antenna device 100 in the shape of the 3D slit 412 extending through the top and side surfaces of the LB resonator 408 and the 2D slit 414 extending through the top surface of the HB resonator 410. Specifically, each of the 3D slit 412 and the 2D slit 414 is an anvil cross (cross patt ee) (which is one example of a cross shape). In addition, the LB antenna element 404 includes four feed elements 416 coupled to the LB resonator 408, and the HB antenna element 406 also includes four feed elements 418 coupled to the HB resonator 410. The feeding elements 416 and 418 may be implemented similarly to the feeding elements 116 and 118, respectively. Similarly, when LB antenna element 404 and HB antenna element 406 are differentially fed by feed elements 416 and 418, respectively, this will result in obliquely polarized EM waves (obliquely polarized is schematically shown as an elliptical dashed line in fig. 4) being generated by each of 3D slot 412 and 2D slot 414.

Fig. 5 shows a top view of an antenna arrangement 500 provided by the third embodiment. Similar to the antenna devices 100 and 400, the antenna device 500 includes a dielectric substrate 502, and an LB antenna element 504 and an HB antenna element 506 disposed adjacent to each other on the dielectric substrate 502. The media substrate 502 may be implemented similarly to the media substrate 102. Both the LB antenna element 504 and the HB antenna element 506 are cavity slot antennas designed to operate in LB and HB, respectively, of the radio spectrum. The LB antenna element 504 comprises an LB resonator 508 and the HB antenna element 506 comprises an HB resonator 510. Each of the LB and HB cavities 508, 510 may be made of a conductive material (e.g., metal) on an LCP or PCB substrate that serves as the dielectric substrate 502. The antenna device 500 is different from the antenna devices 100 and 400 in the shape of a 3D slit 512 extending through the top and side surfaces of the LB resonator 508 and a 2D slit 514 extending through the top surface of the HB resonator 510. Specifically, each of the 3D slit 512 and the 2D slit 514 is in the form of a side cross or an X-cross. In addition, the LB antenna element 504 includes four feed elements 516 coupled to the LB resonator 508, and the HB antenna element 506 also includes four feed elements 518 coupled to the HB resonator 510. Feed elements 516 and 518 may be implemented similarly to feed elements 116 and 118, respectively. Due to the shape of the 3D slot 512 and the 2D slot 514, when the LB antenna element 504 and the HB antenna element 506 are differentially fed by the feeding elements 516 and 518, respectively, this will result in each of the 3D slot 512 and the 2D slot 514 generating a linearly polarized EM wave (the linear polarization is schematically shown as an elliptical dashed line in fig. 5).

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited to LB and HB cavities in which the shape of the slit is cross-shaped, as shown in fig. 1A, 1B, 2 to 5. In some embodiments, the slit may use other cross shapes, such as a Maltese cross (Maltese cross), shrine rider cross (ALISEE PATTEE cross), and the like. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the cross shape of the slits in the LB resonator and the HB resonator. For example, any other configuration of two or more intersecting slits in each of the LB and HB resonators may be used, e.g., a Y-shaped 3D slit in the LB and Y-shaped 2D slit in the HB resonator. In addition, each of the LB and HB resonators may have two or more disjoint slits (e.g., parallel to each other or at an angle to each other but disjoint).

It should also be noted that the number of feed elements used to feed each of the LB and HB cavities may vary depending on the particular application. For example, even one feeding element may be used to feed each of the LB and HB resonators.

Fig. 6 shows a top view of an antenna arrangement 600 provided by the fourth embodiment. Similar to the antenna devices 100, 400, and 500, the antenna device 600 includes a dielectric substrate 602, and an LB antenna element 604 and an HB antenna element 606 disposed adjacent to each other on the dielectric substrate 602. The media substrate 602 may be implemented similarly to the media substrate 102. Both LB antenna element 604 and HB antenna element 606 are cavity slot antennas designed to operate in LB and HB, respectively, of the radio spectrum. The LB antenna element 604 comprises an LB cavity 608 and the HB antenna element 606 comprises an HB cavity 610. Each of the LB and HB cavities 608, 610 may be made of a conductive material (e.g., metal) on an LCP or PCB substrate that serves as the dielectric substrate 602. The antenna device 600 differs from the antenna devices 100, 400, and 500 in the shape of the 3D slot 612 extending through the top and side surfaces of the LB resonator 608 and the 2D slot 614 extending through the top surface of the HB resonator 610. Specifically, each of the 3D slit 612 and the 2D slit 614 is in the form of a straight line. Furthermore, the antenna device 600 is characterized in that the LB antenna element 604 comprises two feeding elements 616 coupled to the LB resonator 608 and the HB antenna element 606 comprises two feeding elements 618 coupled to the HB resonator 610. The feeding elements 616 and 618 may be implemented similarly to the feeding elements 116 and 118, respectively. Due to the shape of the 3D slot 612 and the 2D slot 614, when the LB antenna element 604 and the HB antenna element 606 are differentially fed by the feeding elements 616 and 618, respectively, this will result in each of the 3D slot 612 and the 2D slot 614 generating a linearly polarized EM wave (the linear polarization is schematically shown as an elliptical dashed line in fig. 6).

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited to LB resonators and linear shapes of slits in HB resonators as shown in fig. 6. In some embodiments, the gaps of the LB and HB resonators may be shaped into any curve (e.g., circular arc, C-shape, U-shape, etc.).

