ML-ARIS: Multilayer Underwater Acoustic Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface with High-Resolution Reflection Control

TL;DR

This paper presents ML-ARIS, a multilayer underwater acoustic surface with independently adjustable layers for high-resolution reflection control, enabling precise beam steering and interference minimization.

Contribution

It introduces a novel multilayer design for acoustic reconfigurable surfaces that allows passive synthetic reflection with high-resolution amplitude and phase control.

Findings

Simulations and tank experiments verify the feasibility of ML-ARIS.

ML-ARIS can generate high-resolution reflected signals with a single unit.

The design enhances underwater communication by precise beam steering.

Abstract

This article introduces a multilayered acoustic reconfigurable intelligent surface (ML-ARIS) architecture designed for the next generation of underwater communications. ML-ARIS incorporates multiple layers of piezoelectric material in each acoustic reflector, with the load impedance of each layer independently adjustable via a control circuit. This design increases the flexibility in generating reflected signals with desired amplitudes and orthogonal phases, enabling passive synthetic reflection using a single acoustic reflector. Such a feature enables precise beam steering, enhancing sound levels in targeted directions while minimizing interference in surrounding environments. Extensive simulations and tank experiments were conducted to verify the feasibility of ML-ARIS. The experimental results indicate that implementing synthetic reflection with a multilayer structure is indeed practical in real-world scenarios, making it possible to use a single reflection unit to generate reflected waves with high-resolution amplitudes and phases.