Invented by Paul Shala Henry, William Scott Taylor, Robert Bennett, Farhad Barzegar, Irwin Gerszberg, Donald J. Barnickel, Thomas M. Willis, III, AT&T Intellectual Property I LP
The Market For Antenna System Using a Dielectric Array and Methods of Use
The market for Antenna systems with dielectric array and methods of use are expected to experience tremendous growth over the coming years due to an increasing need for antennas in next-generation massive wireless communication systems.
Stacking multiple antennas on a single tower can offer omnidirectional coverage and improved beam steering. Unfortunately, due to their dense packing, stacking antennas may experience mechanical alignment issues or inadequate thermal management.
Market Size
The Antenna system using a dielectric array and methods of use market is expected to witness steady growth over the forecast period, buoyed by rising demand for communication on the move (COTM). This can primarily be attributed to increasing needs in commercial aviation, shipbuilding, defence, maritime and land transportation sectors.
The defence and aerospace sector is the world’s biggest user of phased array antennas, with global APAR expenditure reaching US$1686 billion in 2016. According to data compiled by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, military spending worldwide increased by 0.4% in April 2017, a trend expected to persist throughout this forecast period as countries around the world strive to build up their defence capacities.
These antennas are used in a variety of applications, such as electronic warfare, communications and surveillance systems. With technological advances taking place within RF and imaging technology sectors leading to improved performance standards, demand for these products is expected to increase in the future.
However, due to their complexity, these technologies can be expensive to develop and integrate into other equipment across various market sectors. Therefore, this is expected to have an adverse effect on the global market for phased array antennas.
Many manufacturers are turning to microstrip line feed technology in order to reduce costs when manufacturing dielectric resonator antennas. This technique has become popular due to its high gain and low loss characteristics as well as acceptable radiation characteristics.
Alternatively, a nonplanar array of dielectric rods can be employed to generate a shaped or switched beam. This technique can be implemented in several ways, including using the same material for both rods and resonator. To compensate for any difference between materials, adjust rod lengths accordingly and subtract one dimension from the resonator.
Engineers typically design resonators using engineering simulations. After cutting the rods to their intended length, which can be reduced when ground down to a resonance frequency matching the design, this method significantly reduces size while still achieving good performance.
Market Forecasts
The market for Antenna systems with dielectric array and methods of use are expected to expand due to the rise in demand for communication on the go (COTM). This type of antenna transmits signals over long distances like ships, planes and boats; it has also found applications in avionics and military applications.
In 2021, the global advanced antenna array market reached $XX Billion and is forecasted to reach that amount by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of XX% from 2022-2030. This growth is being spurred by growing needs for wireless telecommunications and connectivity, as well as faster data transmission speeds.
Furthermore, the demand for energy efficiency is increasing. This spurs the development of advanced antenna systems that utilize multi-antenna technologies to enhance network performance and spectral efficiency.
These technologies include beamforming and MIMO. These methods offer improved data rates and increased range, while decreasing energy consumption and emissions. The resulting devices are capable of supporting high-definition video streaming and video-on-demand as well as improving network reliability and efficiency.
Furthermore, advanced antenna systems can be seamlessly integrated with various devices to provide enhanced features and functions. For instance, a 5G chip antenna could be placed inside a smartphone to facilitate faster data transmission and improved connectivity.
DRA technology makes this possible by providing wide-angle scanning in both relevant planes, helping to overcome the limitations of patch antennas which only enable scanning in one plane.
To further optimize the array, adjust the spacing between adjacent DRA elements by changing their impedance bandwidth. Doing so results in reduced mutual coupling between elements, improving performance and eliminating the need for additional components.
An additional advantage of this technique is that its phase curve can be theoretically flat within a wide frequency band, helping to achieve high-end performance and compatibility with various network infrastructures. This versatility makes the array an attractive option for various wireless telecommunications applications such as cellular phones and narrow-band IoT devices.
Market Trends
Antennas are essential devices for transmitting and receiving data. They’re commonly found in mobile phones, smart devices, computers, and other electronic products as well as radars and security systems.
The market for Antenna systems with a dielectric array is expected to expand significantly over the coming years due to an increasing number of wireless applications, such as smart hardware, handheld devices, wearable designs and internet of things.
Telecommunications standards are pushing antenna technologies towards low-cost, high-integration packages. To meet the increasing gain and radiation pattern requirements, steerable, versatile antenna arrays will be necessary.
One such technology is a dielectric-resonator antenna (DRA). DRAs are microstrip antenna elements that are easily manufactured and capable of achieving very high radiation efficiency in the millimetre wave range without significant metal or surface wave losses.
DRAs are thus considered an ideal technology for microwave communication systems operating at mm-wave frequencies.
DRAs offer several distinct advantages over traditional microstrip antennas, such as higher gain, improved radiation efficiency and a smaller profile. Furthermore, these antennas are highly compact and lightweight for portability.
