US 11,705,627 B1
Antenna module grounding for phased array antennas
Gordon Coutts, Woodinville, WA (US)
Assigned to Amazon Technologies, Inc., Seattle, WA (US)
Filed by Amazon Technologies, Inc., Seattle, WA (US)
Filed on Feb. 26, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/187,443.
Int. Cl. H01Q 1/28 (2006.01); H01Q 1/48 (2006.01); H01Q 3/30 (2006.01)
CPC H01Q 1/48 (2013.01) [H01Q 1/288 (2013.01); H01Q 3/30 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A communication system comprising:
a circuit board coupled to a chassis of a space vehicle, the chassis being electrically grounded at a first ground potential and the circuit board comprising a ground plane that is electrically grounded at a second ground potential;
an antenna located on a first surface of the circuit board;
an integrated circuit located on a second surface of the circuit board, the integrated circuit comprising radio frequency (RF) circuitry i) coupled to the antenna through a first via in the circuit board and ii) coupled to the ground plane; and
a quarter-wave RF choke implemented in the circuit board, wherein the quarter-wave RF choke provides i) an electrically insulating gap between the ground plane and the chassis at direct current (DC) and ii) an electrical connection between the ground plane and the chassis within a frequency range, wherein the quarter-wave RF choke comprises:
a first planar conductor located in a first layer of the circuit board, the first planar conductor being electrically coupled to the ground plane; and
a second planar conductor located in a second layer of the circuit board, the second planar conductor being electrically coupled to the first ground potential, wherein a portion of the first planar conductor and a portion of the second planar conductor overlap horizontally by an effective distance of a quarter wavelength.