阅读说明：本技术 基于3d打印的一体化太赫兹波纹喇叭天线阵列及其制作方法 (Integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing and manufacturing method thereof ) 是由 盛文军 周金文 陈兴玉 于坤鹏 于 2021-07-21 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种基于3D打印的一体化太赫兹波纹喇叭天线阵列及其制作方法,天线阵列包括若干个波纹喇叭天线单元(101)、表面金属层(102)以及主体支撑结构(103),所述主体支撑结构(103)为光固化树脂,若干个波纹喇叭天线单元(101)一体成型设置在主体支撑结构(103)上,且主体支撑结构(103)上表面覆盖表面金属层(102),相邻波纹喇叭天线单元(101)的之间为与波纹喇叭天线单元(101)一体化的网状支撑结构(104)。本发明的优点在于：提供了波纹喇叭天线阵列基于光固化3D打印技术,一体化成形,不需要天线单元的进一步装配,结构强度好,服役期间变形小,主要材料为光固化树脂,重量轻,能够直接与前端馈源波导进行互联,安装和使用方便。(The invention discloses an integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing and a manufacturing method thereof, wherein the antenna array comprises a plurality of corrugated horn antenna units (101), a surface metal layer (102) and a main body supporting structure (103), the main body supporting structure (103) is made of light-cured resin, the plurality of corrugated horn antenna units (101) are integrally formed on the main body supporting structure (103), the surface metal layer (102) covers the upper surface of the main body supporting structure (103), and a net-shaped supporting structure (104) integrated with the corrugated horn antenna units (101) is arranged between the adjacent corrugated horn antenna units (101). The invention has the advantages that: the corrugated horn antenna array is integrally formed based on a photocuring 3D printing technology, further assembly of antenna units is not needed, the structural strength is good, deformation during service is small, main materials are photocuring resin, the weight is light, the corrugated horn antenna array can be directly interconnected with front-end feed source waveguides, and installation and use are convenient.)

1. The utility model provides an integration terahertz wave horn antenna array now based on 3D prints which characterized in that: including a plurality of ripple horn antenna unit (101), surface metal layer (102) and main part bearing structure (103), main part bearing structure (103) are light-cured resin, and a plurality of ripple horn antenna unit (101) integrated into one piece sets up on main part bearing structure (103), and main part bearing structure (103) upper surface covers surface metal layer (102), be netted bearing structure (104) with ripple horn antenna unit (101) integration between adjacent ripple horn antenna unit (101).

2. The integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing of claim 1, wherein: the mesh support structure (104) is a uniform mesh structure.

3. The integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing of claim 1, wherein: the net-shaped supporting structure (104) is an uneven net-shaped structure, and some areas are dense and some areas are sparse.

4. The integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing of claim 1, wherein: the corrugated horn antenna units (101) are arranged according to needs, and the arrangement mode comprises an orthogonal arrangement mode and a triangular arrangement mode.

5. The integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing of claim 1, wherein: the surface metal layer (102) is copper or gold.

6. The integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing of claim 1, wherein: the single corrugated horn antenna unit (101) is an integral structure comprising five parts, namely a rectangular waveguide (1011), a waveguide transition section (1012), a circular waveguide (1013), a mode conversion section (1014) and a radiation section (1015);

the rectangular waveguide (1011) is a rectangular waveguide structure directly interconnected with an external input rectangular waveguide; the waveguide transition section (1012) is a smooth transition structure from a rectangular waveguide (1011) to a circular waveguide (1013); the circular waveguide (1013) is a circular waveguide directly connected to the mode-transforming section (1014); the mode changing section (1014) is composed of a circular horn with a plurality of annular grooves; the radiation section (1015) is composed of a circular horn with a plurality of annular grooves;

the net-shaped supporting structure (104) is positioned between the adjacent corrugated horn antenna units (101), and the net-shaped supporting structure (104) and the corrugated horn antenna units (101) are of an integral structure.

7. The integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: the preparation method of the integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing comprises the following steps:

step S1, carrying out detailed design on the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array according to the working frequency of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array to obtain a three-dimensional structure diagram of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array;

s2, optimizing the three-dimensional structure of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array obtained in the S1 according to the process constraint of 3D printing to obtain a three-dimensional structure chart capable of being directly printed in a 3D mode;

step S3, based on a photocuring 3D printing technology, performing overall 3D printing of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array from the end, wherein the material used for 3D printing is photocuring resin, and in the photocuring 3D printing process, the thickness of a single-layer printing layer is 10-100 microns, the optical imaging precision is 10-100 microns, and the vertical printing speed is 1-10 mm/min;

step S4, sequentially cleaning, roughening, activating and chemically plating the surface of the structure based on a chemical plating process, and depositing a surface metal layer (102) with the thickness of 1-10um on all surfaces of the antenna array structure;

step S5, utilizing a laser ablation process to manufacture an annular or rectangular isolation region (105) around the circular horn opening of the radiation section (1015) of the corrugated horn antenna unit (101) and the rectangular opening of the rectangular waveguide (1011), and isolating the metal layer on the surface of the corrugated horn antenna unit (101) from the metal layer (102) on the rest surface.

