Multi-Channel Near-Field Terahertz Communications Using Reprogrammable Graphene-Based Digital Metasurface

Abstract

Digital metasurfaces have opened unprecedented ways to accomplish novel electromagnetic devices thanks to their simple manipulation of electromagnetic waves. However, the metasurfaces leveraging phase-only or amplitude-only modulation restricted the full-functionality control of the devices. Herein, a digital graphene-based metasurfaces engineering wavefront amplitude and phase are proposed for the first time to tackle this challenge in the terahertz (THz) band. The concept and its significance are verified using reprogrammable multi-focal meta-lens based on a 2/2-bit digital unit cell with independent control of 2-bit states of amplitude and phase individually. Moreover, we introduce a novel method to directly transmit digital information over multiple channels via the reprogrammable digital metasurface. Since these metasurfaces are composed of digital building blocks, the digital information can be directly modulated to the metasurface by selecting specific digital sequences and sent them to predetermined receivers distributed in the focal points. Following that, a multi-channel THz high-speed communication system and its application to build three-dimensional wireless agile interconnection are demonstrated. The presented method provides a new architecture for wireless communications without using complicated components of conventional systems. This work motivates versatile meta-devices in many applications envisioned for the THz frequencies, which will play a vital role in modern communications.