Patent Description:
In order to satisfy the increasing demands of radio data traffic after the commercialization of a fourth generation (<NUM>) communication system, efforts have been made to develop an advanced fifth generation (<NUM>) communication system or a pre-<NUM> communication system. For this reason, the <NUM> communication system or the pre-<NUM> communication system are also referred to as a beyond-<NUM> network communication system or a post-long term evolution (LTE) system. In order to accomplish a higher data transfer rate, the implementation of the <NUM> communication system in a super-high frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., a <NUM> band) is being considered. Also, in order to obviate a propagation loss of a radio wave and increase a delivery distance of a radio wave in the super-high frequency band, discussions for the <NUM> communication system are underway about various techniques such as a beamforming, a massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), a full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), an array antenna, an analog beam-forming, and a large scale antenna. Additionally, for an improvement in network of the <NUM> communication system, technical developments are being made in an advanced small cell, a cloud radio access network (cloud RAN), an ultra-dense network, a device to device (D2D) communication, a wireless backhaul, a moving network, a cooperative communication, coordinated multi-points (CoMP), a reception-end interference cancellation, and the like. Also, in the <NUM> communication system, a hybrid frequency-shift keying (FSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation (FQAM) and a sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) are developed as advanced coding modulation (ACM) schemes, and a filter bank multi carrier (FBMC), a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and a sparse code multiple access (SCMA) are also developed as advanced access techniques.

Meanwhile, the Internet, which is a human centered connectivity network where humans generate and consume information, is now evolving to the Internet of things (IoT) where distributed entities, such as things, exchange and process information without human intervention. Further, the Internet of everything (IoE), which is a combination of IoT technology and big data processing technology through connection with a cloud server, has emerged. As technology elements, such as sensing technology, wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure, service interface technology, and security technology, have been demanded for IoT implementation, a sensor network, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and so forth have been recently researched. The IoT may be applied to a variety of fields including smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car or connected car, smart grid, health care, smart appliances, advanced medical service, etc. through convergence and combination between existing information technology (IT) and various industrial applications.

In line with this, various attempts have been made to apply the <NUM> communication system to the IoT network. For example, technologies such as a sensor network, machine type communication (MTC), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication are being implemented on the basis of <NUM> communication technologies such as beamforming, MIMO, and an array antenna. The use of a cloud radio access network (cloud RAN) for big data processing technology is one example of convergence between the <NUM> technology and the IoT technology.

<CIT> relates to a microstrip antenna or patch antenna with septa for bandwidth control, and reduction of antenna element thickness. <CIT> discloses that a antenna has a carrying device holding an electrically conductive structure in a margin to an electrically conductive radiant surface. <CIT> discloses a dual polarization-based small antenna for a mobile communication base station.

As described above, in a frequency band applied to the next generation mobile communication system, the performance of an antenna module may be deteriorated due to a propagation loss of a radio wave, or the like. Therefore, in the next generation mobile communication system, an improved structure of an antenna module for solving such a problem is required. Specifically, an antenna module structure capable of smooth and reliable communication in a massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication environment is needed.

Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide an antenna module.

According to embodiments of the disclosure, antenna performance can be improved in a super-high frequency band used in the next generation communication system. Specifically, a structure of an antenna module including a plurality of radiators can increase an effective area of a radio wave radiated from the antenna module, thereby improving a gain value of the antenna module.

In the following description of embodiments, descriptions of techniques that are well known in the art and not directly related to the disclosure are omitted. This is to clearly convey the subject matter of the disclosure by omitting any unnecessary explanation.

For the same reason, some elements in the drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically illustrated. Also, the size of each element does not entirely reflect the actual size. In the drawings, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The advantages and features of the disclosure and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. To fully disclose the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art, the disclosure is only defined by the scope of claims.

It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations, may be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which are executed via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer usable or computer-readable memory that may direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer usable or computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions that are executed on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

In addition, each block of the flowchart illustrations may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s).

The term "unit", as used herein, refers to a software or hardware component or device, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which performs certain tasks. A unit may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium and configured to execute on one or more processors. Thus, a module or unit may include, by way of example, components, such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functionality provided for in the components and units may be combined into fewer components and units or further separated into additional components and modules. In addition, the components and units may be implemented to operate one or more central processing units (CPUs) in a device or a secure multimedia card. In embodiments, a certain unit may include one or more processors.