8. The integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing of claim 7, wherein: the 3D printing method comprises a DLP photocuring 3D printing or LCD photocuring 3D printing technology.

9. The preparation method of the 3D printing-based integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array is characterized in that: the method comprises the following steps:

step S1, carrying out detailed design on the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array according to the working frequency of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array to obtain a three-dimensional structure diagram of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array;

s2, optimizing the three-dimensional structure of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array obtained in the S1 according to the process constraint of 3D printing to obtain a three-dimensional structure chart capable of being directly printed in a 3D mode;

step S3, based on a photocuring 3D printing technology, performing overall 3D printing of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array from the end, wherein the material used for 3D printing is photocuring resin, and in the photocuring 3D printing process, the thickness of a single-layer printing layer is 10-100 microns, the optical imaging precision is 10-100 microns, and the vertical printing speed is 1-10 mm/min;

step S4, sequentially cleaning, roughening, activating and chemically plating the surface of the structure based on a chemical plating process, and depositing a surface metal layer (102) with the thickness of 1-10um on all surfaces of the antenna array structure;

step S4, utilizing a laser ablation process to manufacture an annular or rectangular isolation region (105) around the circular horn opening of the radiation section (1015) of the corrugated horn antenna unit (101) and the rectangular opening of the rectangular waveguide (1011), and isolating the metal layer on the surface of the corrugated horn antenna unit (101) from the metal layer (102) on the rest surface.

10. The integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing of claim 9, wherein: the 3D printing method comprises a DLP photocuring 3D printing or LCD photocuring 3D printing technology.

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the field of 3D printing, and particularly relates to a corrugated horn antenna array based on a photocuring 3D printing technology and a manufacturing method thereof.

Background

The terahertz radar works in a frequency band of 0.1THz-10THz, can realize extremely narrow antenna beams and extremely large signal bandwidth, has high spatial resolution, obtains fine target imaging, has the capability of penetrating cloud layers and smoke, is a development direction of a high-precision radar capable of coping with complex and severe environmental conditions, and has important significance for national defense construction. The corrugated horn antenna is one of the most commonly used antennas of terahertz radar systems, and is an improved horn antenna, wherein groove-shaped corrugations are designed on the side wall of the horn antenna, so that surface current is prevented from flowing from the edge, and an antenna directional pattern is improved. The corrugated horn antenna has the advantages of high gain, low side lobe, excellent radiation characteristic and standing wave characteristic, simple structure and the like. The traditional corrugated horn antenna is manufactured by machining a metal blank, so that the traditional corrugated horn antenna is heavy in weight and difficult to machine, and the subsequent antenna array is high in assembly precision and complex in assembly process. The groove-shaped corrugations on the surface of the inner cavity of the corrugated horn antenna are of a characteristic structure with the smallest key size and the largest processing difficulty of the antenna, the key size of the groove-shaped corrugations is positively correlated with the working frequency band of the antenna, when the working frequency band of the antenna is deep into millimeter waves or even terahertz frequency bands, the key size of the structure enters millimeter or even sub millimeter magnitude, the structural complexity and the processing precision are close to or exceed the limit of the traditional mechanical processing means, and further engineering application of the terahertz radar is restricted.

The patent applications related to the present invention are: (1) patent document No. 201310505614.0 discloses a 0.5THz corrugated horn antenna and a method for manufacturing the same by using an MEMS process; (2) patent document No. 200910093482.9 discloses a millimeter wave rectangular-circular transition integrated corrugated horn antenna and a processing method thereof. 201310505614.0 patent document redesigns the corrugated horn antenna based on the MEMS processing technology, and obtains an on-chip corrugated horn antenna based on the MEMS processing technology, which has very high processing precision and is easy to be integrated on the chip in an array manner, but has very limited processing capability of a complex three-dimensional structure, complex processing procedures and high cost. 200910093482.9 patent document firstly makes an integrated antenna inner core as a mold by a machining method, and then makes a horn antenna by an electroforming process, the machining method improves the machining precision of the horn antenna to a certain extent, but the machining cycle of the mold corrosion and the electroforming process is long, the whole process is still limited by the machining process of the mold, and the subsequent array integration still faces a complex assembly link.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to solve the technical problem of how to improve the processing precision of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna and facilitate manufacturing.

