Communications: radio wave antennas – Antennas – Microstrip
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-30
2004-10-26
Le, Hoanganh (Department: 2821)
Communications: radio wave antennas
Antennas
Microstrip
C343S846000, C455S297000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06809688
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an antenna-integrated radio communication device, transmitter and receiver provided with an antenna function to be used for microwave communications.
BACKGROUND ART
Recently, in accordance with improvements in the processing speed of information processing apparatuses, developments in resolution of image processing apparatuses and so on, attention has been paid to high-speed large-capacity personal communications at high frequencies of microwaves and the like. Particularly, in the milliwave band, power loss in the connection portions of an antenna and a high-frequency circuit becomes increased, and therefore, it is attempted to develop an antenna-integrated radio communication device in which an antenna is integrated with a high-frequency circuit.
As an antenna-integrated radio communication device, there is the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 9-237867. As shown in
FIG. 8
, this antenna-integrated radio communication device includes an antenna circuit substrate A in which an antenna element
3
and a high-frequency line
4
for feeding the antenna element
3
are formed on a first dielectric substrate
2
and a high-frequency device circuit substrate B in which a high-frequency device
9
is housed in a cavity
8
formed in a part of a second dielectric substrate
7
and sealed with a lid member
10
and a transmission line
11
for transmitting a signal to the high-frequency device
9
is formed. The antenna circuit substrate A and the device circuit substrate B are laminated and integrated with each other, and the high-frequency line
4
of the antenna circuit substrate A and the transmission line
11
of the high-frequency device circuit substrate B are electromagnetically coupled and connected with each other via a slot
6
.
Moreover, as another antenna-integrated radio communication device, there is the one described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 8-250913. As shown in
FIG. 9
, this antenna-integrated radio communication device includes a base
41
constructed of upper and lower dielectric layers
41
a
and
41
b
and a ground layer
41
c
placed between the dielectric layers
41
a
and
41
b
, and the ground layer
41
c
is provided with a slot portion
41
d
. Moreover, a flat antenna
41
e
is formed on the lower surface of a package
3
that seals and houses a semiconductor integrated circuit, and a microstrip line
91
for feeding is formed on the package inner surface side of the upper dielectric layer
41
a
. Then, this microstrip line
91
is electrically connected to an output terminal
2
a
and an input terminal
93
of an MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit)
92
with bonding wires
2
b
and
94
.
In the antenna-integrated radio communication device shown in
FIG. 8
, ground layers
5
and
12
exist above and below the high-frequency line
4
that feeds the antenna element
3
. Therefore, the upper and lower ground layers
5
and
12
do not become equipotential particularly at very high frequencies as in the milliwave band, and electric power is converted into unnecessary electromagnetic waves in a parallel plate mode to propagate between the upper and lower ground layers
5
and
12
, loosing the electric power from substrate end surfaces. As a method for restraining this unnecessary mode, there can be considered a method for equalizing the potentials of the two ground layers by connecting the upper and lower ground layers via a lot of through holes. However, inductance of the through holes becomes unignorable as the frequency becomes higher, and therefore, this method has a limitation. As a result of the generation of electromagnetic waves in the unnecessary mode described above, there is a problem that the efficiency of the antenna element
3
is reduced. Moreover, if substrate materials of different material properties are laminated in the antenna-integrated radio communication device, there is a problem that the semiconductor chip mounting reliability is degraded due to the manufacturing problems such as lamination displacement and exfoliation and the warp of the substrates because of differences in the thermal expansion coefficient between them.
Moreover, in the antenna-integrated radio communication device shown in
FIG. 9
, in order to form an array of flat antennas
41
e
, it is required to branch the feeding microstrip line
91
to feed each flat antenna
41
e
and house the feeding microstrip line
91
in the same package as that of the MMIC
92
. However, unnecessary electromagnetic waves radiated from the feeding microstrip line
91
and the MMIC
92
exert adverse influences on them, possibly causing not only a reduction in efficiency but also malfunction.
As described above, it has been difficult for the conventional antenna-integrated radio communication devices shown in FIG.
8
and
FIG. 9
to concurrently satisfy the antenna efficiency, the directivity of the formed array and the semiconductor chip mounting reliability.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an antenna-integrated radio communication device capable of improving the efficiency and directivity of the antenna, improving the semiconductor chip mounting reliability with restrained warp of the substrate and preventing the malfunctioning of the high-frequency circuit as well as a transmitter and a receiver employing the communication device.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, the present invention provides an antenna-integrated radio communication device having a dielectric multilayer substrate in which a plurality of dielectric layers are laminated and a high-frequency circuit on which semiconductor chips are mounted, wherein
a plurality of conductor patches, an antenna feeder line for feeding the plurality of conductor patches, one ground layer and the high-frequency circuit connected to the antenna feeder line are separately arranged on an upper surface, between layers and on a lower surface, respectively, of the dielectric multilayer substrate, and the one ground layer is arranged between an antenna section comprised of the plurality of conductor patches and the antenna feeder line and the high-frequency circuit.
According to the antenna-integrated radio communication device of the above-mentioned construction, the plurality of conductor patches, the antenna feeder line, the ground layer and the high-frequency circuit are separately arranged on the upper surface, between the layers and on the lower surface, respectively, of the dielectric multilayer substrate, and the ground layer is arranged between the antenna section constructed of the plurality of conductor patches and the antenna feeder line, and the high-frequency circuit. With this arrangement, the antenna section and the high-frequency circuit are spatially separated from each other by the ground layer, and therefore, the mutual adverse influences of the antenna circuit and the high-frequency circuit can be eliminated. Moreover, the ground layer is only one layer, and therefore, the antenna feeder line becomes able to perform the transmission in the desired quasi-TEM mode even at a high frequency in the milliwave band. Therefore, the efficiency and directivity of the antenna can be improved, and the high-frequency circuit can be prevented from malfunctioning. Furthermore, the plurality of conductor patches and the antenna feeder line are formed in different layers, and therefore, the efficiency of the antenna and the characteristics of the antenna feeder line can be independently optimized.
Moreover, in one embodiment, the dielectric multilayer substrate is a dielectric multilayer substrate comprised of a first dielectric layer, a second dielectric layer and a third dielectric layer,
the plurality of conductor patches are arranged on an upper surface of the first dielectric layer of the dielectric multilayer substrate,
the antenna feeder line is arranged between the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer,
the ground layer is arranged
Birch Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP.
Dinh Trinh Vo
Le Hoang-anh
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
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