Sub-terahertz transmissive reconfigurable intelligent surface for integrated beam steering and self-OOK-modulation

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Affiliation of Author(s):[1]Univ Elect Sci & Technol China, Sichuan THz Commun Technol Engn Res Ctr, Sch Elect Sci & Engn, Chengdu 611731, Peoples R China;[2]Univ Elect Sci & Technol China, Yangtze Delta Reg Inst Huzhou, Huzhou 313000, Peoples R China;[3]Zhangjiang Lab, Shanghai 201204, Peoples R China;[4]Tianjin Univ, Sch Microelect, Tianjin 300072, Peoples R China;[5]Univ Elect Sci & Technol China, Shenzhen Inst Adv Study, Shenzhen 518100, Peoples R China;[6]Univ Michigan, Dept Elect Engn & Comp Sci, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA;[7]Southeast Univ, Nanjing 210096, Peoples R China

Journal:LIGHT-SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS

Key Words:Amplitude shift keying - Bandwidth - Frequency shift keying - Interlocking signals - Light modulation - Phase shift - Phase shift keying - Schottky barrier diodes - Self phase modulation - Signal modulation

Abstract:Boasting superior flexibility in beam manipulation and a simpler framework than traditional phased arrays, terahertz metasurface-based phased arrays show great promise for 5G-A/6G communication networks. Compared with the reflective reconfigurable intelligent surface (reflective RIS), the transmissive RIS (TRIS) offers more feasibility for transceiver multiplexing systems to meet the growing demand for high-performance beam tracking in terahertz communication and radar systems. However, the terahertz TRIS encounters greater challenges in phase shift, beam efficiency, and complex circuitry. Here, we propose a sub-terahertz TRIS based on the phase shift via Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) metasurface and self-on-off keying (OOK) modulation via Schottky diodes. The electrically reconfigurable unit cell consists of a column-wise phase resonator and a rectangular slot. An experimental retrieved equivalent lumped-element circuit model is implemented in joint field-circuit simulations and is validated by experiments. A fabricated prototype demonstrates excellent performance of TRIS with the minimum insertion loss of 2.8 dB for operational states, large bandwidth nearly covering the entire W-band for 1-bit phase shift, deep OOK amplitude modulation of 12 dB, and wide scanning range of +/- 60 degrees with low specular transmission. We further implement an integrated platform combining high-speed beam steering and spatial-light modulation, verifying the point-to-point signal transmissions in different directions using the TRIS platform. The proposed TRIS with high-performance and cost-effective fabrication makes it a promising solution to terahertz minimalist communication systems, radar, and satellite communication systems.

Document Type:Article

Volume:14

Issue:1

ISSN No.:2095-5545

Translation or Not:no