Miniaturized reconfigurable metasurface: Hybrid resonator design for switchable microwave transmission and shielding

Abstract

Conventional metasurfaces encounter two limitations in applications such as 5G/6G wireless communication systems and intelligent radomes. One limitation is the large unit size, which hinders integration with compact electromagnetic devices. The other is the fixed frequency response, which limits adaptability to dynamic and complex electromagnetic environments. To overcome these challenges, we propose a miniaturized reconfigurable metasurface design capable of tunable passband/stopband responses in dual-band. The metasurface employs a cascaded structure combining hybrid resonators with impedance controllers. The hybrid resonators feature specially designed convoluted metallic patterns to reduce the unit size while preserving filtering performance. As a result, the unit size is minimized to 0.041λ0 for the metasurface (where λ0 is the wavelength at the center frequency of the first passband). Experimental results demonstrate that the structure operates at 1.55 and 3.32 GHz, with a stable response under oblique incidence angles of up to 45°, demonstrating its reconfigurability under various polarization states and incident conditions.