阅读说明：本技术 天线模块和搭载有该天线模块的通信装置 (Antenna module and communication device having the same mounted thereon ) 是由 须藤薫 于 2020-02-25 设计创作，主要内容包括：天线模块(100)具备接地电极(GND)、馈电元件(121)、无馈电元件(122、123)以及馈电布线(140、141)。无馈电元件(123)为平板状,配置为与接地电极(GND)相向。馈电元件(121)为平板状,配置于无馈电元件(123)与接地电极(GND)之间。无馈电元件(122)为平板状,配置于馈电元件(121)与接地电极(GND)之间。馈电布线(140、141)贯通无馈电元件(122),用于将高频信号传递到馈电元件(121)。(The antenna module (100) is provided with a ground electrode (GND), a feed element (121), non-feed elements (122, 123), and feed wires (140, 141). The non-feeding element (123) is flat and is disposed so as to face the ground electrode (GND). The feeding element (121) is in the form of a flat plate and is disposed between the non-feeding element (123) and the ground electrode (GND). The non-feeding element (122) is in the form of a flat plate and is disposed between the feeding element (121) and the ground electrode (GND). The power feeding wiring (140, 141) penetrates the non-power feeding element (122) and transmits a high-frequency signal to the power feeding element (121).)

1. An antenna module is provided with:

a first ground electrode;

a first flat plate-shaped non-power feeding element disposed to face the first ground electrode;

a planar power feeding element disposed between the first parasitic element and the first ground electrode;

a second flat plate-shaped non-feeding element disposed between the feeding element and the first ground electrode; and

a first feed wiring penetrating the second non-feed element for transmitting a high-frequency signal to the feed element.

2. The antenna module of claim 1,

the first parasitic element has a cross shape in a case where the first parasitic element is viewed in a plan view from a normal direction.

3. The antenna module of claim 2,

the first parasitic element is disposed between the first parasitic element and the second parasitic element.

4. The antenna module of claim 2 or 3,

further comprising a second power feeding wiring penetrating the second non-power feeding element for transmitting a high frequency signal to the power feeding element,

the feed element is configured to radiate an electric wave of a first polarization direction based on the high-frequency signal from the first feed wiring and radiate an electric wave of a second polarization direction orthogonal to the first polarization direction based on the high-frequency signal from the second feed wiring,

the first parasitic element extends in the first polarization direction and the second polarization direction in a case where the first parasitic element is viewed from a normal direction in a plan view.

5. The antenna module of claim 4,

the second feeder wiring is formed in such a manner as to include a first via and a second via,

in a case where the antenna module is viewed from a normal direction in plan, a position of the first path from the first ground electrode side to the second non-feeding element is offset with respect to a position of the second path from the second non-feeding element to the feeding element.

6. The antenna module of any one of claims 1-5,

the first feeder wiring is formed in such a manner as to include a third via and a fourth via,

a position of the third path from the first ground electrode side to the second non-feeding element is offset with respect to a position of the fourth path from the second non-feeding element to the feeding element in a case where the antenna module is viewed from a normal direction in plan.

7. The antenna module of any one of claims 1-4,

a size of the second parasitic element is larger than a size of the feeding element in a case where the second parasitic element is viewed in a plan view from a normal direction,

the feeding element is configured to radiate an electric wave of a first frequency band,

the second non-feeding element is configured to radiate a radio wave of a second frequency band lower than the first frequency band.

8. The antenna module of any one of claims 1-7,

further comprising a second ground electrode disposed between the second non-feeding element and the first ground electrode,

the first feeding wiring includes a wiring pattern extending in a layer between the first ground electrode and the second ground electrode.

9. The antenna module of any one of claims 1-7,

the first feed wiring includes a wiring pattern extending in the same layer as the first ground electrode.

10. The antenna module of any one of claims 1-9,

the antenna device further includes a power supply circuit configured to supply a high-frequency signal to the power supply element.

11. A communication device having the antenna module according to any one of claims 1 to 10 mounted thereon.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an antenna module and a communication device having the same mounted thereon, and more particularly, to a technique for improving antenna characteristics of an antenna module that is compatible with multiple bands.

