Reconfigurable Metasurface: Enabling Tunable Reflection in 6G Wireless Communications

Abstract

With the continuous advancement of technology, there is an increasing need for innovative solutions that can handle complex applications such as haptic communications, Internet of Things for smart cities, automation, and manufacturing. One technology that has received much attention is the phase reconfigurable metasurface for reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs). The RIS demands low-power consumption, simple configuration, angular stability, and polarization insensitivity. The use of phase reconfigurable metasurfaces provides benefits such as low cost, low power consumption, and improved communication coverage and quality. This article introduces a reconfigurable combined-loop metasurface that can effectively manipulate phase reflection. This is achieved by incorporating four PIN diodes between two meta-atoms of a 2 × 2 periodic array within a single-layer metallic structure. By controlling the state of the PIN diodes, which can be switched into 16 different states, the metasurface can achieve various phase reflections. The proposed structure has validated a 32× 32 metasurface through numerical simulations and experiments that exhibit promising results, demonstrating its potential for use in 6G applications.