Active steering for millimeter wave signaling

An antenna configured to operate at millimeter wave frequencies, the antenna comprising:

• a substrate comprising a first surface and a second surface;
• a ground plane, wherein a first surface of the ground plane contacts the second surface of the substrate;
• a plurality of active patch antenna elements disposed upon the first surface of the substrate, wherein the plurality of active patch antenna elements collectively form a two-dimensional shape defining a plurality of vertices, wherein each of the plurality of active patch antenna elements is configured to generate a radiation pattern;
• a plurality of parasitic patch elements coplanar to the plurality of active patch antenna elements, wherein each of the plurality of parasitic patch elements defines four vertices, wherein a vertex of each of the plurality of parasitic patch antenna elements is adjacent to a vertex of the two-dimensional shape of the plurality of active patch antenna elements;
• a switching circuit configured to dynamically couple, to the ground plane, one or more of the plurality of parasitic patch elements;
• and
• a control circuit configured to control the switching circuit to dynamically couple the first, second, third, and/or the fourth parasitic patch elements to the ground plane based at least in part on one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs), wherein the one or more CQIs are indicative of a quality of connection between the antenna and one or more receiving entities, wherein the control circuit receives data over a single coaxial cable.

A method for generation of millimeter wave frequencies, the method comprising:

• generating, by an antenna device, a radiation pattern comprising a transmission to a receiving entity, wherein the antenna device comprises a substrate, a ground plane contacting a first surface of the substrate, and an active antenna patch element and four parasitic patch elements disposed upon a second surface of the substrate, wherein the active antenna patch element defines four corners, and wherein each of the four parasitic patch elements are positioned coplanar and adjacent to a respective corner of the four corners of the active antenna patch element;
• obtaining, by an antenna device via a single coaxial cable, information indicative of one or more channel quality indicators corresponding to the transmission to the receiving entity;
• and
• based at least in part on the information, controlling, by the antenna device, a switching circuit to dynamically couple one or more of the four parasitic patch antenna elements to the ground plane of the antenna device, wherein the information comprises one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) and the one or more CQIs are indicative of a quality of connection between the antenna and one or more receiving entities.