The invention solves the technical problems through the following technical means: the utility model provides an integration terahertz wave horn antenna array now based on 3D prints, includes a plurality of ripple horn antenna unit (101), surface metal layer (102) and main part bearing structure (103), main part bearing structure (103) are light-cured resin, and a plurality of ripple horn antenna unit (101) integrated into one piece sets up on main part bearing structure (103), and main part bearing structure (103) upper surface cover surface metal layer (102), be netted bearing structure (104) with ripple horn antenna unit (101) integration between adjacent ripple horn antenna unit (101).

The invention has the advantages that: the invention provides an integrally-formed corrugated horn antenna array and a processing technology based on photocuring 3D printing thereof, aiming at the problems of small characteristic size, complex key structure, difficult processing, complex assembly of a array surface and the like of the traditional terahertz corrugated horn antenna array. The corrugated horn antenna array provided by the invention is mainly made of light-cured resin, is light in weight, can be directly interconnected with the front-end feed source waveguide, and is convenient to install and use.

As an optimized technical scheme, the net-shaped supporting structure (104) is a uniform net-shaped structure.

As an optimized technical scheme, the net-shaped supporting structure (104) is an uneven net-shaped structure, and some areas are dense and some areas are sparse.

As an optimized technical scheme, the corrugated horn antenna units (101) are arranged according to needs, and the arrangement mode comprises an orthogonal arrangement mode and a triangular arrangement mode.

As an optimized technical scheme, the surface metal layer (102) is made of copper or gold.

As an optimized technical scheme, the single corrugated horn antenna unit (101) is an integrated structure comprising five parts, namely a rectangular waveguide (1011), a waveguide transition section (1012), a circular waveguide (1013), a mode conversion section (1014) and a radiation section (1015);

the rectangular waveguide (1011) is a rectangular waveguide structure directly interconnected with an external input rectangular waveguide; the waveguide transition section (1012) is a smooth transition structure from a rectangular waveguide (1011) to a circular waveguide (1013); the circular waveguide (1013) is a circular waveguide directly connected to the mode-transforming section (1014); the mode changing section (1014) is composed of a circular horn with a plurality of annular grooves; the radiation section (1015) is composed of a circular horn with a plurality of annular grooves;

the net-shaped supporting structure (104) is positioned between the adjacent corrugated horn antenna units (101), and the net-shaped supporting structure (104) and the corrugated horn antenna units (101) are of an integral structure.

The invention also provides a preparation method of the integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing, which comprises the following steps:

step S1, carrying out detailed design on the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array according to the working frequency of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array to obtain a three-dimensional structure diagram of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array;

s2, optimizing the three-dimensional structure of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array obtained in the S1 according to the process constraint of 3D printing to obtain a three-dimensional structure chart capable of being directly printed in a 3D mode;

step S3, based on a photocuring 3D printing technology, performing overall 3D printing of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array from the end, wherein the material used for 3D printing is photocuring resin, and in the photocuring 3D printing process, the thickness of a single-layer printing layer is 10-100 microns, the optical imaging precision is 10-100 microns, and the vertical printing speed is 1-10 mm/min;

step S4, sequentially cleaning, roughening, activating and chemically plating the surface of the structure based on a chemical plating process, and depositing a surface metal layer (102) with the thickness of 1-10um on all surfaces of the antenna array structure;

step S4, utilizing a laser ablation process to manufacture an annular or rectangular isolation region (105) around the circular horn opening of the radiation section (1015) of the corrugated horn antenna unit (101) and the rectangular opening of the rectangular waveguide (1011), and isolating the metal layer on the surface of the corrugated horn antenna unit (101) from the metal layer (102) on the rest surface.

As an optimized technical scheme, the 3D printing method comprises a DLP photocuring 3D printing or LCD photocuring 3D printing technology.

The invention has the advantages that: aiming at the problems of small characteristic size, complex key structure, difficult processing, complex assembly of a front surface and the like of the traditional terahertz corrugated horn antenna array, the invention provides a corrugated horn antenna array based on a photocuring 3D printing technology, which is a surface forming 3D printing technology, and has the advantages of high printing precision, high speed, integrated forming, no need of further assembly of antenna units, good structural strength and small deformation during service. The corrugated horn antenna array provided by the invention is mainly made of light-cured resin, is light in weight, can be directly interconnected with the front-end feed source waveguide, and is convenient to install and use.

The terahertz corrugated horn antenna array manufactured by utilizing the traditional processes such as metal 3D printing is large in size and heavy in weight, is difficult to be applied to manufacturing of terahertz waveband antennas, is based on the latest progress of micro-nano-grade high-precision and rapid printing of a photocuring 3D printing technology, combines with a surface metallization technology, provides the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on the photocuring 3D printing technology, and lays a foundation for engineering application of terahertz radars.

Drawings

Shown in fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a feedhorn array.

Shown in fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a feedhorn array cross-sectional structure.

Shown in fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of one half of a single corrugated horn antenna element structure.

Shown in fig. 4a is a top view of one half of a radiating section of a single corrugated horn antenna element structure.

