The proposed invention consists of a reconfigurable radio-frequency network, which has one input  port are a number of output ports. This network is capable of distributing the radio-frequency input signal arbitrarily among the output ports, while achieving theoretical zero power loss. This goal is achieved by using variable phase shifters, without adding any lossy component. The result is a novel radio-frequency component which can find application in reconfigurable antenna arrays, amplifiers with variable gain, versatile telecommunications and radar front-ends.

Patent Status

PENDING

Priority Number

102018000006163

Priority Date

08/06/2018

License

ITALY

Market

The proposed radio-frequency component can find application in reconfigurable antennas for mobile telecommunications, and in a multitude of radar front-ends. Its key asset is its inherent high reconfigurability and versatility, combined with high efficiency, which will be ever more pivotal with 5G and beyond applications.

Problem

The proposed invention can address different problems of radio-frequency front-ends:

  • antenna beamforming: the proposed network provides and energy-efficient and agile solution to develop electronically reconfigurable antennas, both for linear and conformal antennas, both for beam steering and for beam shaping;
  • amplifier with variable gain: instead of developing demanding variable gain amplifiers, multiple fixed-gain amplifiers can be used in combination with the proposed network;
  • high-reliability front-ends: the proposed network can be used to manage redundant components for high-reliability front-ends (see for instance space applications).

Current Technology Limits

Current reconfigurable radio-frequency networks are based on amplifiers/attenuators and phase shifters. This causes impedance matching problems, power loss, and limits the versality of current front-ends. Conformal arrays, for instance, usually rely on antenna selection networks, which provide a limited number of states and, therefore limited reliability of telecommunications. The research is also focused on using switched-type reconfigurable networks, which however require multiple impedance terminations to guarantee impedance matching for all states, and in general, are charactrized by a complexity which grows with the number of signal states at the output ports.

Killer Application

The main application for the proposed network is the conformal beamfomring. The network can be applied to a set of antennas so that arbitrary subsets of radiating elements are fed in phase, or with defined phase differences, to obtain radiation patterns with different features: omnidirectional radiation, radiation patterns with nulls for interference avoidance, electronically stearable arrays, and so forth.

This antennas can be used to establish reliable telecommunications on drones and mobile platforms.

Our Technology and Solution

The basic proposed radio-frequency circuit consists of a 1 by 4 power divider, 4 branch line couplers and 8 reconfigurable phase shifters, suitably connected. Multiple blocks can be cascaded to increase the number of output ports, if needed. It was demonstrated that by varying the phase value of the 8 phase shifters the signal at the input port can be distributed arbitrarily among the output ports, ideally without power loss. This implies that subsets of the output ports can be activated with different power ratios at will, without using any amplifier or attenuator. Such circuit was already demonstrated using a low-cost PCB technology, and it can be manufactured also using integrated technologies, thereby reducing area occupation and weight.

Advantages

The proposed circuit architecture guarantees high versatility and low power consumption, and can be used to expand the performance of current telecommunications and radar front-ends. This translates into improved coverage and lower interference problems, for reliable telecommunications systems.

Roadmap

The network forms an background IP for the H2020 ECSEL project ADACORSA, where a version of the network for cellular communications on drones is currently under development.  The netwok will be used to power a conformal array of 4 antennas placed on the sides of a cube, and will be tested on a flying drone. Once demonstrated in an operating context, an integrated version of the circuit will be developed, to pursue circuit miniaturization.

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