High-efficiency and full-space manipulation of electromagnetic wave-fronts with metasurfaces

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel metasurface design that enables efficient manipulation of electromagnetic waves in both reflection and transmission spaces, demonstrating high-performance, polarization-dependent control for advanced applications.

Contribution

A new metasurface with polarization-dependent properties is proposed, allowing full-space EM wave control, demonstrated through the design, fabrication, and experimental validation of three microwave devices.

Findings

Achieved high efficiencies of 85%-91% in wave manipulation

Demonstrated polarization-dependent bending and focusing of EM waves

Enabled full-space EM control with multifunctional metasurfaces

Abstract

Metasurfaces offered great opportunities to control electromagnetic (EM) waves, but currently available meta-devices typically work either in pure reflection or pure transmission mode, leaving half of EM space completely unexplored. Here, we propose a new type of metasurface, composed by specifically designed meta-atoms with polarization-dependent transmission and reflection properties, to efficiently manipulate EM waves in the full space. As a proof of concept, three microwave meta-devices are designed, fabricated and experimentally characterized. The first two can bend or focus EM waves at different sides (i.e., transmission/reflection sides) of the metasurfaces depending on the incident polarization, while the third one changes from a wave bender for reflected wave to a focusing lens for transmitted wave as the excitation polarization is rotated, with all these functionalities exhibiting very high efficiencies (in the range of 85%-91%). Our findings significantly expand the capabilities of metasurfaces in controlling EM waves, and can stimulate high-performance multi-functional meta-devices facing more challenging and diversified application demands.