Field Synthesis with Azimuthally-Varying, Cascaded, Cylindrical Metasurfaces using a Wave Matrix Approach

TL;DR

This paper introduces a wave matrix method for designing azimuthally-varying cylindrical metasurfaces that enable complex field control, with applications in antenna and stealth technology, overcoming previous fabrication and modeling challenges.

Contribution

It develops a novel wave matrix approach for synthesizing cylindrical metasurfaces with azimuthal variation, improving modeling accuracy and fabrication feasibility.

Findings

Efficient synthesis of cylindrical metasurfaces for desired field transformations.

Demonstrated applications in antenna design and stealth technology.

Overcame limitations of previous conformal metasurface modeling methods.

Abstract

In recent years, there has been extensive research on planar metasurfaces capable of arbitrarily controlling scattered fields. However, rigorous studies on conformal metasurfaces, such as those that are cylindrical, have been few in number likely due to their more complex geometry. Here, wave propagation in cascaded cylindrical structures consisting of layers of dielectric spacers and azimuthally-varying metasurfaces (subwavelength patterned metallic claddings) is investigated. A wave matrix approach, which incorporates the advantages of both ABCD matrices and scattering matrices (S matrices), is adopted. Wave matrices are used to model the higher order coupling between metasurface layers, overcoming fabrication difficulties associated with previous works. The proposed framework provides an efficient approach to synthesize the inhomogeneous sheet admittances that realize a desired cylindrical field transformation. Design examples are reported to illustrate the power and potential applications of the proposed method in antenna design and stealth technology.