Another advantage of DRAs is their immunity to electromagnetic and radiation interference (EMI/radiation interference). Furthermore, they can be designed for thermal shock resistance – an essential consideration in applications that must operate under harsh environmental conditions.
Finally, DRAs possess the unique capacity to accurately correct reflection phase for multiple frequency bands and polarization. For instance, our analysis of a 15 x 15 subarray antenna element revealed that it can achieve an impressive peak gain of 27.5 dBi at 32 GHz.
DRAs offer the versatility to be designed in various shapes and sizes, making them perfect for a range of RF applications. For instance, a DRA array may take the shape of a cube or hexagon for optimal performance at terahertz frequencies.
Market Opportunities
The market for antenna systems utilizing dielectric arrays and methods of use are expected to expand due to the rising popularity of mobile devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets. These gadgets use radio waves to communicate with other wireless users, necessitating a large antenna in order to function.
Many approaches have been proposed for shrinking antenna systems, such as microstrip patch antennas. Unfortunately, these methods suffer from high material losses and limited performance at mm-wave frequencies. Furthermore, designing such antennae can become complex due to complex feed networks that require expensive resources.
In contrast, a novel approach has been proposed to reduce antenna size without sacrificing radiation efficiency. This involves using a flaring dielectric waveguide as a feed network for an optimized rod antenna array that can support wireless communications at terahertz frequencies between 300 and 400 GHz.
This antenna structure can be produced using deep reactive-ion etching (RIE), which creates vertical air holes and gaps through a 200-mm silicon wafer. The photonic crystal waveguide, horn or flaring section, and effective medium are all manufactured simultaneously during one run.
Another solution is to utilize a dielectric resonator antenna (DRA), which can be easily constructed on one piece of substrate and allows for small array sizes. The DRA is excited using microstrip line feed and its resonance frequency adjusted according to the desired radiation pattern.
Dielectric resonators have a cylindrical shape and provide low coupling between adjacent elements, which can be advantageous in applications where traditional horn and slot antennas are impractical or impossible. Furthermore, this material makes them suitable for use as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) transmitters.
A systematic study is conducted to create a 1×3 CCDRA (common circular dielectric resonator array) antenna array with an unequal power divider feeding mechanism. The antenna has good gain, bandwidth and dual polarization characteristics. Furthermore, microstrip line feed technique is employed for energizing the dielectric resonator, increasing its flexibility.
The AT&T Intellectual Property I LP invention works as follows
Aspects may include, for instance, an antenna system consisting of a selector as well as a dielectric antenna array. The selector can be coupled to several dielectric cores, and launches electromagnetic waves only on one of these cores. The selected dielectric center corresponds to one the dielectric centers. The electromagnetic waves propagate along this selected core without the need for an electrical return path. The dielectric array includes several dielectric antennas. One dielectric antenna transmits a controllable beam to the selected dielectric center. There are other embodiments.
Background for Antenna system using a dielectric array and methods of use
Smart phones and other mobile devices are becoming more ubiquitous and data usage is increasing, so macrocell base stations devices and the existing wireless infrastructure will need to have higher bandwidth capabilities in order to meet increased demand.” Small cell deployment is being explored to provide more mobile bandwidth. Picocells and microcells offer coverage in smaller areas than traditional macrocells.
In addition, most households and businesses have come to rely upon broadband data access for services like voice, video, and Internet browsing. Broadband access networks can be used for satellite, 4G, 5G wireless, powerline communication, fiber, cable and telephone networks.
One or more embodiments will now be described using reference to the drawings. Like reference numerals can be used throughout to refer to similar elements. The following description will provide an explanation of each embodiment. However, it is clear that many embodiments can be used without these details and without applying to any particular standard or networked environment.
In one embodiment, a guided-wave communication system is shown for sending and receiving communication signals like data or other signaling via guided magnetic waves. Guided electromagnetic waves can include surface waves and other electromagnetic waves that have been bound to or guided through a transmission medium. You will see that guided wave communications can be used with a wide range of transmission media without departing from the examples. You can choose from one or more of these transmission media, single-stranded, multi-stranded, or insulated; conductors in other shapes and configurations such as wire bundles or cables; conductors with other shapes and configurations such as wire rods or rails; non-conductors like dielectric pipes, rods or rails or other dielectric members; and combinations of conductors or dielectric materials.
The induction of guided electromagnetic waves can occur independently of any charge, current, or electrical potential that is injected into the transmission medium. If the transmission medium is a metal wire, for example, it should be understood that although a small current may form in response to the propagation and propagation electromagnetic waves along the wire’s surface, this is due to the propagation and propagation of the wave along the wire’s surface. It is not formed by an electrical potential, charge, or current that is injected in to the wire. To propagate along the wire’s surface, the electromagnetic waves travelling on the wire do not need to be part of a circuit. Therefore, the wire is a single wire transmission link that is not part a circuit. In some embodiments, a wire may not be necessary. The electromagnetic waves can propagate along one line transmission medium, which is not a cable.
