A 20-Gbps Beam-steered Infrared Wireless Link Enabled by a Passively Field-programmable Metasurface

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel passively field-programmable metasurface capable of steering infrared beams at 20 Gbps, offering scalable, efficient, and cost-effective high-speed wireless communication.

Contribution

It presents the first infrared beam steering using a passively field-programmable metasurface with high efficiency and remote control, advancing high-speed wireless links.

Findings

Achieved 35° beam steering with passive metasurface.

Demonstrated 20 Gbps data transmission rate.

System offers scalability, efficiency, and low cost.

Abstract

Beam steering is one of the main challenges in energy-efficient and high-speed infrared light communication. To date, active beam-steering schemes based on a spatial light modulator (SLM) or micro-electrical mechanical system (MEMS) mirror, as well as the passive ones based on diffractive gratings, have been demonstrated for infrared light communication. Here, for the first time to our knowledge, an infrared beam is steered by 35{\deg} on one side empowered by a passively field-programmable metasurface. By combining the centralized control of wavelength and polarization, a remote passive metasurface can steer the infrared beam in a remote access point. The proposed system keeps scalability to support multiple beams, flexibility to steer the beam, high optical efficiency, simple and cheap devices on remote sides, and centralized control (low maintenance cost), while it avoids disadvantages such as grating loss, a small coverage area, and a bulky size. Based on the proposed beam-steering technology, we also demonstrated a proof-of-concept experiment system with a data rate of 20 Gbps.