Background

International publication No. 2014/045966 (patent document 1) discloses a stacked patch antenna in which a feed element and a non-feed element are stacked. In the antenna disclosed in international publication No. 2014/045966 (patent document 1), the non-feeding element has a cross shape in which two patches intersect each other, and a feed line for feeding each patch is connected to the feeding element. With such a configuration, radio waves of different polarizations can be radiated from the feeding element. Further, by forming the non-feeding element in a cross shape, a frequency band that can be matched with the antenna can be widened.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: international publication No. 2014/045966

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In recent years, portable terminals such as smartphones have become widespread, and household electrical appliances and electronic devices having a wireless communication function have increased due to technological innovation such as IoT. This may increase the traffic volume of the wireless network, and may reduce the communication speed and communication quality.

As one countermeasure for solving such a problem, development of a fifth generation mobile communication system (5G) is advancing. In 5G, high-level beam forming and spatial multiplexing are performed using a plurality of power feeding elements, and signals in a millimeter wave band of a higher frequency (several tens of GHz) are used in addition to signals in a 6GHz band that have been used conventionally, and it is intended to achieve high-speed communication and improvement in communication quality.

In 5G, frequencies of a plurality of millimeter wave bands separated in frequency band are sometimes used, and in this case, it is necessary to transmit and receive signals of the plurality of bands by one antenna. In addition, in order to perform beamforming, it is necessary to array a plurality of feeding elements, and it is also necessary to miniaturize the antenna itself from the viewpoint of miniaturization and thinning of the portable terminal.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an antenna module that simultaneously satisfies transmission and reception of high-frequency signals in a plurality of frequency bands and miniaturization.

Means for solving the problems

The antenna module according to the present disclosure includes a first ground electrode, a feeding element, first and second non-feeding elements, and a first feeding wiring. The first non-power feeding element is in a flat plate shape and is disposed to face the first ground electrode. The feeding element is in a flat plate shape and is configured between the first non-feeding element and the first grounding electrode. The second non-feeding element is in a flat plate shape and is configured between the feeding element and the first grounding electrode. The first feed wiring passes through the second non-feed element for transmitting a high-frequency signal to the feed element.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

In the antenna module of the present disclosure, a first parasitic element, a feeding element, and a second parasitic element are arranged in this order as radiating elements, and a feeding wire penetrates the second parasitic element and is connected to the feeding element. With such a configuration, high-frequency signals of different frequency bands can be radiated from the feeding element and the second non-feeding element, respectively. Further, since the bandwidth in which the first non-feeding element can transmit and receive can be increased, the antenna module can be miniaturized.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a communication device to which an antenna module according to embodiment 1 is applied.

Fig. 2 is an external perspective view of the antenna module according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the antenna module according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 4 is an external perspective view of an antenna module according to a comparative example.

Fig. 5 is a graph showing gains in embodiment 1 and comparative example.

Fig. 6 is an external perspective view in the case of the antenna module of the single polarization type.

Fig. 7 is an external perspective view of an antenna module according to modification 1.

Fig. 8 is an external perspective view of an antenna module according to modification 2.

Fig. 9 is an external perspective view of the antenna module according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional perspective view of an antenna module according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional perspective view of an antenna module according to modification 3.

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional perspective view of an antenna module according to modification 4.

Fig. 13 is an external perspective view of an antenna module according to modification 4.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

[ embodiment 1]

(basic Structure of communication device)

Fig. 1 is an example of a block diagram of a communication device 10 to which an antenna module 100 according to embodiment 1 is applied. The communication device 10 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, or a tablet computer, a personal computer having a communication function, or the like. Examples of the frequency band of the radio wave used in the antenna module 100 according to the present embodiment are radio waves in the millimeter wave band having a center frequency such as 28GHz, 39GHz, and 60GHz, for example, but radio waves in frequency bands other than the above can be applied.

