Chirality-Assisted Phase Metasurface for Circular Polarization Preservation and Independent Hologram Imaging in Microwave Region

A chirality-assisted phase is introduced to innovatively impose separate phase profiles in two circular polarization (CP) preserving channels, namely, two co-polarized output components under left-handed and right-handed circularly polarized (LHCP and RHCP) illuminations. Such a scheme is physically implemented by a proposed multi-layered meta-atom that achieves chiral characteristics by inner twisting angles between adjacent functional elements. A proof-of-concept metasurface is constructed to realize separate holographic images in two polarization-preserved fields with different propagating distances, respectively. In order to achieve sufficient utilization of the two polarization-preserved components, a further approach that can suppress polarization conversion is proposed with a polyatomic unit composed of four separate chiral meta-atoms arranged in a 2 x 2 array. A dual-holographic metasurface is designed to impose characters L and R in two co-polarized fields with little energy distributed in corresponding cross-polarized fields. A prototype of the metasurface is fabricated and experimentally measured. The measurements agree well with theoretical pre-dictions and full-wave simulations, showing in the co-polarized field a character L under LHCP incidence and an R under LHCP incidence. The proposed mechanism provides a theoretical foundation for further CP channel expansion and modulations and has great potential in multifunctional antenna design and wireless communications.

Automated summary

This article introduces a chirality-assisted phase technique that can impose separate phase profiles in two circular polarization preserving channels under LHCP and RHCP illuminations. A multi-layered meta-atom is used to implement this scheme, and a polyatomic unit composed of four separate chiral meta-atoms is proposed to suppress polarization conversion. A dual-holographic metasurface is designed to project characters L and R in two co-polarized fields, with little energy distributed in corresponding cross-polarized fields. Experimental measurements show good agreement with theoretical predictions, demonstrating the potential of this mechanism in multifunctional antenna design and wireless communications.