Search

In this paper, we propose two different methods for time-domain finite-difference analysis of uniform temporally and spatially dispersive metasurfaces using their zero-thickness sheet representations using the Generalized Sheet Transition Conditions (GSTCs). Metasurfaces are described here using their effective surface susceptibilities which are assumed to exhibit Lorentzian temporal dispersion characteristics. For both methods, the spatial dispersion of the surface susceptibilities (i.e., their dependence on the angle of incidence) are represented using the extended GSTCs presented in Rahmeier et al. (2023), Smy et al. (2023), and Dugan et al. (2023). However, the first method takes advantage of a polynomial expansion of the angle-dependent surface susceptibilities in terms of the transverse wavevector to implement spatial derivatives of the electric and magnetic polarization as well as the average field on the surface, leading to a coupled set of field equations encompassing the entire surface. Limitations for this method are presented in terms of poor conditioning for a coupled system of equations and an inconvenient extension to the higher-order expansion of the susceptibility terms. The second method lifts these limitations by solving the spatial dispersion problem in the spatial frequency domain at every time step. Both methods are validated for custom Lorentzian models and two canonical physical cells while comparing their transmission and reflection coefficients with analytical results.

A novel metasurface reflector unit cell based on two coupled resonators is proposed and demonstrated for real-time reconfigurable beamforming in the X-band (8-12 GHz). The unit cell is composed of a split-ring resonator (SRR) with tunable capacitance and a dipole-ring resonator (DRR) with tunable resistance, whose collective variations allow for control over the complex reflectance at a desired frequency. To gain physical insight into its working mechanism, the proposed unit cell is modeled as a coupled Lorentz oscillator using the surface susceptibility description of the unit cell. Thereafter, a metasurface reflector based on the proposed unit cell is demonstrated in full-wave simulations to achieve various beamforming examples, such as beam-steering, side-lobe level control, beam-steering with amplitude control, and multi-beam patterns, from a single normally-incident plane wave excitation. Three metasurface reflectors are fabricated to experimentally demonstrate the proposed concept; the first is based on an SRR with a varactor diode, the second is based on a DRR with a PIN diode, and the third is based on the proposed coupled SRR-DRR configuration with both varactor and PIN diodes, for simultaneous magnitude and phase control. The metasurface reflector based on the coupled resonator unit cell is experimentally demonstrated to achieve versatile beam transformations including beam-steering with amplitude control and multi-beam patterns.

A systematic numerical framework based on Integral Equations and Generalized Sheet Transition Conditions (IE-GSTCs) is presented in 2D to synthesize closed metasurface holograms and skins for creating electromagnetic illusions of specified objects and as a special case, to camouflaging them against their backgrounds. The versatile hologram surface is modeled using a zero-thickness sheet model of a generalized metasurface expressed in terms of its surface susceptibilities, which is further integrated into the GSTCs and the IE current-field propagation operators. To estimate the effectiveness of the illusions, the notion of a scene constructed by an observer is developed from first principles and a simple mathematical model, referred to as a Structured Field Observation (SFO), based on spatial Fourier transform is proposed. Using numerical examples, it is shown that to recreate the reference desired fields everywhere in space using a closed metasurface hologram/skin, an internal illumination must be applied inside the hologram, in addition to the applied external illumination fields. Finally, several numerical examples are presented for simple, angle-dependent and dynamic illusions. Finally, a dynamic camouflaged region of space, which can freely move inside a given complex scene without being detected by the observer is demonstrated.

A systematic approach is presented to exploit the rich field transformation capabilities of Electromagnetic (EM) metasurfaces for creating a variety of illusions using the concept of metasurface holograms. A system level approach to metasurface hologram synthesis is presented here, in which the hologram is co-designed with the desired object to be projected. A structured approach for the classification of the creation of EM illusions is proposed for better organization and tractability of the overall synthesis problem. The delineation is in terms of the initial incident (reference) illumination of the object to be recreated (front/back-lit), the position of illusion (posterior/anterior), and the illumination used to create the illusion (front/back). Therefore the classification is based on the specific relationship between the reference object to be recreated, the observer measuring the object, the orientation and placement of the reference and illumination field, and the desired placement of the metasurface hologram creating a virtual image. In the paper a general design procedure to synthesize metasurface holograms is presented based on Integral Equations (IE) and Generalized Sheet Transition Conditions (GSTCs), where the metasurface hologram is described as zero thickness sheet with tensorial surface susceptibility densities. Several selected configurations are chosen to illustrate various aspects of the hologram creation in 2D, along with a novel numerical technique to artificially reverse-propagate the scattered fields, required in the synthesis process. Finally, the impact of the metasurface size and the illumination field strength on the quality of the reconstructed scattered fields is also discussed.

An all-dielectric Huygens' transmit-array is proposed and experimentally demonstrated in the 120-GHz-band. The proposed transmit-array is fabricated using a high-precision laser-drilling process providing high fabrication precision and accuracy. A non-uniform Huygens' surface is next placed on top of a planar high gain slot-array antenna for far-field beamforming. Full-wave simulations are first used to demonstrate the beamforming capability by generating difference-pattern beams as an example. A uniform transmit-array was then fabricated and characterized to investigate the effect of the transmit-array on the antenna performance, along with showing very low fabrication tolerances and minimal dimensional variation due to the laser drilling process. Next, a phase-gradient transmit-array for beam-tilting is experimentally demonstrated as a practical example of beamforming. The proposed all-dielectric structure is the first Huygens' structure to be demonstrated at these frequency bands, and represents an attractive alternative to conventional metallic Huygens' metasurfaces based on standard printed circuit board (PCB) solutions.

A Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulation of broadband electromagnetic metasurfaces based on direct incorporation of Generalized Sheet Transition Conditions (GSTCs) into a conventional Yee-cell region has been proposed for arbitrary wave excitations. This is achieved by inserting a zero thickness metasurface inside bulk nodes of the Yee-cell region, giving rise to three distinct cell configurations - Symmetric Cell (SC), Asymmetric Cell (AC) and Tight Asymmetric Cell (TAC). In addition, the metasurface is modelled using electric and magnetic surface susceptibilities exhibiting a broadband Lorentzian response. As a result, the proposed model guarantees a physical and causal response from the metasurface. Several full-wave results are shown and compared with analytical Fourier propagation methods showing excellent results for both 1D and 2D field simulations. It is found that the TAC provides the fastest convergence among the three methods with minimum error.