The disclosure provides an antenna module structure capable of improving the performance of an antenna module in the next generation mobile communication system. Specifically, the disclosure provides an antenna module including a dielectric and a supporter for supporting the dielectric in a first embodiment, and also provides an antenna module using a metal structure in a second embodiment. Hereinafter, the structure of the antenna modules according to the first and second embodiments will be described in detail.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating a massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) environment according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, in the massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) environment, a single base station <NUM> may include a plurality of antenna arrays and perform communication with a plurality of terminals <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>.

Meanwhile, in the next generation communication system, a beamforming technique is applied to reduce a propagation loss of a radio wave in a super-high frequency band as described above. Therefore, for smooth beamforming of each antenna array disposed in the base station, the spacing between the antenna arrays is reduced and thereby the beam width of each antenna array is secured.

However, in a case of reducing the spacing between the antenna arrays of the base station <NUM> so as to secure the beam width of the antenna array, interference between the antenna arrays may occur, which may degrade the performance of the antenna array.

Accordingly, in the next generation communication system that employs the beamforming technique, an improved structure of an antenna module for addressing the above-mentioned problem is desired.

<FIG> is an exploded perspective view illustrating a structure of an antenna module according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, an antenna module <NUM> may include a first radiator <NUM>, a second radiator <NUM>, a dielectric <NUM>, a feeder <NUM>, and a printed circuit board (PCB) <NUM>. The first radiator <NUM> radiates a radio wave through an upper surface thereof. The second radiator <NUM> is formed to surround laterally the first radiator <NUM>. The dielectric <NUM> has an upper surface disposed under a lower surface of the first radiator <NUM>, and is formed to fix the first radiator <NUM> and the second radiator <NUM> to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined first length. The feeder <NUM> has an upper surface disposed under a lower surface of the dielectric <NUM> and delivers an electrical signal to the first radiator <NUM> or the second radiator <NUM> through the dielectric <NUM>. The PCB <NUM> is electrically connected to the feeder <NUM> through a conductive pattern thereof and supplies the electrical signal to the feeder <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the first radiator <NUM> may be a patch-type antenna. The first radiator <NUM> may receive an electric signal from the feeder <NUM> through the dielectric <NUM> and radiate a radio wave of a specific frequency outwardly.

According to an embodiment, the lower surface of the first radiator <NUM> and the upper surface of the feeder <NUM> may be spaced apart by a predetermined length by the dielectric <NUM>. That is, the first radiator <NUM> and the feeder <NUM> are not directly connected to each other, but the dielectric <NUM> is interposed between the first radiator <NUM> and the feeder <NUM>. Therefore, a gap-coupled structure is formed in the antenna module.

According to an embodiment, the gap-coupled structure has the effect of disposing a capacitor or an inductor between the first radiator <NUM> and the feeder <NUM>. It is therefore possible to improve a bandwidth of a radio wave radiated through the first radiator <NUM>. A distance between the feeder <NUM> and the first radiator <NUM> may be determined based on frequency characteristics of a radio wave radiated through the first radiator <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the second radiator <NUM> is formed of a barrier shape having a predetermined height, surrounding laterally the first radiator <NUM>. The second radiator <NUM> can increase an effective area of radio wave radiation of the antenna module and thereby improve a gain value of the antenna module.

According to an embodiment, the first radiator <NUM> of a patch shape may extend in a horizontal direction of the antenna module <NUM>, whereas the second radiator <NUM> of a barrier shape may extend in a vertical direction of the antenna module <NUM>. That is, a combination of the horizontally extending first radiator and the vertically extending second radiator can improve the effective area of radio wave radiation of the antenna module.

<FIG> is a top plan view illustrating an antenna module structure, supposing penetration, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, in a top plan view, a first radiator <NUM> may be a patch-type rectangular antenna. In addition, a second radiator <NUM> may be a closed loop barrier surrounding laterally the first radiator <NUM> while being spaced apart from the first radiator <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, a feeder may include a first feeder <NUM> and a second feeder <NUM>. The first feeder <NUM> supplies an electrical signal related to horizontal polarization to the first radiator <NUM> disposed on an upper surface of a dielectric <NUM>, and the second feeder <NUM> supplies an electrical signal related to vertical polarization to the first radiator <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, on a lower surface of the dielectric <NUM>, an extension line of the first feeder <NUM> and an extension line of the second feeder <NUM> may be perpendicular to each other. This perpendicular arrangement of the first and second feeders <NUM> and <NUM> improves an isolation between the horizontal polarization and the vertical polarization.