Referring to fig. 1, a communication device 10 includes an antenna module 100 and a BBIC 200 constituting a baseband signal processing circuit. The antenna module 100 includes an RFIC 110 and an antenna device 120 as an example of a feed circuit. The communication device 10 up-converts a signal transmitted from the BBIC 200 to the antenna module 100 into a high-frequency signal and radiates the high-frequency signal from the antenna device 120, and down-converts the high-frequency signal received by the antenna device 120 and processes the signal using the BBIC 200.

In fig. 1, for ease of explanation, only the structures corresponding to four feeding elements 121 among the plurality of feeding elements 121 constituting the antenna device 120 are shown, and the structures corresponding to the other feeding elements 121 having the same structure are omitted. Although fig. 1 shows an example in which the antenna device 120 is formed by a plurality of feeding elements 121 arranged in a two-dimensional array, the number of feeding elements 121 does not need to be large, and the antenna device 120 may be formed by one feeding element 121. In addition, a plurality of power feeding elements 121 may be arranged in a one-dimensional array in a row. In the present embodiment, the feeding element 121 is a planar patch antenna having a substantially square shape.

RFIC 110 includes switches 111A to 111D, 113A to 113D, and 117, power amplifiers 112AT to 112DT, low noise amplifiers 112AR to 112DR, attenuators 114A to 114D, phase shifters 115A to 115D, a signal combiner/demultiplexer 116, a mixer 118, and an amplifier circuit 119.

When transmitting a high-frequency signal, the switches 111A to 111D and 113A to 113D are switched to the power amplifiers 112AT to 112DT side, and the switch 117 is connected to the transmission-side amplifier of the amplifier circuit 119. When receiving a high-frequency signal, the switches 111A to 111D and 113A to 113D are switched to the low noise amplifiers 112AR to 112DR side, and the switch 117 is connected to the receiving-side amplifier of the amplifier circuit 119.

The signal transmitted from the BBIC 200 is amplified by an amplifier circuit 119, and then up-converted by a mixer 118. The up-converted transmission signal, which is a high-frequency signal, is divided into 4 by the signal combiner/splitter 116, and is supplied to different feeding elements 121 through four signal paths. In this case, the directivity of the antenna device 120 can be adjusted by independently adjusting the phase shift degrees of the phase shifters 115A to 115D arranged in the respective signal paths.

The reception signals received as high-frequency signals by the respective feeding elements 121 are combined by the signal combiner/splitter 116 via four different signal paths. The combined received signal is down-converted by the mixer 118 and amplified by the amplifying circuit 119, and then passed to the BBIC 200.

The RFIC 110 is formed as an integrated circuit component including, for example, 1 chip of the above-described circuit configuration. Alternatively, the devices (switches, power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers, attenuators, and phase shifters) corresponding to the respective power feeding elements 121 in the RFIC 110 may be formed as an integrated circuit component of 1 chip for each corresponding power feeding element 121.

(Structure of antenna Module)

Next, the configuration of the antenna module 100 in embodiment 1 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 is an external perspective view of the antenna module 100, and fig. 3 is a sectional perspective view of the antenna module 100.

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, the antenna module 100 includes non-feeding elements 122, 123, a dielectric substrate 130, feeding wirings 140, 141, and a ground electrode GND, in addition to the feeding element 121 and the RFIC 110. In the following description, the positive direction of the Z axis in each drawing is sometimes referred to as the upper surface side, and the negative direction of the Z axis is sometimes referred to as the lower surface side. In fig. 2, the dielectric substrate 130 is omitted for easy observation of the internal structure.

The dielectric substrate 130 is, for example, a Low Temperature Co-fired ceramic (LTCC) multilayer substrate, a multilayer resin substrate formed by stacking a plurality of resin layers made of a resin such as an epoxy resin or a polyimide, a multilayer resin substrate formed by stacking a plurality of resin layers made of a Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) having a lower dielectric constant, a multilayer resin substrate formed by stacking a plurality of resin layers made of a fluorine-based resin, or a ceramic multilayer substrate other than LTCC. The dielectric substrate 130 may not necessarily have a multilayer structure, and may be a single-layer substrate.

