Electron-Sheet Metasurfaces for Reconfigurable Beam Patterns

Here, a beam-steering structure based on the interaction of antenna radiation with an electron sheet with swiftly moving electrons with a constant velocity is proposed and studied theoretically. Such electron-sheet metasurface, while uniform and homogeneous in its composition, has a dynamic surface conductivity that exhibits nonlocal response that is dependent on the tangential component of the wave vector impinging on it, and may offer a nonsymmetric conductivity distribution with respect of this wave vector component. As a result, asymmetric radiation patterns may be generated from a single magnetic current line source in the presence of such a metastructure. This effect, introduced by the electron sheet with fast-moving electrons on the radiation properties, can be tailored by modifying the number density and the constant velocity of these electron sheets. We explore the effects of the electron-sheet metasurface on the far-zone radiated field in the presence and absence of a perfect electric conducting ground plane. Some of the electromagnetic features, such as the tilt of radiation pattern in the far zone and the field distribution in the near zone, are also discussed. We envision that this reconfigurable beam steering method may find potential applications in THz, microwave, and optical technologies.

[1]  N. Engheta,et al.  Nonreciprocal guided waves in the presence of swift electron beams , 2021, 2103.13473.

[2]  H. Atwater,et al.  Array-Level Inverse Design of Beam Steering Active Metasurfaces. , 2020, ACS nano.

[3]  Andrea Alù,et al.  Dynamic Beam Steering With Reconfigurable Metagratings , 2020, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[4]  Tie Jun Cui,et al.  Terahertz Beam Steering Technologies: From Phased Arrays to Field‐Programmable Metasurfaces , 2019, Advanced Optical Materials.

[5]  Alejandro Álvarez Melcón,et al.  Nonreciprocal Wavefront Engineering with Time-Modulated Gradient Metasurfaces , 2019, Physical Review Applied.

[6]  Vladimir M. Shalaev,et al.  Spatiotemporal light control with active metasurfaces , 2019, Science.

[7]  Christopher J Sarabalis,et al.  Optomechanical antennas for on-chip beam-steering. , 2017, Optics express.

[8]  A. Alú,et al.  Non-reciprocal photonics based on time modulation , 2017 .

[9]  Shuang Zhang,et al.  Electromagnetic reprogrammable coding-metasurface holograms , 2017, Nature Communications.

[10]  R. Agarwal,et al.  Strain Multiplexed Metasurface Holograms on a Stretchable Substrate. , 2017, Nano letters.

[11]  Juan C. Garcia,et al.  Experimental Demonstration of >230° Phase Modulation in Gate-Tunable Graphene-Gold Reconfigurable Mid-Infrared Metasurfaces. , 2017, Nano letters.

[12]  M. Brongersma,et al.  Dynamic Reflection Phase and Polarization Control in Metasurfaces. , 2017, Nano letters.

[13]  D. Tsai,et al.  Gate-Tunable Conducting Oxide Metasurfaces. , 2015, Nano letters.

[14]  A. Alvarez-Melcon,et al.  Nonreciprocal Graphene Devices and Antennas Based on Spatiotemporal Modulation , 2016, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters.

[15]  N. Engheta,et al.  All-passive nonreciprocal metastructure , 2014, Nature Communications.

[16]  A. Alú,et al.  Infrared beam-steering using acoustically modulated surface plasmons over a graphene monolayer , 2014 .

[17]  M. Watts,et al.  Integrated phased array for wide-angle beam steering. , 2014, Optics letters.

[18]  Ming C. Wu,et al.  High-speed 32×32 MEMS optical phased array , 2014, Photonics West - Micro and Nano Fabricated Electromechanical and Optical Components.

[19]  Juan Sebastian Gomez-Diaz,et al.  Sinusoidally Modulated Graphene Leaky-Wave Antenna for Electronic Beamscanning at THz , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology.

[20]  I. White,et al.  Free Space Communications With Beam Steering a Two-Electrode Tapered Laser Diode Using Liquid-Crystal SLM , 2013, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[21]  M. Lipson,et al.  Subject Areas : Optics A Viewpoint on : Electrically Driven Nonreciprocity Induced by Interband Photonic Transition on a Silicon Chip , 2012 .

[22]  Yi Xuan,et al.  An All-Silicon Passive Optical Diode , 2012, Science.

[23]  C. Caloz,et al.  Nonreciprocal Magnetless CRLH Leaky-Wave Antenna Based on a Ring Metamaterial Structure , 2011, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters.

[24]  Edward A. Watson,et al.  A Review of Phased Array Steering for Narrow-Band Electrooptical Systems , 2009, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[25]  Jason Heikenfeld,et al.  Agile wide-angle beam steering with electrowetting microprisms. , 2006, Optics express.

[26]  S.A. Khan,et al.  Demonstration of 3-dimensional wide angle laser beam scanner using liquid crystals. , 2004, Optics express.

[27]  Hyok J. Song,et al.  Two-dimensional beam steering using an electrically tunable impedance surface , 2003 .

[28]  James H. Schaffner,et al.  Beam steering microwave reflector based on electrically tunable impedance surface , 2002 .

[29]  D. Sievenpiper,et al.  A tunable impedance surface performing as a reconfigurable beam steering reflector , 2002 .

[30]  Adisorn Tuantranont,et al.  Optical beam steering using MEMS-controllable microlens array , 2001 .

[31]  Martin M. Fejer,et al.  All-optical diode in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide , 2001 .

[32]  Edward A. Watson.  Analysis of beam steering with decentered microlens arrays , 1993 .

[33]  A. Ishimaru.  Electromagnetic Wave Propagation, Radiation, and Scattering , 1990 .

[34]  C. Balanis.  Advanced Engineering Electromagnetics , 1989 .

[35]  N. Engheta,et al.  Interface extinction and subsurface peaking of the radiation pattern of a line source , 1981 .

[36]  L. Felsen,et al.  Radiation and scattering of waves , 1972 .

[37]  B. Lax,et al.  Theory of ferrites in rectangular waveguides , 1956 .

[38]  Benjamin Lax,et al.  Ferrite Phase Shifters in Rectangular Wave Guide , 1954 .