Power-dependent Reflective Metasurface with Self-induced Bandgap

TL;DR

This paper introduces a power-dependent reflective metasurface that switches between states based on incident power, enabling protection of devices from high-power signals while maintaining communication at lower powers.

Contribution

It presents a novel diode-integrated metasurface that transforms from a surface wave support to a bandgap topology under high power RF illumination, unlike previous impedance-shifting designs.

Findings

Achieves a 10 dB transmission decrement at 3.3 GHz with 52 dBm power.

Demonstrates two distinct operational states (ON and OFF) verified by near-field scans.

Validates power-dependent reflection variation through measurements.

Abstract

A metallic ring based, diode-integrated, low-profile, power-dependent, reflective metasurface working from 3 GHz to 3.6 GHz is proposed in this letter. Unlike the previous study which shifts a band up and down to change the impedance of the surface, the triggering of the diodes directly transforms the structure from a surface wave supportive state to a self-induced bandgap topology if exposed to high power RF illumination. We demonstrate the concept by conducting the EM-circuit co-simulation and measurements for a 6 by 8 unit 2D prototype. Near field scan experiments verify that the proposed topology works in two distinct states, the ON and OFF state, and high-power measurements prove that the reflection varies with the incident signal power. The highest 10 dB decrement in transmission occurs at 3.3 GHz with 52 dBm illumination. This structure can be used to protect sensitive devices from large signals while otherwise supporting a communication channel for small signals.