The dielectric substrate 130 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the normal direction (Z-axis direction). The ground electrode GND is disposed in a layer on the lower surface 132 side of the dielectric substrate 130. The planar parasitic element 123 is disposed on the upper surface 131 of the dielectric substrate 130 or on an inner layer on the upper surface 131 side so as to face the ground electrode GND. Further, a flat plate-shaped power feeding element 121 is disposed in a layer between the non-power feeding element 123 and the ground electrode GND, and a flat plate-shaped non-power feeding element 122 is disposed in a layer between the power feeding element 121 and the ground electrode GND. When dielectric substrate 130 is viewed in plan, power feeding element 121 overlaps non-power feeding elements 122 and 123. That is, non-feeding element 122, feeding element 121, non-feeding element 123, and ground electrode GND are stacked in this order from upper surface 131 of dielectric substrate 130.

The RFIC 110 is disposed on the lower surface 132 of the dielectric substrate 130 via solder bumps 150. In addition, the RFIC 110 may be connected to the dielectric substrate 130 using a multipolar connector instead of soldering.

The feeding element 121 and the non-feeding element 122 have a substantially square shape in a plan view of the dielectric substrate 130. The size of non-feeding element 122 is larger than that of feeding element 121. Thus, the resonant frequency of non-fed element 122 is lower than the resonant frequency of fed element 121.

The high-frequency signal supplied from the RFIC 110 is transmitted to the feeding point SP1 of the feeding element 121 via the feeding wiring 140 penetrating the ground electrode GND. Feeding point SP1 is disposed at a position shifted from the center of feeding element 121 (the intersection of the diagonal lines) in the positive direction of the X axis in fig. 2. A high-frequency signal corresponding to the resonance frequency of the feeding element 121 is supplied to the feeding point SP1, whereby an electric wave having the X-axis direction as the polarization direction (first polarization direction) is radiated from the feeding element 121.

In addition, the feed wiring 140 penetrates the non-feed element 122, and therefore when a high-frequency signal corresponding to the resonance frequency of the non-feed element 122 is supplied to the feed point SP1, an electric wave having the X-axis direction as the polarization direction is radiated from the non-feed element 122. That is, the antenna device 120 is a dual-band antenna device capable of radiating high-frequency signals of two frequency bands.

Further, the high-frequency signal supplied from the RFIC 110 is also transmitted to the feeding point SP2 of the feeding element 121 via the feeding wiring 141 penetrating the ground electrode GND. Feeding point SP2 is arranged at a position shifted from the center of feeding element 121 in the positive direction of the Y axis in fig. 2. A high-frequency signal corresponding to the resonance frequency of the feeding element 121 is supplied to the feeding point SP2, whereby an electric wave having the Y-axis direction as the polarization direction (second polarization direction) is radiated from the feeding element 121. That is, the antenna device 120 is a dual-polarization type antenna element capable of radiating two polarized waves.

Further, since the feeder wiring 141 also penetrates the non-feeding element 122, a high-frequency signal corresponding to the resonance frequency of the non-feeding element 122 is supplied to the feeding point SP2, and a radio wave having the Y-axis direction as the polarization direction is radiated from the non-feeding element 122.

When the parasitic element 123 is viewed in a plan view from the normal direction, the parasitic element 123 has a cross shape in which two rectangular electrodes intersect. One of the rectangular electrodes extends in the X-axis direction, and the other rectangular electrode extends in the Y-axis direction. I.e. the two electrodes extend along two polarization directions, respectively.

The dimension of each electrode in the longitudinal direction is longer than one side of power feeding element 121, and both ends of each electrode protrude outside power feeding element 121 when non-power feeding element 123 is viewed in a plan view from the normal direction. Further, in a case where the non-feeding element 123 is viewed in plan from the normal direction, the feeding point SP1 and the feeding point SP2 of the feeding element 121 overlap the non-feeding element 123.

By appropriately adjusting the dimensions of the electrodes in the longitudinal direction and the dimensions in the short-side direction, the bandwidth of the high-frequency signal that can be transmitted and received by the antenna device 120 can be widened. The shape of the parasitic element 123 may not necessarily be a cross shape, and may be a substantially square shape such as the feeding element 121 and the parasitic element 122.