More generally, ‘guided electromagnetic waves?” Or?guided electromagnetic waves? The subject disclosure describes how guided waves are affected by the presence a physical object. This could be a wire, conductor, dielectric, insulated wire, conduit, or hollow element. It can also be a wire bundle or dielectric that is covered, covered, or surrounded by an insulator, dielectric, or other wire bundle. This physical object may be used as a guide through a transmission medium (e.g. an outer, inner, or other boundary between elements) to propagate guided electromagnetic waves. These waves can then carry energy, data, and/or other signals along a transmission path from a sender device to a receiver device.
Guided electromagnetic waves are not restricted to free space propagation, such as unguided or unbounded wireless signals. Their intensity decreases in proportion to the distance traveled. However, guided electromagnetic wave propagation can occur along a transmission medium with a lower loss of magnitude per unit distance than unguided electromagnetic radiation.
Guided electromagnetic waves, unlike electrical signals, can propagate between a sending device and a receiver device without the need for an additional electrical return path. Guided electromagnetic waves can travel from a sending device through a transmission medium without conductive components, such as a dielectric strip, or via a transmission media with only one conductor (e.g. a single wire or insulated cable). Even if the transmission medium contains one or more conductors, the guided electromagnetic wave propagating along it generates currents that flow in the direction of the guided waves. These guided electromagnetic waves can travel along the transmission media from a sending device or receiving device without the need for opposing currents along an electrical return path.
Imagine electrical systems that transmit and/or receive electrical signals via conductive media between sending and receiving devices. This is a non-limiting example. These systems rely on separate electrical forward and return paths. Consider a coaxial cable with a ground shield and a center conductor. The insulator separates the two. In an electrical system, a first terminal can be connected directly to the center conductor. A second terminal can then be connected to ground shield. The sending device can inject an electrical signal into the center conductor through the first terminal. This will cause forward currents to flow along the center conductor and ground shield currents to return. For a two-terminal receiving device, the same conditions apply.
Consider, however, a guided wave communications system, such as the one described in this disclosure, that can use different types of transmission mediums (including a coaxial cable among others) to transmit and receive guided electromagnetic waves with no electrical return path. One embodiment of the subject disclosure allows for guided electromagnetic waves to propagate along the outer surface of a coaxial cables. The guided electromagnetic wave will create forward currents on a ground shield but the guided waves don’t require return currents to allow the guided waves to propagate along an outer surface of a coaxial cable. This is true for all other transmission media that are used in a guided wave communication network to transmit and receive guided electromagnetic waves. Guided electromagnetic waves can be induced by the guide wave communication system on the outer surface of bare wires, or an insulated wire. They can propagate along the wire or the wire insulated without any electrical return path.
Electrical systems that require two or more conductors to carry forward and reverse currents on separate conductors in order to propagate electrical signals injected from a sending device are different from guided wave systems that induce guided magnetic waves on the interface of a transmission media without the need for an electrical return path to allow the propagation guided electromagnetic waves along that interface.
It should be noted that guided electromagnetic wave described in the subject disclosure may have an electromagnetic field structure that is primarily or substantially outside a transmission medium to be bound or guided by it and to propagate non-trivial lengths along or along its outer surface. Other embodiments of guided electromagnetic waves may have an electromagnetic field structure that is primarily or substantially within a transmission medium in order to be bound or guided by it and to propagate nontrivial distances within that medium. Other embodiments allow guided electromagnetic waves to have an electromagnetic field structure which lies both inside and outside of a transmission medium, so that it can be bound to or guided along the transmission media. The desired electronic field structure in an embodiment may vary based upon a variety of factors, including the desired transmission distance, the characteristics of the transmission medium itself, and environmental conditions/characteristics outside of the transmission medium (e.g., presence of rain, fog, atmospheric conditions, etc.).
Various embodiments herein relate to coupling device, which can be referred as?waveguide couples?, or?waveguide coupling?. Or, more simply as ‘couplers? or?coupling device? or ?launchers? For launching and/or extracting directed electromagnetic waves to and fro a transmission medium at millimeter wave frequencies (e.g. 30 to 300 Ghz), wherein the wavelength may be smaller than one or more dimensions the coupling device or the transmission medium, such as the diameter of a wire or any other cross sectional dimension, and lower microwave frequencies like 300 MHz to 30 Ghz. A coupling device can generate transmissions that propagate as waves, such as a strip, an arc, or any other length of dielectric material, a horn or monopole or rod, or another antenna; a magnetic coupler or other resonant coupler; coil, strip line, waveguide, or any other coupling device. The coupling device receives the electromagnetic wave from either a transmitter or transmission medium. The electromagnetic field structure that makes up the electromagnetic wave can be carried within the coupling apparatus, outside it or a combination of both. The coupling device can be located in close proximity of a transmission medium so at least some portion of the electromagnetic wave is bound or couples to it and propagates as guided electromagnetic waves. A coupling device can take guided waves from a transmission medium, and then transfer them to a receiver in a reciprocal manner.
