Broadband digital coding metasurface holography

Abstract

Digital coding metasurfaces composed of subwavelength meta-atoms can flexibly control electromagnetic waves to achieve holography, which has great potential in millimeter-wave imaging systems and data storage. In this paper, we propose a 3-bit reflective digital coding metasurface. The incident linearly polarized waves can be transformed into cross-polarized components with distinct phase responses by adjusting the rotational and open angles of the coding elements. The 3-bit phase performance can be retained over a wide bandwidth from 12 to 18 GHz by simultaneously changing the rotational and open angles. Based on the proposed broadband metasurface, broadband holography is successfully demonstrated with the optimization of a modified Gerchberg–Saxton algorithm. As a proof of concept, five schemes with different holograms integrating the letters “S,” “E,” “U,” “X,” and “Z” are simulated from 12 to 18 GHz. Good simulation results validate the performance of the proposed broadband holography, showing a relative bandwidth of 40%. Two prototypes superposing the holograms of letters “U” and “X” are fabricated and measured in a near-field microwave anechoic chamber. The experimental results corroborate well with simulated results, further supporting the demonstration. We believe that the proposed broadband holography based on the digital coding metasurface paves a way to wideband applications for microwave imaging, information processing, and holographic data storage.