Reconfigurable metasurface design with hallucination and stealth capabilities

Abstract

We introduce a reconfigurable metasurface that can dynamically alter the phase distribution on its surface by controlling the external bias voltage. This metasurface not only mimics the electromagnetic shape of other objects at 6 GHz but also hides arbitrary objects within the frequency range of 4–7 GHz. The metasurface consists of 6 × 6 supercells, with each supercell including 4 × 4 identical capacitive sub-cells. We choose a trapezoid as a test object to demonstrate the illusion capabilities of the reconfigurable metasurface. To verify its stealth functionality, we adopt two methods: placing the object to be concealed either below or above the metasurface. Our designed reconfigurable metasurface possesses both illusion and stealth capabilities.

Graphical abstract

Diagram of the working principle of the metasurface.