In order to reduce the volume and weight of phase array antenna in RF frequency, an integrated technology of multi-channel transceiver circuit and power division network in microwave is proposed for the tile type TR module. The component is integrated in a same dielectric substrate, the mounting interface of chips and power division network are on the same layer. Finally, a 8 × 8 array has been manufactured and tested to validate its function. The results show the integrated technology has good performance. It is very good to satisfy the miniaturization and lightweight of the T/R module in the active phased array antenna.
Active phased array transceiver module is the key component of phase array antenna. The overall volume and weight of phase control antenna array depends on the individual T/R modules [
This tile type T/R module uses PCB multilayer wiring technology. It is a high density integrated technology with 3 dimensional vertical transmissions. It can well satisfy the requirement of T/R modules in the active phased array radar with surface-mount packaging format [
Phased array antenna is divided into brick phased array and Tile type phased array. Tile type phased array has higher degree of integration, smaller longitudinal dimension; it is suitable for installation in limited platform [
High frequency PCB material is an ideal base material for high density packaging, it has the following advantages: Matching with thermal expansion coefficient of the Aluminium alloy or Copper alloy: thermal expansion coefficient of high frequency PCB (RO 4360G2) is about 25 ppm/˚C; thermal expansion coefficient of Aluminium alloy or Copper alloy is about 20 ppm/˚C; therefore the substrate can be directly mounted on the Metal, without other transition. The dielectric constant is low: the dielectric constant is 5.9; it has excellent chemical stability and corrosion resistance, good weldability, and high strength, thus making it an ideal substrate material for high density packaging [
The key points of the design are how to realize all the functions of the traditional T/R module with small volume. As a kind of new structure, the three-dimensional tile type T/R module with fuzz button used in the microwave frequency can achieve good DC and microwave links, and does not need welding. In the traditional module, the microwave signal is transmitted into X-Y in 2D. In tile type T/R module microwave signal transferred not only in X-Y plane, but also in the Z axis direction. The use of PCB multi-layer wiring technology, through a reasonable layout, can realize good microwave performance. With metal isolation Cylinder, high frequency PCB multi-layer substrate can realize digital and analog signal isolation, and realize electromagnetic shielding to solve the problem of signal crosstalk. Three dimensional microwave signal simulation model of high frequency PCB substrate is shown in
From the simulation results we can see, in the K band, the transmission insertion loss of the vertical transition of the high frequency PCB substrate is less than 0.5 dB, and the return loss is more than 15 dB.
The multi-channel transceiver circuit and power division network is very compact, 5 layers high frequency PCB substrate is used, 1.7 mm in thickness. The top 2 layers arrangement for microwave signal; the lower 3 layers arrangement for the various data control line and the power line. Bottom layer is arranging for GND. According to the space arrangement, the form layout is shown in Figures 6-8. Among them, 1 for the multi-channel transceiver circuit module, 2 for power division network, 3 for dielectric substrate, 4 for low frequency control pad, 5 for power supply pad, 6 for RF port connected with antenna, 7 for transceiver common public port, 8 for low frequency control and power supply interface, 9 for metal isolation Cylinder, and 10 for solid grounded cylinder which conduct the thermal of the chip to the bottom of the printed board.
As shown in
In order to verify the performance of integrated circuit, we design the test fixture and do the measurement, as shown in
The measurement result is shown in
Tile type multi-channel transceiver module using high frequency PCB technology in microwave band is proposed in this paper. High frequency PCB substrate is arranged not only for microwave transmission line, but also for low frequency control and power supply line. The use of vertical interconnection transition method realizes three-dimensional microwave signal transmission which is different from the traditional T/R module. Through the multi-layer wiring technology, the PCB substrate achieves a good microwave signal transmission. The tile type T/R module developed in this paper has the advantage of high integration, small volume and light weight, it can well satisfy the requirement of active phased array antenna in the future.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Tai, F.Z. and Zhang, J. (2018) Tile Type Multi-Channel Transceiver Module Applied for Phased Array Antenna. Journal of Computer and Communications, 6, 56-63. https://doi.org/10.4236/jcc.2018.612005