Transmission-Reflection-Integrated Metasurface with Simultaneous Amplitude and Phase Controls of Circularly Polarized Waves in Full Space

In recent years, manipulations of amplitudes and phases of circularly polarized (CP) waves using metasurfaces have attracted significant attention. However, most of the current works are limited to operating in reflection or transmission space, and the amplitude manipulations are mainly achieved through polarization conversion or resistive loss, which will inevitably lead to cross-polarization pollution and energy waste. Here, a transmission-reflection-integrated metasurface that can manipulate the amplitudes and phases of the CP waves simultaneously in full space, which can not only realize arbitrary amplitude allocation of transmitted and reflected CP waves but also independently manipulate their phase responses is proposed. As proofs of concept, two integrated metasurfaces are designed and demonstrated, including a CP reflectarray antenna with simultaneously low side-lobe level and low cross-polarization level, and a meta-grating that can arbitrarily control the intensity of transmitted diffraction wave while focusing the reflected wave. Both simulated and measured results agree very well with the theoretical predictions, demonstrating the powerful ability of the proposed metasurface to control the CP waves in full space, which is promising to be applied in future satellite communications, photonic meta-devices, and so on. A metasurface with simultaneous amplitude and phase controls of circularly polarized (CP) waves in full space is proposed, which can not only realize arbitrary amplitude allocation of transmitted and reflected CP waves, but also independently manipulate their phase responses. This method proposed in this work provides more degrees of freedom for metasurfaces to manipulate CP electromagnetic waves in full space.image

Automated summary

This study proposes a metasurface that can simultaneously manipulate the amplitudes and phases of circularly polarized (CP) waves in full space. It allows for arbitrary amplitude allocation of transmitted and reflected CP waves and independent control of their phase responses. Proof of concept is provided through the design and demonstration of two integrated metasurfaces, showcasing their capability in controlling CP waves.