Fig. 7 shows a top view of an antenna arrangement 700 provided by the fifth embodiment. As shown in fig. 7, the antenna device 700 includes a dielectric substrate 702 (e.g., an LCB or PCB substrate), and an array of staggered LB antenna elements 104 and HB antenna elements 106 disposed on the dielectric substrate 702. The antenna elements 104 and 106 are shown by way of example only, and any combination of the antenna elements 104, 106, 404, 406, 504, 506, 604, and 606 described above may be used in the antenna device 700. Although the array of staggered LB antenna elements 104 and HB antenna elements 106 is shown as a 1D array, this should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way, and in some other embodiments the array of staggered LB antenna elements 104 and HB antenna elements 106 may be in the form of a matrix. Furthermore, the LB antenna elements 104 and HB antenna elements 106 may be provided in a staggered arrangement if desired and depending on the particular application. Meanwhile, the LB antenna element 104 and HB antenna element 106 should not have to be staggered, instead, the array may be divided into two non-overlapping sub-arrays, each comprising either the LB antenna element 104 or the HB antenna element 106.

Fig. 8A and 8B show experimental results obtained for the antenna device 500. More specifically, FIG. 8A shows the dependence of the S parameter on frequency, and FIG. 8B shows the dependence of the cross polarization ratio (cross-polarization ratio, XPR) on frequency. To obtain these experimental results, the dielectric substrate 502 of the antenna device 500 is provided with a rectangular ground layer on its back surface. The S parameter is well known in the art, and thus a description thereof is omitted herein. As shown in fig. 8A and 8B, the design of the antenna device 500 may improve XPR and isolation for linear polarization. XPR and isolation for linear polarization are improved since the current is aligned with a rectangular ground plane. It should be noted that the isolation and XPR will not be as good for the tilted polarization provided by the antenna device 100, but the tilted polarization and the linear polarization provided by the antenna devices 100 and 500, respectively, will have the same performance and radiation pattern.

Fig. 9 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication apparatus 900 provided by an embodiment. The wireless communications apparatus 900 may be implemented as part of a UE (e.g., a smartphone) or as a single device. As shown in fig. 9, apparatus 900 includes a transceiver 902 and an antenna 904. The antenna 904 may be implemented as any of the antenna arrangements 100, 400 to 700. The transceiver 902 is configured to wirelessly communicate with another UE by using the antenna 904.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described herein, it should be noted that any of a variety of changes and modifications can be made in the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the scope of legal protection defined by the following claims. In the appended claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or operations, and the term "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Claims

1. An antenna device, comprising:

dielectric substrate;

A low-band (LB) antenna element is arranged on the dielectric substrate, the LB antenna element comprises an LB resonant cavity and one or more LB feeding elements coupled to the LB resonant cavity, the LB resonant cavity has a top surface, a side surface, and one or more slots extending through each of the top surface and the side surface of the LB resonant cavity;

A high-band (HB) antenna element is arranged adjacent to the LB antenna element on the dielectric substrate, wherein the HB antenna element includes an HB resonant cavity and one or more HB feeding elements coupled to the HB resonant cavity, wherein the HB resonant cavity has a top surface, a side surface, and one or more slots extending through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity.

2. The antenna device according to claim 1, characterized in that when the LB resonant cavity is fed by the one or more LB feeding elements, each of the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity is shaped to generate a tilted polarized electromagnetic (EM) wave or a linearly polarized EM wave, and when the HB resonant cavity is fed by the HB feeding element, each of the one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity is shaped to generate a tilted polarized EM wave or a linearly polarized EM wave.

3 . The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity extends through the side surface of the LB resonant cavity that is perpendicular to the dielectric substrate. 4 .

4 . The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity reaches the dielectric substrate along the side surface of the LB resonant cavity. 5 .

5. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity include a first linear slot and a second linear slot, each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity extends through each of the top surface and the side surface of the LB resonant cavity, wherein the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity do not intersect each other.

6. The antenna device according to claim 5 is characterized in that the one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity include a first linear slot and a second linear slot, each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity extends through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity, wherein the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity do not intersect each other.

7. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is characterized in that the one or more slots of the LB resonant cavity include a first linear slot and a second linear slot, each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity extends through each of the top surface and the side surface of the LB resonant cavity, wherein the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity intersect with each other.

8 . The antenna device according to claim 7 , wherein the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity form a 3D cross slot.

9. The antenna device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the one or more LB feeding elements of the LB antenna element are coupled to the LB resonant cavity near the intersection of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the LB resonant cavity.

10. The antenna device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that each of the one or more slots of the HB resonant cavity comprises a first linear slot and a second linear slot, and each of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity extends through the top surface of the HB resonant cavity, wherein the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity intersect with each other.

11 . The antenna device according to claim 10 , wherein the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity form a 2D cross slot.

12. The antenna device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the one or more HB feeding elements of the HB antenna element are coupled to the HB resonant cavity near the intersection of the first linear slot and the second linear slot of the HB resonant cavity.

13. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that it comprises an LB antenna element array and a HB antenna element array, the LB antenna element array comprises the LB antenna elements, the HB antenna element array comprises the HB antenna elements, wherein the LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array do not overlap with each other.

14. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that it comprises an LB antenna element array and a HB antenna element array, the LB antenna element array comprises the LB antenna elements, the HB antenna element array comprises the HB antenna elements, wherein the LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array are staggered.

15 . The antenna device according to claim 14 , wherein the LB antenna element array and the HB antenna element array are arranged in a staggered arrangement.

16 . The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein the LB antenna element and the HB antenna element have different orientations.

17 . The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity has a cubic shape or a cylindrical shape.

18. The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the LB antenna element can operate in a frequency range of 24.25 GHz to 29.5 GHz, and the HB antenna element can operate in a frequency range of 37 GHz to 43.5 GHz.

19 . The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein the LB resonant cavity and the HB resonant cavity are equal in size.

20 . The antenna device according to claim 1 , wherein the LB resonant cavity is smaller than or larger than the HB resonant cavity.

21. A wireless communication device, comprising:

The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 20;

A transceiver is connected to the antenna arrangement.