In fig. 2 and 3, conductors constituting the radiation elements, the electrodes, the paths for forming the feeding wirings, and the like are formed of metals having aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), gold (Au), silver (Ag), or alloys thereof as main components.

Generally, in an antenna module, it is desired that the frequency band of a radio wave radiated from each radiating element (a feeding element or a non-feeding element) is wide. Here, as one method of expanding the frequency band, there is a structure in which a stub is provided in the feed line. In the case of using the stub, the stub often protrudes from the radiating element in a plan view of the antenna module, and the area required for the antenna module is increased by the stub. In particular, in the dual-band and dual-polarization antenna module as described above, since a large number of short stubs are required, in the case of an array antenna in which a plurality of radiation elements are arranged in an array, the size of the entire antenna module may become large, which may hinder the miniaturization of the device.

Therefore, in embodiment 1, the dual-band and dual-polarization antenna module has a structure in which a non-feeding element is stacked and arranged in the radiation direction of radio waves to expand the frequency band. In a plan view of the dielectric substrate, the parasitic element overlaps with the feeding element and the parasitic element that radiate radio waves, and therefore the area is smaller than that in the case of using the stub. Therefore, the size of the antenna module can be suppressed from increasing. Further, by forming the non-feeding element in a cross shape extending in both polarization directions, impedance matching is facilitated, and therefore, the bandwidth can be widened.

Fig. 4 is an external perspective view of an antenna module 100# according to a comparative example. The antenna module 100# has a structure in which the cross-shaped non-feeding element 123 is removed from the structure of the antenna module 100. In fig. 4, description of the elements overlapping with those in fig. 2 and 3 will not be repeated.

Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining antenna gains of the antenna module 100# of the comparative example and the antenna module 100 of embodiment 1. In fig. 5, the horizontal axis shows frequency and the vertical axis shows antenna gain. In fig. 5, F1 shows the frequency band of the electric wave radiated from the non-feeding element 122, and F2 shows the frequency band of the electric wave radiated from the feeding element 121. A solid line LN1 shows the antenna gain in the case of the antenna module 100 of embodiment 1, and a broken line LN11 shows the antenna gain in the case of the antenna module 100# of the comparative example.

Referring to fig. 5, in the low-frequency band F1, the bandwidth capable of achieving an antenna gain of 4dBi is BD1 in the antenna module 100 of embodiment 1, and is larger than the bandwidth BD1# in the comparative example. Similarly, in the high-frequency band F2, the bandwidth capable of achieving an antenna gain of 4dBi is BD2 in the antenna module 100 of embodiment 1, and is larger than the bandwidth BD2# in the comparative example.

In addition, in the case of the stacking order of the radiation elements like the antenna module 100, the non-feeding element 123 mainly contributes to enlarging the bandwidth of the feeding element 121 opposed thereto. In the antenna module 100 according to embodiment 1, when the parasitic element 123 is viewed in a plan view from the normal direction, the front end portion of the parasitic element 123 having a cross shape slightly protrudes outside the power feeding element 121, and the front end portion faces the parasitic element 122. Therefore, the bandwidth of the parasitic element 122 is expanded by the portion of the parasitic element 123 that protrudes.

As described above, in embodiment 1, by disposing the cross-shaped non-feeding element 123 on the side of the feeding element 121 with respect to the radiation direction of the radio wave, the radiation bandwidth can be widened without providing a stub in the feeding wiring. Therefore, when the antenna module is used to form an array antenna, the antenna can be downsized.

Further, "the non-feeding element 123" and "the non-feeding element 122" in embodiment mode 1 correspond to "the first non-feeding element" and "the second non-feeding element" of the present disclosure, respectively. The "power feeding wiring 140" and the "power feeding element 141" in embodiment 1 correspond to the "first power feeding wiring" and the "second power feeding wiring" of the present disclosure, respectively. The "ground electrode GND" in embodiment 1 corresponds to the "first ground electrode" in the present disclosure.

