Broadband dual polarized base station antenna

1. An antenna assembly for receiving and/or transmitting electromagnetic signals, comprising:

a dual polarized radiation element comprising a square arrangement of plural radiating elements;

wherein the plural radiating elements form paired dipoles; and

balanced feed means, coupled to each of said dipoles, for converting an unbalanced feed input to a balanced feed at the dipole;

wherein the balanced feed means comprises first and second feed elements spaced by an air gap, wherein each paired dipole comprises a pair of radiating elements coupled to the balanced feed means with radiating arms in parallel configuration, wherein a common feed line pattern provides a common input to the feed elements of each paired dipole.

2. The antenna assembly of claim 1 , wherein each radiating element comprises a dipole antenna.

3. The antenna assembly of claim 2 , further comprising a ground plane wherein each dipole antenna projects outwardly from the ground plane.

4. The antenna assembly of claim 1 wherein each radiation element includes two paired dipoles in a box configuration, wherein each paired dipole comprises a pair of radiating elements in parallel configuration, each paired dipole having a common feed line pattern providing a common input to that paired dipole.

5. The antenna assembly of claim 1 wherein the radiating elements are further oriented such that one paired dipole provides +45° polarization and another paired dipole provides −45° polarization.

6. The antenna assembly of claim 1 wherein the square arrangement of plural radiating elements provides better than 30 dB isolation between the polarization channels.

7. An antenna assembly for receiving and/or transmitting electromagnetic signals, comprising:

a ground plane;

plural radiation elements, each radiation element comprising a square arrangement of plural radiating elements, wherein the plural radiating elements project outwardly from a surface of the ground plane, and the plural radiating elements form paired dipoles with a common feed line pattern having an unbalanced feed input;

each radiating element comprising a dipole antenna including:

a first conductor extending transversely from a surface of the ground plane and electrically connected to the ground plane, the first conductor comprising a first radiating arm projecting outwardly therefrom;

a second conductor spaced from the ground plane by a dielectric and extending transversely relative to the surface of the ground plane, the second conductor comprising a second radiating arm projecting outwardly therefrom;

wherein the first and second conductors are spaced from one another by an air gap, and the first and second radiating arms project outwardly in essentially opposite directions and are configured in a symmetric balanced configuration; and

wherein each paired dipole comprises a pair of dipole antennas with radiating arms in parallel configuration and having a common feed line, each feed line comprising a microstrip feed line coupled to said first conductor, and spaced from said ground plane by an air dielectric.

8. The antenna assembly of claim 7 wherein the first and second radiating arms are essentially in the same plane.

9. The antenna assembly of claim 7 wherein the radiation elements are arranged in a row.

10. The antenna assembly of claim 9 wherein the plural radiation elements are arranged in a row on the ground plane such that the radiation elements have parallel +45° polarization axis, and parallel −45° polarization axis.

11. The antenna assembly of claim 7 wherein the square arrangement of plural radiating elements provides better than 30 dB isolation between the polarization channels.

12. An antenna assembly for receiving and/or transmitting electromagnetic signals, comprising:

a ground plane;

plural radiation elements, each radiation element comprising a square arrangement of plural radiating elements, wherein the plural radiating elements project outwardly from a surface of the ground plane, and the plural radiating elements form paired dipoles with a common feed line pattern having an unbalanced feed input;

each radiating element comprising a dipole antenna including:

a first conductor extending transversely from a surface of the ground plane and electrically connected to the ground plane, the first conductor comprising a first radiating arm projecting outwardly therefrom;

a second conductor spaced from the ground plane by a dielectric and extending transversely relative to the surface of the ground plane, the second conductor comprising a second radiating arm projecting outwardly therefrom;

wherein the first and second conductors are spaced from one another by an air gap, and the first and second radiating arms project outwardly in essentially opposite directions and are configured in a symmetric balanced configuration; and

wherein in each radiation element, each paired dipole comprises a pair of radiating elements with radiating arms in parallel configuration, such that a common feed line pattern provides a common input to the paired dipole.

13. The antenna assembly of claim 12 wherein each radiation element includes two paired dipoles in a box configuration, wherein each paired dipole comprises a pair of radiating elements in parallel configuration, each paired dipole having a common feed line pattern providing a common input to that paired dipole.

14. The antenna assembly of claim 13 wherein in each radiation element, the radiating elements are further oriented such that one paired dipole provides +45° polarization and another paired dipole provides −45° polarization.

15. An antenna assembly for receiving and/or transmitting electromagnetic signals, comprising:

a ground plane;

plural radiation elements, each radiation element comprising a square arrangement of plural radiating elements, wherein the plural radiating elements project outwardly from a surface of the ground plane, and the plural radiating elements form paired dipoles with a common feed line pattern having an unbalanced feed input;

each radiating element comprising a dipole antenna including:

a first-conductor extending transversely from a surface of the ground plane and electrically connected to the around plane, the first conductor comprising a first radiating arm projecting outwardly therefrom;

a second conductor spaced from the ground plane by a dielectric and extending transversely relative to the surface of the ground plane, the second conductor comprising a second radiating arm projecting outwardly therefrom;

wherein the first and second conductors are spaced from one another by an air gap, and the first and second radiating arms project outwardly in essentially opposite directions and are configured in a symmetric balanced configuration;

wherein the first and second radiating arms are essentially in the same plane; and

wherein the first and second conductors are spaced in essentially parallel relationship, forming a balanced paired strips transmission line.

16. The antenna assembly of claim 15 wherein:

the first conductor and the first radiating arm form an essentially L-shape; and the second conductor and the second radiating arm form an essentially L-shape.

17. The antenna assembly of claim 15 wherein:

the first conductor and the first radiating arm are formed from a sheet of conductive material; and

the second conductor and the second radiating arm are formed from a sheet of conductive material.

18. The antenna assembly of claim 15 wherein the impedance of the paired strips transmission line is adjusted by adjusting the width of the conductor and/or gap between the conductors.

19. The antenna assembly of claim 15 wherein the impedance of the feed line is adjusted to match input impedance of each radiating arm.

20. The antenna assembly of claim 19 wherein the impedance of the microstrip line is adjusted by adjusting the width of the microstrip line and/or the space between the microstrip line and the ground plane.