Shown in fig. 4b is a top view of one half of a face of a rectangular waveguide of a single corrugated horn antenna element structure.

Shown in fig. 5 is a corrugated feedhorn array fabrication process flow.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The invention provides an integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing, as shown in FIG. 1, the integrated terahertz corrugated horn antenna array based on 3D printing comprises a plurality of corrugated horn antenna units 101, a surface metal layer 102 and a main body supporting structure 103.

The body support structure 103 is a light-curable resin. A plurality of corrugated horn antennas 101 integrated into one piece sets up on main part bearing structure 103, and corrugated horn antennas 101 and main part bearing structure 103 surface cover surface metal layer 102, surface metal layer 102 adopts metals such as copper, gold.

As shown in fig. 2, which is a middle cross-sectional view of the corrugated feedhorn array in fig. 1, it can be seen that a mesh-shaped supporting structure 104 integrated with the corrugated feedhorn units 101 is disposed between adjacent corrugated feedhorn units 101, and the mesh-shaped supporting structure 104 may be a uniform mesh-shaped structure or a non-uniform mesh-shaped structure, that is, some areas are dense and some areas are sparse, so as to ensure that the rigidity and the weight of the whole array structure are maximized and minimized.

The corrugated horn antenna unit 101 may be arranged as required, and may be arranged in various ways such as orthogonal, triangular, and the like. As shown in fig. 3, the single corrugated horn antenna unit 101 is an integral structure including five parts, i.e., a rectangular waveguide 1011, a waveguide transition section 1012, a circular waveguide 1013, a mode conversion section 1014, and a radiation section 1015.

The rectangular waveguide 1011 is a rectangular waveguide structure directly interconnected with an external input rectangular waveguide; the waveguide transition section 1012 is a smooth transition structure from a rectangular waveguide 1011 to a circular waveguide 1013; circular waveguide 1013 is a circular waveguide directly connected to mode transition segment 1014; the mode conversion section 1014 is composed of a circular horn with a plurality of annular grooves on the surface and is used for realizing the conversion from TEM waves to HE waves; the radiation section 1015 is formed by a circular horn with a plurality of annular grooves on the surface, and is used for realizing outward radiation of HE waves. The mesh-like support structure 104 is located between adjacent corrugated horn antenna elements 101. And the mesh-shaped supporting structure 104 and the corrugated horn antenna unit 101 are an integral structure.

As shown in fig. 4a and 4b, the circular horn opening of the radiation section 1015 of the corrugated horn antenna unit 101 and the rectangular opening of the rectangular waveguide 1011 are fabricated with a ring-shaped or rectangular isolation region 105 to isolate the metal layer on the surface of the corrugated horn antenna unit 101 from the remaining surface metal layer 102.

In detail, the manufacturing method of the corrugated horn antenna is shown in fig. 5, and comprises the following steps:

step S1, carrying out detailed design on the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array according to the working frequency of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array to obtain a three-dimensional structure diagram of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array;

step S2, properly optimizing the three-dimensional structure of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array obtained in the step S1 according to the process constraint of 3D printing to obtain a three-dimensional structure chart capable of being directly printed in a 3D mode;

step S3, based on a photocuring 3D printing technology, performing overall 3D printing of the terahertz corrugated horn antenna array according to the direction indicated by an arrow in figure 1, wherein the 3D printing method comprises surface forming 3D printing technologies such as DLP (digital laser projection) photocuring 3D printing or LCD photocuring 3D printing, the 3D printing material is photocuring resin, the thickness of a single-layer printing layer is 10-100 micrometers, the optical imaging precision is 10-100 micrometers, and the vertical printing speed is 1-10 millimeters/minute in the photocuring 3D printing process;

step S4, sequentially cleaning, roughening, activating and chemically plating the surface of the structure based on a chemical plating process, and depositing a surface metal layer 102 with the thickness of 1-10um on all surfaces of the antenna array structure;

step S5, a circular or rectangular isolation region 105 is formed in the circular horn opening of the radiation section 1015 of the corrugated horn antenna unit 101 and the rectangular opening of the rectangular waveguide 1011 by using a laser ablation process, so as to isolate the metal layer on the surface of the corrugated horn antenna unit 101 from the metal layer 102 on the rest surface.

Aiming at the problems of small characteristic size, complex key structure, difficult processing, complex assembly of a front surface and the like of the traditional terahertz corrugated horn antenna array, the invention provides a corrugated horn antenna array based on a photocuring 3D printing technology, which is a surface forming 3D printing technology, and has the advantages of high printing precision, high speed, integrated forming, no need of further assembly of antenna units, good structural strength and small deformation during service. The corrugated horn antenna array provided by the invention is mainly made of light-cured resin, is light in weight, can be directly interconnected with the front-end feed source waveguide, and is convenient to install and use.

The above examples are only intended to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.