Wideband RCS Reduction Metasurface With a Transmission Window

Abstract

Metasurfaces have been extensively investigated to achieve radar cross section (RCS) reduction over a wide frequency band. In this article, we propose the design of a novel metasurface with a transmission window within the wide RCS reduction band. The function of this metasurface is similar to rasorbers, whereas the mechanism behind the wideband RCS reduction is scattering cancellation rather than absorption. To this end, the ideal reflection and transmission properties of the metasurface unit cell are firstly revealed. And then an anisotropic unit cell composed of multilayered metallic patterns is designed to obtain the desired reflection and transmission properties. The bottom layer is composed of the typical patch-grid-patch bandpass frequency selective surface, which allows for high transmission in the transparent window and also behaves as a metallic-like reflection sheet in the RCS reduction band. Two metasurfaces, with checkerboard and aperiodic configurations, respectively, were designed, fabricated, and measured, as a proof-of-concept demonstration. A good agreement between the simulations and measured results provides a solid verification for our design. The results here provide an alternative method to open a transparent window within the RCS reduction band and may find potential applications in stealth radomes.