Image wireless transmission based on microwave digital coding metasurfaces

Abstract

A 1-bit digital programmable reflective metasurface is proposed for controlling the far-field radiation pattern of reflected electromagnetic waves. By switching the on/off states of PIN diodes to correspond to digital “0” and “1” states, arranging different coding sequences enables flexible control of the electromagnetic waves. Based on the metasurface, we designed a wireless communication system to transmit digital information by manipulating the metasurface to change the far-field radiation pattern of reflected waves. Different far-field radiation patterns can transmit different digital information, so we proposed the basis of a 1-bit digital information transmission scheme. As a proof of this concept, an experimental metasurface sample with a size of 16×16 units was fabricated and tested at microwave frequencies. The experiment successfully demonstrated a 1-bit digital information wireless transmission scheme, with results showing good agreement with theoretical analysis and simulation, yielding a bit error rate of less than 4%. This work verifies the potential of digitally programmable metasurfaces for supporting wireless communication, holding promising applications in the development of next-generation wireless communication technologies.