According to an embodiment, an antenna module <NUM> may include supporters <NUM> and <NUM> formed of a metallic material and disposed under the lower surface of the dielectric <NUM> so that an upper surface of a PCB <NUM> is spaced apart from the lower surface of the dielectric <NUM> by a predetermined length.

According to an embodiment, the supporters <NUM> and <NUM> may have the same shape as or different shapes from the first and second feeders <NUM> and <NUM>. However, even in case where the supporters <NUM> and <NUM> are different in shape from the first and second feeders <NUM> and <NUM>, the supporters <NUM> and <NUM> may have the same height as that of the first and second feeders <NUM> and <NUM> in order to allow the dielectric <NUM> to be parallel with the PCB <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the first and second supporters <NUM> and <NUM> may change a distribution of an electric field generated by an electric signal flowing in each of the first and second feeders <NUM> and <NUM>. That is, the metallic material of the first and second supporters <NUM> and <NUM> may cause an improvement in isolation performance of the antenna module <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the degree of such an improvement in isolation performance of the antenna module <NUM> may be determined according to the dimension of an area where the first and second supporters <NUM> and <NUM> are in contact with the lower surface of the dielectric <NUM>.

Meanwhile, contrary to the above-described embodiment, in an alternative embodiment, the first feeder <NUM> may supply an electrical signal related to vertical polarization, and the second feeder <NUM> may supply an electrical signal related to horizontal polarization.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a reduction effect of mutual coupling between antenna modules in an antenna module structure according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Specifically, <FIG> shows an electromagnetic field distribution of the antenna module structure shown in <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, the electromagnetic field distribution produced by a radio wave radiation of the first radiator is formed close to the antenna module including the first radiator. Therefore, the antenna performance degradation due to the mutual coupling between the antenna arrays can be reduced.

That is, according to the disclosure, the second radiator is capable of blocking a radio wave radiated toward a neighboring antenna module among radio waves radiated through the first radiator included in the antenna module. Therefore, the electromagnetic field distribution of the antenna module may be exhibited as shown in <FIG>. According to an embodiment, the second radiator <NUM> included in the antenna module may be disposed at a peak position of the electromagnetic field inside the antenna module. This can reduce a phenomenon of mutual coupling in the air. According to an embodiment, in <FIG>, a diagonal length (d) of the second radiator <NUM> may be determined based on a wavelength (λ) of a radio wave radiated through the first radiator <NUM> (e.g., d = λ/<NUM>).

Referring to <FIG>, the second radiator of the antenna module may have various shapes. For example, the shape of a second radiator <NUM> shown in <FIG> is different from that of the second radiator <NUM> shown in <FIG>. Specifically, the second radiator <NUM> shown in <FIG> is formed in a rectangular shape similar to an outward form (i.e., rectangular) of the first radiator <NUM>, whereas the second radiator <NUM> shown in <FIG> is formed in a rectangular-like shape having round corners obtained through a rounding process. Such round corners of the second radiator <NUM> can reduce the mutual coupling phenomenon that a radio wave radiated through the antenna module affects a neighboring antenna module.

Except for the shape of the second radiator <NUM>, the structure of the antenna module <NUM> (namely, a PCB <NUM>, feeders <NUM> and <NUM>, supporters <NUM> and <NUM>, a dielectric <NUM>, and a first radiator <NUM>) shown in <FIG> may be the same as or similar to the antenna module structure shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a distribution of an electromagnetic field in the antenna module structure of <FIG> according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

In comparison with the electromagnetic field distribution shown in <FIG>, the electromagnetic field distribution shown in <FIG> shows that the effect of reducing the mutual coupling phenomenon between the antenna modules is greater when the second radiator has round corners. That is, through the structure of <FIG>, the isolation between the antenna arrays can be improved.

Referring to <FIG>, the shape of the second radiator <NUM> shown in <FIG> is different from that of the second radiator <NUM> shown in <FIG>. Specifically, the second radiator <NUM> shown in <FIG> is formed in a rectangular shape similar to an outward form (i.e., rectangular) of the first radiator <NUM>, whereas the second radiator <NUM> shown in <FIG> is formed in an octagonal shape. The octagonal shape of the second radiator <NUM> can reduce the mutual coupling phenomenon that a radio wave radiated through the antenna module affects a neighboring antenna module.