In addition, although the case of the dual-band and dual-polarization antenna module has been described in embodiment 1 above, the present invention can also be applied to a dual-band and single-polarization antenna module such as the antenna module 100X shown in fig. 6. In this case, the non-feeding element 123X on the upper surface side of the dielectric substrate 130 does not need to have a cross shape, and may have a rectangular shape or a substantially square rectangular shape.

(modification 1)

As described above, in the antenna module according to embodiment 1, an example of a configuration in the following state is described: when the non-feeding element is viewed from the normal direction in plan, the front end portion of the cross-shaped non-feeding element protrudes outside the feeding element. However, it is not a necessary condition that the front end portion of the cross-shaped non-feeding element protrudes. That is, as in the cross-sectional perspective view of the antenna module 100A according to the modification 1 shown in fig. 7, the entire cross-shaped parasitic element 123A may overlap the power feeding element 121 when the parasitic element 123A is viewed in a plan view from the normal direction.

In this case, since parasitic element 123A is electromagnetically coupled only to power feeding element 121, it is considered that it does not contribute to widening the bandwidth of the radio wave on the low frequency side radiated from parasitic element 122.

Further, in modification 1, "non-feeding element 123A" corresponds to "first non-feeding element" in the present disclosure.

(modification 2)

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional perspective view of an antenna module 100B according to modification 2. In the antenna module 100B, the parasitic element 123B is not a cross shape but a substantially square shape having the same size as the feeding element 121, and when the parasitic element 123B is viewed in a plan view from the normal direction, the parasitic element 123B overlaps the feeding element 121.

Even in the case of such a configuration, the radio wave on the high frequency side radiated from power feeding element 121 can be made wider by non-power feeding element 123B.

In addition, in modification 2, "non-feeding element 123B" corresponds to "first non-feeding element" in the present disclosure.

[ embodiment 2]

In embodiment 2, the following structure is explained: by adjusting the path of the feed wiring for transmitting a high-frequency signal to the feed element 121, adjustment of impedance for each of the feed element 121 and the non-feed element 122 radiating a radio wave is enabled.

Fig. 9 is an external perspective view of an antenna module 100C according to embodiment 2, and fig. 10 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the antenna module according to embodiment 2. Referring to fig. 9 and 10, in the antenna module 100C, the feed wiring 140C for transmitting a high-frequency signal from the RFIC 110 to the feed element 121 rises from the ground electrode GND side to the layer where the non-feed element 122 is disposed through the via 1401C. Then, the feed wiring 140C is shifted in the polarization direction (X-axis direction) by the wiring pattern 1402C in the layer where the non-feed element 122 is disposed, and further rises to the feed point SP1 of the feed element 121 through the via 1403C. In other words, when the antenna module 100C is viewed from the normal direction in plan, the position of the path 1401C from the ground electrode GND side to the parasitic element 122 is offset from the position of the path 1403C from the parasitic element 122 to the feeding element 121.

Similarly, the feed wiring 141C also rises from the ground electrode GND side to the layer in which the non-feed element 122 is disposed through the via 1411C, is shifted in the polarization direction (Y-axis direction) by the wiring pattern 1412C in the layer, and further rises to the feed point SP2 of the feed element 121 through the via 1413C. In other words, when the antenna module 100C is viewed from the normal direction in plan, the position of the via 1411C from the ground electrode GND side to the non-feeding element 122 is offset from the position of the via 1413C from the non-feeding element 122 to the feeding element 121.

It is known that: when the position of the feeding point of the feeding element 121 to which the feeding wiring is connected and the position of the non-feeding element 122 through which the feeding wiring passes are set to be different positions, the impedances of the feeding element 121 and the non-feeding element 122 change, respectively, and the antenna characteristics change. Therefore, by adjusting the path of the feed wiring from RFIC 110 to feed element 121 and appropriately setting the through position of parasitic element 122 and the connection position with feed element 121, the impedances with respect to feed element 121 and parasitic element 122 can be independently adjusted, and a wider bandwidth or an improved antenna gain can be achieved.

In the antenna module 100C described above, the example in which the wiring patterns 1402C and 1412C are formed on the layer in which the non-feeding element 122 is disposed is shown, but the wiring patterns 1402C and 1412C may be formed on the layer between the feeding element 121 and the non-feeding element 122 as long as the through position of the non-feeding element 122 and the connection position with the feeding element 121 can be independently adjusted.

