A Bianisotropic Metasurface With Resonant Asymmetric Absorption

In this paper, we propose, design, theoretically study, and experimentally test a simple periodical array which provides perfect absorptivity when one of its surfaces is illuminated and controllable reflectivity for illuminations of the other side. The proposed structure does not contain any ground plane and relies on the bianisotropic properties of the unit cells forming the absorbing layer. The absence of the ground plane makes the new design suitable for applications where the absorber should not block transmission outside the absorption band. The proposed structure is realized as an array of nonidentical conducting patches imprinted on the two sides of a thin dielectric slab. This ultra-thin (similar to lambda/150, where lambda is the operational wavelength) metasurface absorber is optimized, fabricated, and tested. The test results confirm nearly perfect absorption (from one direction) and controllable reflection (from the other direction) at the resonance frequency, as well as partial transparency outside of the absorption band.