Low-Complexity High-Bandwidth Multiport Matching Networks for Coupled Loads

适用于耦合负载的低复杂度高带宽多端口匹配网络

基本信息

批准号：
1509188
负责人：
Bertrand Hochwald
金额：
$ 40万
依托单位：
University of Notre Dame
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2015
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2015-08-01 至 2019-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1509188&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Low Complexity Bandwidth Multiport Matching

项目摘要

Wireless devices that transmit and receive signals usually have antenna elements as part of their design. These antenna elements need to be "matched" to the radio-frequency amplifiers they are connected to, much in the way audio speakers need to be matched to amplifiers to optimize the sound of a music system. Matching circuits can be complicated when there are many antennas in a compact device since these antennas interact and couple with each other. Because of this coupling, any connection with one antenna disturbs the connections with neighboring antennas. Hence, the problem of connecting amplifiers to antennas when they are closely spaced requires careful consideration and a systematic circuit design process. Existing designs tend to be complicated, non-systematic, and difficult to implement in a compact manner; as a result, much transmitter power is lost to a poor match. This research effort looks at simple systematic circuit designs that achieve a good match across a wide range of transmitter frequencies. Since wireless devices are being asked to operate in many bands simultaneously and with high data rates, such circuits can yield great improvements in wireless connectivity in existing frequency bands as well as next-generation bands where the demands on the number of antennas, data rates and device performance are expected to be even more extreme. The theory and experimental validation developed under this effort for low-complexity, high-bandwidth networks is expected to have significant impact on the performance of low-cost high-performance devices, with benefit to society at large, including applications in personal communications and medical telemetry. The effort also has significant educational benefits since it will train an interdisciplinary mix of graduate students in topics within communications, circuits, and microwave engineering. This research effort advocates the design and analysis of low-complexity high-bandwidth multiport matching networks to compensate for coupling in radio-frequency transmitters, receivers, and circuits. The ideal multiport matching network inserted between independent sources and coupled loads compensates for the coupling by eliminating both reflected power and also power transferred from one source through a load to another source. Among the design limitations of such networks, complexity and bandwidth are usually the most important, especially for compact wideband wireless communication devices. These limitations have not been well studied, and this effort includes an integrated two-pronged exploration of these issues in microwave and millimeter-wave matching networks. The first prong uses network-theoretic analyses to explore systematic, unified, design methods that work for any load structure. The effort also seeks standardized limits against which network performance in both complexity and bandwidth can be measured. The second prong couples an experimental program to both validate as well as inform the modeling choices made in the design and optimization of the matching networks. Practical issues such as undesired parasitic coupling and electromagnetic discontinuities in distributed circuit implementations will be examined. Of particular interest are the microwave (2.4 GHz) and millimeter-wave (60 GHz) frequencies with both lumped and distributed radio-frequency components, and an emphasis on simple module layouts. The effort is transformative because it will offer a comprehensive unified set of metrics, design criteria, and methodologies for complexity and bandwidth of multiport matching networks applicable to compact radio-frequency devices.

传输和接收信号的无线设备通常具有天线元件作为其设计的一部分。这些天线元素需要与它们连接的射频放大器“匹配”，这与音频扬声器的方式相匹配的方式很大，以优化音乐系统的声音。当这些天线相互作用并彼此夫妻时，当紧凑型设备中有许多天线时，匹配电路可能会变得复杂。由于这种耦合，与一个天线的任何连接都会扰乱与相邻天线的连接。因此，将放大器连接到天线时的问题需要仔细考虑和系统的电路设计过程。现有的设计往往是复杂的，非系统的，并且以紧凑的方式实施；结果，很差的比赛损失了许多发射器的功率。这项研究工作着眼于简单的系统电路设计，这些设计在各种发射器频率上达到了良好的匹配。由于无线设备被要求同时在许多频段中运行，并且具有较高的数据速率，因此此类电路可以在现有频段以及下一代频段中的无线连通性以及对天线数量的需求，数据速率和设备性能的需求预计会更加极端。在这项工作中为低复杂性，高带宽网络所开发的理论和实验验证预计将对低成本高性能设备的性能产生重大影响，并对整个社会有利，包括个人通信和医疗遥测中的应用。这项工作还具有重大的教育利益，因为它将培训跨学科的研究生在通信，电路和微波工程中的主题。这项研究工作主张低复杂性高带宽多层匹配网络的设计和分析，以补偿无线电发射机，接收器和电路的耦合。独立源和耦合载荷之间插入的理想多派匹配网络通过消除反射功率以及从一个源通过负载传递到另一个来源传递的功率来补偿耦合。在此类网络的设计局限性中，复杂性和带宽通常是最重要的，尤其是对于紧凑的宽带无线通信设备。这些局限性尚未得到很好的研究，这项工作包括对微波和毫米波匹配网络中这些问题进行的综合探索。第一个prong使用网络理论分析来探索适用于任何负载结构的系统，统一的设计方法。这项工作还寻求标准化的限制，以衡量复杂性和带宽方面的网络性能。第二阶段将实验程序融合在一起，以验证并告知匹配网络设计和优化中的建模选择。将检查诸如分布式电路实现中不希望的寄生耦合和电磁不连续性之类的实际问题。特别有趣的是微波炉（2.4 GHz）和毫米波（60 GHz）频率，具有集总和分布式射频组件，并强调简单的模块布局。这项工作具有变革性，因为它将提供一组综合的统一指标，设计标准和方法，用于适用于紧凑型射频设备的多部匹配网络的复杂性和带宽。