Hughes Network Systems, LLC

Hamad Alsawaha

Thomas Jackson

Peter Hou

Bingqian Lu

Yilin Mao

An apparatus and method for mitigating polarization mismatch in reflector antenna systems. A feed unit is configured to determine a polarization mismatch between a first polarization associated with a first wave and a second polarization associated with a reflector unit. The feed unit pre-distorts the first wave to achieve a compensated polarization for reducing and/or eliminating a polarization mismatch. The pre-distorted first wave having the compensated polarization is used to illuminate the reflector unit. A re-radiated wave is reflected by the reflector unit. Furthermore, the level of the re-radiated wave is increased as a result of the pre-distortion.

Mitigation of polarization mismatch between reflector and feed antennas by feed predistortion

A phase shifter having both digital and analog shifting components is disclosed. The digital-analog phase shifter includes an input/output port configured, in part, for receiving an input radio frequency (RF) signal from an external source and outputting a phase shifted RF signal. A digital shifter performs coarse phase shifts of the input RF signal, while an analog shifter variably shift the phase of the input RF signal relative to the coarse phase shift. This produces a phase shifted RF signal having a total phase range that is output is continuously variable from 0&#xb0; to 360&#xb0;.

Low-loss, low-profile digital-analog phase shifter

A digital phase shifter is described where each bit of the phase shifter has a circuit block including one PIN diode in parallel with one transmission line. The phase shifter requires only one PIN diode and one transmission line per bit circuit block. Each PIN diode behaves like a simple switch for phase shifting. When the PIN diode is forward biased ('on' state), current flows through the PIN diode and the RF signal is not phase shifted. When the pin diode is not forward biased ('off' state), current flows through the transmission line parallel to the PIN diode and the RF signal is phase shifted by the transmission line. The digital phase shifter may have n circuit blocks in series, and adjacent PIN diodes may share a current when both are on. The phase shifter may be implemented in a phased array or reflect array antenna including multiple phase shifters.

Digital phase shifter switch and transmission line reduction

A radio frequency waveguide is disclosed. The radio frequency waveguide includes: a dielectric including an exterior input surface, an exterior output surface and other exterior surfaces; and a metal disposed on the other exterior surfaces of the dielectric, wherein the dielectric is voidless and adapted to propagate radio frequency radiation from the exterior input surface to the exterior output surface.

Radio frequency waveguide devices including a dielectric having other exterior surfaces with a feature thereon and coated by a metal layer

Systems and methods disclosed herein provide techniques for reducing quantization errors and side lobe levels in phased array antennas. The states of a quantized phase shifter of a phased array antenna may be dithered to achieve a time-averaged value that reduces quantization errors. By rapidly switching between the different states of the quantized phase shifter, a time-average value close to a desired phase state may be achieved with a low resolution phase shifter.

Digital dithering for reduction of quantization errors and side-lobe levels in phased array antennas

An apparatus and method for continuously shifting the phase of an input signal includes a quadrature hybrid having an input/output port for receiving an input radio frequency (RF) signal and outputting a phase shifted RF signal. An analog shifting unit is connected to the quadrature hybrid for performing an intermediate phase shift on the input RF signal. An additional analog shifting unit is connected to an isolation port of the quadrature hybrid to receive an intermediate output signal based on the intermediate phase shift, and shifting a phase of the intermediate output signal to produce an intermediate input signal. The analog shifting unit performs a final phase shift of the intermediate input signal and the final phase shifted intermediate input signal is output, at the input/output port, as the phase shifted RF signal.

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Germantown, MD, United States of America

Hamad Alsawaha