Referring to <FIG>, in comparison with the electromagnetic field distribution shown in <FIG>, the electromagnetic field distribution shown in <FIG> shows that the effect of reducing the mutual coupling phenomenon between the antenna modules is greater when the second radiator is formed in an octagonal shape. That is, through the structure of <FIG>, the isolation between the antenna arrays can be improved.

<FIG> is a side view illustrating an antenna module structure according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, an antenna module <NUM> is shown in which the height of an upper surface of a second radiator <NUM> is greater than the height of an upper surface of a first radiator <NUM>. Because of such a difference in height, a radio wave radiated through the first radiator <NUM> may not pass through the second radiator <NUM>. This may prevent the mutual coupling phenomenon between antenna modules.

According to an embodiment, a height difference between the first radiator <NUM> and the second radiator <NUM> may be determined based on frequency characteristics of the radio wave radiated through the first radiator <NUM>. For example, the height difference, h, between the first and second radiators <NUM> and <NUM> may satisfy the following Equation <NUM>. <MAT> (h: a height difference between the first and second radiators, λ: a wavelength of a radio wave radiated through the first radiator).

According to an embodiment, based on a lateral distance between the first radiator <NUM> and the second radiator <NUM>, the efficiency of forming a reflected wave at the second radiator <NUM> or the mutual coupling value between the antenna modules may be determined.

Besides, a PCB <NUM>, feeders <NUM> and <NUM>, and a dielectric <NUM> are the same as or similar to the PCB, the feeder, and the dielectric in the above-described antenna module structure, so that repeated descriptions thereof will be omitted.

<FIG> is an exploded perspective view illustrating an antenna module structure including a plurality of separated second radiators according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, an antenna module <NUM> is shown in which second radiators <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be separated from each other and disposed along the outer periphery of a first radiator <NUM>. For example, when the first radiator <NUM> has a rectangular shape as shown, four separated second radiators <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be disposed to correspond to four sides of the rectangular first radiator <NUM>, respectively.

According to an embodiment, each of the separated second radiators may include a first segment disposed in parallel with an upper surface of the first radiator <NUM>, and a second segment extending from an inner end of the first segment toward a PCB <NUM>. The second segment may be combined with a dielectric <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the inductance or capacitance characteristics of an antenna module <NUM> may be determined based on the area of an upper surface of the first segment. Therefore, the upper surface of the first segment may act as adding a capacitance component to the antenna module <NUM>, thereby expanding a frequency bandwidth of the antenna module <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the height of the upper surface of the first segment is greater than the height of the upper surface of the first radiator <NUM>. This may block a radio wave radiated through the first radiator <NUM> from passing through the second radiators <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> and thus prevent the mutual coupling effect on neighboring antenna modules.

Except for the second radiator <NUM>, the PCB <NUM>, a feeder <NUM>, the dielectric <NUM>, and the first radiator <NUM> are the same as or similar to those of the above-described antenna module structure, so that repeated descriptions thereof will be omitted.

<FIG> are side views illustrating an antenna module structure according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

<FIG> shows an antenna module <NUM> in which the height of an upper surface of a second radiator <NUM> is greater than the height of an upper surface of a first radiator <NUM>. In this case, the second radiator <NUM> may extend toward the first radiator <NUM> along the outer periphery of a dielectric <NUM> as shown. A feeder <NUM> may be disposed under the dielectric <NUM> and supply an electrical signal from a PCB <NUM> to the first radiator <NUM> via the dielectric <NUM>. In addition, a part of a radio wave emitted by the first radiator <NUM> may be reflected by the second reflector <NUM> and then radiated to the outside of the antenna module <NUM>. This may improve a gain value of the antenna module <NUM>.

<FIG> shows the antenna module <NUM> in which the height of an upper surface of a second radiator <NUM> is greater than the height of an upper surface of a first radiator <NUM>. The feeder <NUM> may be disposed under the dielectric <NUM> and supply an electrical signal from the PCB <NUM> to the first radiator <NUM> via the dielectric <NUM>. In addition, a part of a radio wave emitted by the first radiator <NUM> may be reflected by the second reflector <NUM> and then radiated to the outside of the antenna module <NUM>. This may improve a gain value of the antenna module <NUM>.

