Analog beamforming antenna for millimeter wave applications

1. An analog beamforming antenna for millimeter wave applications, comprising:

a superelement antenna array layer comprising an array of superelements, wherein each superelement in the array of superelements includes a coupling aperture oriented at a predetermined non-orthogonal angle relative to a plurality of radiating slots for radiating a transmission signal;

a power division layer configured to serve as a feed to the superelement antenna array layer, the power division layer comprising a plurality of phase control elements configured to apply different phase shifts to transmission signals propagating to the superelement antenna array layer; and

a top layer disposed on the superelement antenna array layer.

2. The analog beamforming antenna of claim 1 , wherein the power division layer includes a coupling aperture layer, a feed network layer and a phase control layer, wherein the coupling aperture layer and the phase control layer respectively correspond to two conductive layers of the plurality of conductive layers and the feed network layer corresponds to a dielectric layer.

3. The analog beamforming antenna of claim 2 , wherein the phase control layer is disposed on a substrate of the analog beamforming antenna, the feed network layer is disposed on the phase control layer, and the coupling aperture layer is disposed on the feed network layer.

4. The analog beamforming antenna of claim 3 , wherein each end of a transmission line in the feed network layer is coupled to a coupling aperture in the coupling aperture layer through respective ones of the plurality of phase control elements.

5. The analog beamforming antenna of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of phase control elements provides a predetermined phase shift to a radio frequency signal that is radiated out of at least one of the plurality of radiating slots of the superelement antenna array layer.

6. The analog beamforming antenna of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of phase control elements includes a radio frequency integrated circuit having one or more of a varactor, a network of varactors, or a phase shift network to apply the different phase shifts in a range of 0 degrees to 360 degrees.

7. The analog beamforming antenna of claim 1 , wherein:

the power division layer comprises a corporate feed structure having a plurality of transmission lines that enables the signal to be transmitted to the array of superelements in the superelement antenna array layer,

the top layer comprises a metamaterial (MTM) array layer that includes a plurality of MTM cells, wherein the MTM array layer is configured to provide reactance control within the plurality of MTM cells, and

the MTM array layer comprises one or more reactance control devices embedded on each MTM cell of the plurality of MTM cells.

8. The analog beamforming antenna of claim 7 , wherein the analog beamforming antenna is configured to enable reactance control through the plurality of phase control elements in the power division layer and through the one or more reactance control devices in each MTM cell of the plurality of MTM cells.

9. The analog beamforming antenna of claim 1 , further comprising:

one or more adhesive layers coupled to the superelement antenna array layer and the power division layer, wherein the one or more adhesive layers comprise an adhesive material that enables the superelement antenna array layer to be adhered to the power division layer, and wherein the one or more adhesive layers include pre-impregnated bonding sheets.

10. The analog beamforming antenna of claim 1 , wherein the top layer comprises a superstrate layer, and wherein the superstrate layer is configured to increase efficiency and directivity of the analog beamforming antenna.

11. A radar system for use in an autonomous driving vehicle, comprising:

an antenna module configured to radiate a transmission signal with an analog beamforming antenna in a plurality of directions and to generate radar data capturing a surrounding environment,

wherein the analog beamforming antenna comprises a superelement antenna array layer, a power division layer, and a top layer disposed on the superelement antenna array layer,

wherein the power division layer is configured to serve as a feed to the superelement antenna array layer, and

wherein the power division layer comprises a plurality of phase control elements configured to apply different phase shifts to the transmission signal propagating to the superelement antenna array layer.

12. The radar system of claim 11 , wherein the superelement antenna array layer comprises an array of superelements, wherein each superelement in the array of superelements includes a coupling aperture oriented at a predetermined non-orthogonal angle relative to a plurality of radiating slots for radiating one or more transmission signals.

13. The radar system of claim 11 , wherein the power division layer includes a coupling aperture layer, a feed network layer and a phase control layer, wherein the coupling aperture layer and the phase control layer respectively correspond to two conductive layers of the plurality of conductive layers and the feed network layer corresponds to a dielectric layer, and wherein the coupling aperture layer is disposed on the feed network layer and the feed network layer is disposed on the phase control layer.

14. The radar system of claim 13 , wherein the phase control layer comprises the plurality of phase control elements coupled to the feed network layer and configured to generate a plurality of phase shifts and apply at least one of the plurality of phase shifts to a transmission line in the feed network layer.

15. The radar system of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of phase control elements includes a plurality of groupings of phase control elements, wherein each grouping of the plurality of groupings includes a different subset of phase control elements of the plurality of phase control elements.

16. The radar system of claim 15 , wherein each phase control element of each grouping of the plurality of groupings is coupled to a different superelement of the superelement array layer.

17. The radar system of claim 16 , wherein each phase control element of at least one of the plurality of groupings is coupled to a different transmission line that is on a same level in the feed network layer as that of other transmission lines coupled to other phase control elements of the grouping.

18. The radar system of claim 13 , wherein the superelement antenna array layer includes a slot array layer that includes an array of elements, wherein each element of the array of elements includes a plurality of radiating slots penetrating through the slot array layer, and wherein a coupling aperture in the coupling aperture layer is positioned between a pair of radiating slots of the plurality of radiating slots to form a superelement based at least on the coupling aperture layer being superimposed over at least a portion of the slot array layer.

19. A power division layer for use in an analog beamforming antenna for millimeter wave applications, comprising:

a feed network layer comprising a plurality of transmission lines;

a phase control layer comprising a plurality of phase control elements coupled to the feed network layer and configured to generate a plurality of phase shifts and to apply at least one of the plurality of phase shifts to a radio frequency signal propagating to a superelement antenna array layer of the analog beamforming antenna, wherein each phase control element of the plurality of phase control elements is coupled to a different transmission line of the plurality of transmission lines that is on a same level in the feed network layer as that of other transmission lines coupled to other phase control elements of the plurality of phase control elements; and

a coupling aperture layer comprising a plurality of coupling apertures that enable radiating a transmission signal, wherein each end of the plurality of transmission lines in the feed network layer is coupled to one of the plurality of coupling apertures through respective ones of the plurality of phase control elements.

20. The power division layer of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of phase control elements includes a plurality of groupings of phase control elements, wherein each grouping includes a different subset of phase control elements of the plurality of phase control elements, and wherein each phase control element of each grouping of the plurality of groupings is coupled to a different superelement of the superelement array layer.