Phase shifter and manufacturing method thereof, antenna and manufacturing method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11545750-B2
Application number	US-202016999781-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 21, 2020
Priority date	Jun 30, 2020
Publication date	Jan 3, 2023
Grant date	Jan 3, 2023

Abstract

A phase shifter and a manufacturing method thereof and an antenna and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The phase shifter includes: first and second substrates opposite to each other; a first electrode provided on the first substrate and configured to receive a ground signal; a second electrode provided on a side of the second substrate facing towards the first substrate; liquid crystals encapsulated between the first substrate and the second substrate and driven by the first electrode and the second electrode to rotate; and a support structure provided between the first substrate and the second substrate and including a first spacer. The first spacer is located on a side of the second electrode facing away from the second substrate, and an orthographic projection of the first spacer on the second substrate is within an orthographic projection of the second electrode on the second substrate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A phase shifter, comprising:
a first substrate and a second substrate that are opposite to each other;
a first electrode provided on the first substrate and being configured to receive a ground signal;
a second electrode provided on a side of the second substrate facing towards the first substrate;
liquid crystals encapsulated between the first substrate and the second substrate and being configured to rotate under driving by the first electrode and the second electrode;
a support structure provided between the first substrate and the second substrate and comprising at least one first spacer, wherein the at least one first spacer is located on a side of the second electrode facing away from the second substrate, and an orthographic projection of each of the at least one first spacer on the second substrate is within an orthographic projection of the second electrode on the second substrate,
wherein the first electrode is provided with a first opening and a second opening that are configured to couple radio frequency signals, and the second electrode comprises a primary electrode, a first coupling electrode and a second coupling electrode that are connect to each other, and
wherein, in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the first substrate, an orthographic projection of the first coupling electrode overlap the first opening and an orthographic projection of the second coupling electrode overlap the second opening.

2. The phase shifter according to claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one first spacer is made of an inorganic material.

3. The phase shifter according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode is provided with a first opening and a second opening that are configured to couple radio frequency signals; and
in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the first substrate, the orthographic projection of each of the at least one first spacer does not overlap with the first opening or the second opening.

4. The phase shifter according to claim 1 , wherein the supporting structure further comprises a third spacer, wherein in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the second substrate, an orthographic projection of the third spacer does not overlap an orthographic projection of the second electrode, and a height of the third spacer is greater than a height of each of the at least one first spacer.

5. The phase shifter according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one first spacer comprises a plurality of first sub-spacers arranged along a first direction, and each of the plurality of first sub-spacers extends along a second direction, and the first direction intersects with the second direction.

6. The phase shifter according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one first spacer comprises a central spacer and a plurality of edge spacers surrounding the central spacer.

7. The phase shifter according to claim 6 , wherein the plurality of primary spacers is evenly arranged at equal intervals.

8. The phase shifter according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one first spacer comprises a primary spacer and an auxiliary spacer, and in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the second substrate, the primary spacer has a height greater than the auxiliary spacer.

9. The phase shifter according to claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one first spacer comprises a first support part provided on the first substrate and a second support part provided on the second substrate, and in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the second substrate, the first support part and the second support part overlap with each other.

10. The phase shifter according to claim 1 , wherein the primary electrode is a serpentine electrode, a strip-shaped electrode or a comb-shaped electrode.

11. The phase shifter according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first alignment layer provided on a side of the first electrode facing towards the second substrate;
a second alignment layer provided on a side of the second electrode facing towards the first substrate;
a first inorganic protective layer provided between the first alignment layer and the first electrode; and
a second inorganic protective layer provided between the second alignment layer and the second electrode.

12. The phase shifter according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an elevating layer provided on the side of the second substrate facing towards the first substrate,
wherein in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the second substrate, an orthographic projection of the elevating layer does not overlap with an orthographic projection of the second electrode; and
the support structure further comprises at least one second spacer provided on a side of the elevating layer facing away from the second substrate, and in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the second substrate, an orthographic projection of each of the at least one second spacer is within the orthographic projection of the elevating layer.

13. The phase shifter according to claim 12 , wherein a cavity directly facing the first substrate and the second substrate is formed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and wherein the cavity includes a phase shift region and an encapsulation region surrounding the phase shift region; and
wherein in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the second substrate, the orthographic projection of the elevating layer and the orthographic projection of the second electrode together cover an entirety of the phase shift region and a surface of the elevating layer facing away from the second substrate is a flat surface.

14. The phase shifter according to claim 12 , wherein each of the at least one first spacer comprises a first top surface and a first bottom surface that are opposite to each other, and the elevating layer comprises a second top surface and a second bottom surface that are opposite to each other, wherein the first bottom surface is closer to the second substrate than the first top surface, and the second bottom surface is closer to the second substrate than the second top surface, and
a distance between the second top surface and the second substrate is L1, a distance between the first bottom surface and the second substrate is L2, and L1=L2.

15. The phase shifter according to claim 12 , wherein the elevating layer is made of an optical adhesive material.

16. The phase shifter according to claim 12 , wherein the at least one first spacer comprises a plurality of first spacers, and the at least one second spacer comprises a plurality of second spacers, and in a unit area, a distribution density of the plurality of first spacers is greater than a distribution density of the plurality of second spacers.

17. The phase shifter according to claim 12 , wherein an area of an orthographic projection of a single one of the plurality of first spacers on the second substrate is greater than an area of a single one of the plurality of second spacers on the second substrate.

18. A method for manufacturing a phase shifter, comprising:
providing a first substrate and forming a first electrode on the first substrate, the first electrode being configured to receive a ground signal;
providing a second substrate and forming a second electrode on the second substrate;
forming a first spacer on the first substrate or the second substrate; and
oppositely arranging the first substrate and the second substrate to form a cell in such a manner that in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the second substrate, an orthographic projection of the first spacer is within an orthograp

Assignees

• Shanghai Tianma Micro Elect Co

Inventors

• Xi Kerui
• Peng Xuhui
• Qin Feng
• Cui Tingting
• Jia Zhenyu
• Su Ping
• Wu Yuantao

Classifications

• H01P1/184

  Strip line phase-shifters (H01P1/181, H01P1/185, H01P1/19 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01P11/00

  Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing waveguides or resonators, lines, or other devices of the waveguide type · CPC title

• H01Q3/36 Primary

  with variable phase-shifters · CPC title

• H01P1/18 Primary

  Phase-shifters (H01P1/165 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01Q1/38

  formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support {(patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface  H01Q15/142)} · CPC title