<FIG> shows the antenna module <NUM> in which the height of the upper surface of the second radiator <NUM> is equal to the height of the upper surface of the first radiator <NUM>. In this case, the second radiator <NUM> may extend toward the first radiator <NUM> along the outer periphery of the dielectric <NUM> as shown. The feeder <NUM> may be disposed under the dielectric <NUM> and supply an electrical signal from the PCB <NUM> to the first radiator <NUM> via the dielectric <NUM>.

<FIG> shows the antenna module <NUM> in which the height of the upper surface of the second radiator <NUM> is greater than the height of the upper surface of the first radiator <NUM>. In this case, the dielectric <NUM> may have an inclined surface between the first radiator <NUM> and the second radiator <NUM>. This inclined surface of the dielectric <NUM> may prevent a radio wave radiated through the first radiator <NUM> from passing through the second radiator <NUM> and thus prevent the mutual coupling effect on neighboring antenna modules. The feeder <NUM> may be disposed under the dielectric <NUM> and supply an electrical signal from the PCB <NUM> to the first radiator <NUM> via the dielectric <NUM>.

<FIG> shows the antenna module <NUM> in which in which the height of the upper surface of the second radiator <NUM> is equal to the height of the upper surface of the first radiator <NUM>. The feeder <NUM> may be disposed under the dielectric <NUM> and supply an electrical signal from the PCB <NUM> to the first radiator <NUM> via the dielectric <NUM>. In addition, a part of a radio wave emitted by the first radiator <NUM> may be reflected by the second reflector <NUM> and then radiated to the outside of the antenna module <NUM>. This may improve a gain value of the antenna module <NUM>.

<FIG> is a side view illustrating an antenna array structure according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, an antenna array <NUM> may include two antenna modules. Specifically, in the antenna array <NUM>, a first antenna module may be composed of a first radiator <NUM>, a first dielectric <NUM>, a second radiator <NUM>, a first feeder <NUM>, a first supporter <NUM>, and a second supporter <NUM>, and also a second antenna module may be composed of a third radiator <NUM>, a second dielectric <NUM>, a fourth radiator <NUM>, a second feeder <NUM>, a third supporter <NUM>, and a fourth supporter <NUM>.

In the first antenna module, the first radiator <NUM> radiates a radio wave through an upper surface thereof, and the second radiator <NUM> is formed to surround laterally the first radiator <NUM>. The first dielectric <NUM> has an upper surface disposed under a lower surface of the first radiator <NUM>, and is formed to fix the first radiator <NUM> and the second radiator <NUM> to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined first length. The first feeder <NUM> is disposed under the first dielectric <NUM> and delivers an electrical signal to the first radiator <NUM> through the first dielectric <NUM>. The first supporter <NUM> and the second supporter <NUM> are disposed under the first dielectric <NUM>. The PCB <NUM> is electrically connected to the first feeder <NUM> through a conductive pattern thereof and supplies the electrical signal to the first feeder <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, a part of a radio wave radiated through the first radiator <NUM> may be reflected by the second radiator <NUM>. Therefore, the antenna array <NUM> can improve a gain value thereof through the radio waves reflected by the second radiator <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the height of an upper surface of the second radiator <NUM> is greater than the height of an upper surface of the first radiator <NUM>. Because of such a difference in height, a radio wave radiated through the first radiator <NUM> may not pass through the second radiator <NUM>. This structure of the first antenna module may minimize the mutual coupling effect on the second antenna module caused by the radio wave radiated through the first radiator <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the first feeder <NUM> may be spaced apart from the lower surface of the first dielectric <NUM> by a specific distance. This may increase a capacitance component between the first feeder <NUM> and the first radiator <NUM> and thereby improve a frequency bandwidth of the antenna array <NUM>.

<FIG> is a top plan view illustrating a base station according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, a base station <NUM> may include a plurality of antenna arrays <NUM>, <NUM>, and the like. Although <FIG> shows only <NUM> antenna arrays included in the base station as an example, the number of antenna arrays included in the base station may be changed. For example, in a massive MIMO communication environment, <NUM> or more antenna arrays may be included in the base station.

