Plasma Antennas Limited

Airspan IP Holdco LLC

Richard Brooke Keeton

David Hayes

Hassanein Daniel Rabah

Ruth Elizabeth Harper

David Clive Taylor

A dipole antenna apparatus, and method of manufacture of such an apparatus, are provided. The antenna apparatus has a conductive plate extending in a first plane, and a pair of conductive elements arranged to form a dipole antenna, where the pair of conductive elements are located in a second plane parallel to the first plane. Each conductive element forms a conductive ring in the second plane that surrounds a non-conductive inner area. The first conductive element in the pair of conductive elements has a conductive bridge extending across the conductive ring to divide the non-conductive inner area into at least two portions. A conductive connection then extends from the conductive bridge to the conductive plate. As a result, in normal use the conductive plate acts as a reflector for the dipole antenna, but in the event of a direct current event the presence of the conductive bridge and the conductive connection causes the conductive plate to operate as a ground plane for direct current within the first conductive element of the dipole antenna. It has been found that such an approach provides a particularly efficient, low cost, design for a dipole antenna.

Dipole antenna apparatus and method of manufacture

A solid state plasma monolithic microwave integrated circuit having single or multiple elemental devices with at least three terminals operating within the microwave, millimeter wave or terahertz bands, that can be configured within a parallel plate structure, which solid state plasma monolithic microwave integrated circuit comprises: (i) a semiconductor dielectric substrate (); (ii) parallel plates () which comprise an upper conducting parallel plate () and a lower conducting parallel plate () and which parallel plates () are used to guide an electromagnetic wave; (iii) an isolating trench which is between the parallel plates (), and which is used to contain a solid state plasma; (iv) a distinct p-doped region and a distinct n-doped region which are within a first semiconductor region defined by the isolating trench below the upper conducting parallel plate (), and which are connected to two electrical bias terminals, where at least one electrical bias terminal forms a radio frequency short to the upper parallel plate (); and a p or n doped region within a second semiconductor region defined by the isolating trench above the lower conducting parallel plate () and connected to a third electrical bias terminal, where the third electrical bias terminal forms a radio frequency short to the lower conducting parallel plate (), and wherein; a solid state plasma is able to be controlled by voltage biasing of the three electrical bias terminals to either reflect, absorb or transmit an electromagnetic wave.

Three terminal solid state plasma monolithic microwave integrated circuit

A displaced feed antenna which has a spaced conducting plate construction that incorporates electronically selectable feed points with associated antenna beam positions, and which comprises (i) a set of one or more beamforming configurations composed of layered, interlinking spaced conducting plates and conducting boundaries that are separated by cavities containing dielectric material or free space; (ii) a set of one or more internal focusing devices for each beamforming configuration to route radio frequency energy to or from the displaced feed points in receive and transmit modes respectively; (iii) a linear or curved array of displaced feeds for each beamforming configuration for coupling radio frequency energy into, or from, the cavity between the plates; (iv) a selection device to allow definable overlapping regions of the focussing devices to be illuminated for each beamforming configuration; and (v) array elements for each beamforming configuration between spaced conducting plates to free space, allowing either single polarizations or dual polarization operation.

Displaced feed parallel plate antenna

A selectable beam antenna of generally linear, polygonal, planar or polyhedral form, able to operate at microwave and millimetre wave frequencies, and constructed from associated networks that incorporate radio frequency switches, time delays and amplitude weights positioned within a set of interleaved transmission, lines or waveguides to simultaneously perform both beam-forming and beam selection operations, which selectable beam antenna comprises: (i) a single RP antenna port connected to a 1-to-N corporate feed means, where N is greater than or equal to 2; (ii) a EF switch network means of N/q multi-pole-multi-throw radio frequency switch means (qPMT) connected to the corporate feed means; (iii) a RF distribution means of N&#xd7;M singularly or multiply interleaved lines arranged so as to have approximately equal transmission length connected to the switch means, where M is the number of throws associated with each radio frequency switch means (qPMT); (iv) an antenna launch means of M&#xd7;M interleaved antenna element sub-groups of S linear or planar elements, where S is greater than or equal to one, &#x3c3;orporately connected to the distribution means and arranged to closely follow at sub-wavelength intervals a closed are or segment of a closed surface; and (v) an overall electronic control means to set all radio frequency switches in such a way to select, to time delay and to amplitude weight the activated interleaved antenna launch elements and thus generate one of the possible directed, antenna beams.

Selectable beam antenna

An electromagnetic switch element that through electromechanical actuation is able to be used to influence the propagation of an electromagnetic signal within a guiding medium. An electromagnetic switch element that is activated by displacement of conducting elements, the displacement being forced through electrostatic, electric field, magnetic field, thermal or other means.

Growing community of inventors

Beaulieu, United Kingdom

Richard Brooke Keeton