Perfect Control of Diffraction Patterns with Phase-Gradient Metasurfaces

Phase-gradient metasurfaces (PGMs) constitute an efficient platform for deflection of a beam in a desired direction. According to the generalized Snell's law, the direction of the reflected/refracted wave can be tuned by the spatial phase function provided by the PGMs. However, most studies on PGM focus only on a single diffraction order, that is, the incident wave can be reflected or refracted to a single target direction. Even in the case of multiple beams pointing in different directions, the beams are still in the same order mode, and the energy carried by different beams cannot be controlled. In addition, the energy ratio of multiple beams is generally uncontrollable. Here, we propose a general method to perfectly control diffraction patterns based on a multi-beam PGM. An analytical solution for arbitrarily controlling diffraction beams is derived through which the generation and energy distribution in high-order diffraction beams can be achieved. Three metasurfaces with different diffraction orders and energy ratios are designed and fabricated to demonstrate the proposed method. The efficiencies of diffraction for the desired channels are close to 100%. The simulated and measured far-field patterns are in good agreement with theoretical predictions, validating the proposed method that provides a new way to design multi-beam antennas and that has significance in wireless communication applications.

Automated summary

This study proposes a general method to perfectly control diffraction patterns based on a multi-beam PGM, achieving arbitrary control of high-order diffraction beams through generation and energy distribution. The effectiveness and accuracy of the method are validated through the design and fabrication of metasurfaces with different characteristics.