According to an embodiment, the first antenna array <NUM> may include a first antenna module <NUM> and a second antenna module <NUM>. Each of the first and second antenna modules <NUM> and <NUM> includes a first radiator radiating a radio wave through an upper surface thereof, a second radiator formed to surround laterally the first radiator, a dielectric having an upper surface disposed under a lower surface of the first radiator, the dielectric being formed to fix the first radiator and the second radiator to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined first length, a feeder having an upper surface disposed under a lower surface of the dielectric, the feeder delivering an electrical signal to the first radiator or the second radiator through the dielectric, and a PCB electrically connected to the feeder through a conductive pattern thereof and supplying the electrical signal to the feeder.

According to an embodiment, a part of the radio wave radiated from the first radiator to the second antenna module <NUM> or the second antenna array <NUM> may be blocked by the second radiator formed in the first antenna module <NUM>. That is, the second radiator included in each antenna module blocks a part of the radio wave radiated from the first radiator, so that a mutual coupling phenomenon between the antenna modules or between the antenna arrays can be minimized. Therefore, compared to a related-art structure, the antenna module structure including the second radiator allows a distance between the antenna modules to be reduced. This is advantageous to a smaller base station and to a beamforming operation of the next generation mobile communication system.

According to an embodiment, a part of the radio wave radiated through the first radiator included in the first antenna module <NUM> may be reflected by the second radiator and radiated to the outside of the antenna module <NUM>. Therefore, the radiation effective area of the first antenna module <NUM> can be wider than that of a case where the radio wave is radiated only through the first radiator, and thus the gain value of the first antenna module <NUM> can be improved.

The operations of the third antenna module <NUM> and the fourth antenna module <NUM> constituting the second antenna array <NUM> are the same as or similar to those of the first antenna module <NUM> and the second antenna module <NUM>.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a distribution of an electromagnetic field radiated through a base station according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

A mutual coupling phenomenon may occur between antenna modules constituting an antenna array of the base station. Thus, a radio wave radiated through each antenna module may cause interference to neighboring antenna modules.

Referring to <FIG>, the electromagnetic field generated by each antenna module included in a related-art base station affects the electromagnetic field of the neighboring antenna module.

In contrast, according to the disclosure, each of antenna modules constituting an antenna array of the base station includes a reflector for preventing the radio wave radiated through each antenna module from passing to neighboring antenna modules. As a result, the isolation between the antenna modules can be improved as shown in <FIG>.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, the electromagnetic field generated by each antenna module according to the disclosure does not affect the electromagnetic field of the neighboring antenna module. In addition, the electromagnetic field of the radio wave radiated through each antenna module is greater in strength than that of a related-art antenna module.

Therefore, according to the disclosure, even if a distance between the antenna modules is not sufficient in the base station, the mutual coupling phenomena between the antenna modules can be reduced through the reflector disposed in the antenna module.

As described above, in the antenna module structure according to the disclosure, the second radiator surrounding the first radiator reflects a part of the radio waves radiated through the first radiator. Therefore, this antenna module structure can improve the gain value of the antenna module.

In addition, the second radiator blocks a part of the radio waves radiated from the first radiator to the neighboring antenna modules. Therefore, this antenna module structure can minimize the mutual coupling phenomenon caused by radio wave leakage between the antenna modules.

Claim 1:
An antenna module (<NUM>) for use in a wireless communication system, the antenna module comprising:
a first radiator (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) configured to radiate a radio wave through an upper surface;
a second radiator (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) formed surrounding an outer periphery of the first radiator;
a dielectric (<NUM>) having an upper surface disposed under a lower surface of the first radiator, the dielectric being formed to fix the first radiator and the second radiator to be separated from each other based on a predetermined first length;
a feeder (<NUM>) having an upper surface disposed under a lower surface of the dielectric, the feeder being configured to couple an electrical signal to at least one of the first radiator or the second radiator through the dielectric; and
a printed circuit board, PCB, (<NUM>) electrically connected to the feeder by a conductive pattern and configured to supply the electrical signal to the feeder,
wherein an one side surface of the second radiator facing the an outer periphery of the first radiator,
wherein a part of the radio wave radiated by the first radiator is reflected by the one side surface of the second radiator and then radiated to an outside of the antenna module,
wherein a height of an upper surface of the second radiator from an upper surface of the PCB is greater than a height of an upper surface of the first radiator from the upper surface of the PCB, and
wherein a height difference between the first radiator and the second radiator is determined based on frequency characteristics of the radio wave radiated by the first radiator.