Self-locking non-volatile coding metasurfaces via origami-based mechanical bits

TL;DR

This paper introduces a self-locking, non-volatile coding metasurface using origami-based mechanical bits, enabling robust electromagnetic wave control with environmental resilience and low power consumption.

Contribution

It presents a novel origami-inspired mechanical bit design that achieves inherent state-locking in coding metasurfaces, enhancing stability and robustness over previous tunable approaches.

Findings

Demonstrated wavefront manipulation via holography and beam steering

Achieved self-locking binary states with energy barriers

Proposed lightweight, load-bearing origami metasurface prototypes

Abstract

Digital coding metasurfaces have revolutionized electromagnetic (EM) manipulation, yet typical tunable approaches based on active components suffer from the "volatility" bottleneck. While mechanical modulation provides a potential solution, current implementations generally lack inherent state-locking capability, rendering them vulnerable to environmental disturbances and actuation errors. Inspired by the concept of mechanical bits (MBs), this paper presents a self-locking non-volatile coding metasurface platform enabled by Kresling origami-based MBs, where the continuous mechanical deformation of individual meta-atoms is discretized into robust binary geometric states protected by intrinsic energy barriers. The bistable states are strictly mapped to 1-bit EM coding phases via tailored metallic patterns integrated onto a multimaterial 3D printed Kresling origami array. Building upon this concept, both transmission- and reflection-type prototypes are proposed and experimentally demonstrated, exhibiting exceptional wavefront manipulation capabilities through near-field holographic imaging and far-field beam steering. In addition, the lightweight origami unit (1.5 g) exhibits an exceptional load-bearing capacity, supporting over 100 times its own weight. These results bridge mechanical logic with EM information processing, establishing a universal physical paradigm for constructing low-power, highly robust coding metasurfaces resilient to extreme environments.