A surface wave, according to an example embodiment, is a type or guided wave that is guided through a surface of an transmission medium. This could be an exterior or outer surface of wires or any other surface that is adjacent or exposed to another medium with different properties (e.g. dielectric properties). In an example embodiment, the surface of the wire that guides surface waves can be a transitional surface between different media types. In the case of uninsulated or bare wires, the wire’s surface can be either the exterior or interior conductive surface that is exposed to air, or free space. Another example is that of an insulated wire. The surface of the wiring can be the conductive section of the wire which meets the insulation portion. Or it can be the insulator area of wire that is exposed. Depending on the relative properties of the conductor, air and insulator (e.g. dielectric properties), the material region between the insulator and conductive surfaces of wires can also be considered the surface.
According an example embodiment, the term “about?” “About” refers to a wire or transmission medium that is used with a guidedwave. It can also include fundamental guided wave propagation modes, such as a circular or substantially circular distribution of the field or a symmetrical distribution of the electromagnetic field (e.g. electric field, magnetic fields, etc.). or any other fundamental mode pattern that is at least partially around a wire, or another transmission medium. A guided wave can also propagate?about? A guided wave can propagate?about? a wire or another transmission medium if it uses a guided propagation mode. This includes the fundamental wave propagation models (e.g. zero order modes), as well as additional or alternative non-fundamental modes like higher-order guided waves modes (e.g. 1st order modes and 2nd order modes). Asymmetrical modes, and/or other guided waves (e.g. surface), that have non-circular fields around a wire. The term “guided wave mode” is used herein. Refers to the guided wave propagation mode for a transmission medium, coupling devices or other component of a guided-wave communication system.
For example, non-circular field distributions may be unilateral or multilateral and have one or more axiallobes that are characterized with relatively higher field strength and/or one/more nulls, or null regions, which are characterized as relatively low-field strength. According to one example embodiment, the field distribution may also vary depending on azimuthal orientation. This means that one or more angular areas around the wire can have an electric, magnetic, or combination thereof, that is greater than one or several other regions. As the guided waves travel along the wire, it will become apparent that the relative positions or orientations of the guidedwave higher order modes and asymmetrical modes may change.
The term’millimeter-wave’ as used herein refers to electromagnetic waves/signals that fall within the?millimeter wave frequency band. Can refer to electromagnetic waves/signals falling within the?millimeter wave frequency band? between 30 GHz and 300 GHz. Microwave is a term that refers to electromagnetic waves/signals. Microwaves can be used to refer to electromagnetic signals/signals falling within a “microwave frequency band”. From 300 MHz up to 300 GHz. The term “radio frequency” is used. The term?radio frequency? oder?RF? can be used to refer to electromagnetic waves/signals that fall within the?radio frequency band. The term?RF? can be used to refer to electromagnetic signals/waves that fall within the ‘radio frequency band? between 10 kHz and 1 THz. Wireless signals, electrical signals and guided electromagnetic waves, as described in this disclosure, can operate at any frequency, including frequencies within the millimeter-wave or microwave frequency bands. When a transmission medium or coupling device includes a conductor element, the frequency at which guided electromagnetic waves are propagated along the transmission medium and/or carried by it can be lower than the mean collision frequency for the electrons within the conductive elements. The frequency of the guided electromagnetic wave that is carried by the coupling devices and/or propagate through the transmission medium may be non-optical, e.g. a radio frequency that falls below the range of optical frequencies which begins at 1 THz.
As used in this document, the term “antenna” means: An antenna is a device that transmits/radiates or receives wireless signals.
An antenna system is described in accordance with one or more embodiments. It includes a multicore transmission medium that propagates electromagnetic waves through a plurality dielectric cores. An array of dielectric antennas is a collection of dielectric antennas that wirelessly transmit a controlled beam to electromagnetic waves.
In accordance to one or more embodiments, an antenna system comprises a plurality dielectric members that are configured to propagate first-guided electromagnetic waves at non-optical frequencies without an electric return path. An antenna array dielectric is designed to receive first guided electromagnetic waves and transmit a controllable signal in response.
In accordance to one or more embodiments, a process includes propagating guided electromagnetic wave via at least one among a plurality dielectric cores in a transmission medium to at most one of a respective plurality dielectric antennas; and transmitting controllable beams in response to the guided electromagnetic wave via the at least 1 of the plurality dielectric antennas.