Further, "the power feeding wiring 140C" and "the power feeding wiring 141C" in embodiment 2 correspond to "the first power feeding wiring" and "the second power feeding wiring" in the present disclosure. In addition, "via 1411C" and "via 1413C" in "feeder wiring 141C" correspond to "first via" and "second via" of the present disclosure, and "via 1401C" and "via 1403C" in "feeder wiring 140C" correspond to "third via" and "fourth via" of the present disclosure.

(modification 3)

In each of the above antenna modules, the following examples are explained: the wiring pattern extending in the layer in the feed wiring is formed as a microstrip line having one surface facing the ground electrode GND.

In the antenna module 100D of modification 3 shown in fig. 11, the wiring patterns of the feed wirings 140 and 141 are formed as strip lines arranged between the two ground electrodes GND1 and GND 2.

By forming the wiring pattern of each feed wiring as a strip line in this way, coupling between the radiating element (feed element, non-feed element) and the feed wiring can be reduced, and therefore noise characteristics can be improved compared with the case of a microstrip line.

Further, the "ground electrode GND 1" and the "ground electrode GND 2" in modification 3 correspond to the "first ground electrode" and the "second ground electrode" in the present disclosure, respectively.

(modification 4)

In modification 4, an example will be described in which the wiring pattern of the power feeding wiring is formed by a coplanar line formed in the same layer as the ground electrode GND.

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional perspective view of an antenna module 100E according to modification 4, and fig. 13 is an external perspective view of the antenna module 100E. Referring to fig. 12 and 13, in the antenna module 100E, the feed wiring 140E first rises from the RFIC 110 to the layer on which the ground electrode GND is disposed through a via, is shifted along the slit 160 formed in the ground electrode GND and extending in the polarization direction (X-axis direction) by a wiring pattern, and further penetrates the non-feeding element 122 through a via to be connected to the feeding point SP1 of the feeding element 121.

Similarly, the power supply line 141E rises from the RFIC 110 to the layer on which the ground electrode GND is disposed through a via, is offset by a wiring pattern along the slit 161 formed in the ground electrode GND and extending in the polarization direction (Y-axis direction), and further penetrates the parasitic element 122 through a via to be connected to the power supply point SP2 of the power supply element 121.

Generally, the coplanar line has a small transmission loss compared to the strip line and the microstrip line. Therefore, by forming the feed wiring by a coplanar line as in the antenna module 100E, the transmission loss can be suppressed and the antenna gain can be improved.

In the above-described embodiment and its modifications, the feeding element 121 and the non-feeding element 122 may have the same size.

In the above-described embodiments and modifications, the structure in which the dielectric is filled between the parasitic element 123(123A, 123B, 123X) and the power feeding element 121 has been described, but a space may be formed between the parasitic element 123 and the power feeding element 121 on the dielectric substrate. In addition, non-feeding element 123 may be formed on a substrate or a case different from feeding element 121, and a space may be formed between non-feeding element 123 and feeding element 121.

The presently disclosed embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims rather than the description of the above embodiments, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

Description of the reference numerals

10: a communication device; 100. 100A to 100E, 100X: an antenna module; 110: an RFIC; 111A to 111D, 113A to 113D, 117: a switch; 112AR to 112 DR: a low noise amplifier; 112 AT-112 DT: a power amplifier; 114A to 114D: an attenuator; 115A to 115D: a phase shifter; 116: a signal synthesizer/demultiplexer; 118: a mixer; 119: an amplifying circuit; 120: an antenna device; 121: a feeding element; 122. 123, 123A, 123B, 123X: a non-feeding element; 130: a dielectric substrate; 140. 140C, 140E, 141C, 141E: a feed wiring; 150: a solder bump; 160. 161: a slit; 1401C, 1403C, 1411C, 1413C: a passage; 1402C, 1412C: a wiring pattern; 200: BBIC; GND, GND1, GND 2: a ground electrode; SP1, SP 2: a feeding point.