Digital Nonlinear Metasurface with Customizable Nonreciprocity

Abstract Recently, investigation of metasurface has been extended to nonreciprocity through breaking time‐reversal symmetry. Among a number of magnetless strategies, nonlinearity is an important nonreciprocal principle amenable to the metasurface. As passive analog‐based devices, most of the existing nonlinear nonreciprocal metasurfaces are inherently characterized by the relatively unchangeable performance, sharp frequency response, and hysteresis loops. Here, an analog–digital–analog mechanism is proposed to realize the nonlinear nonreciprocity, which provides a digitally reconfigurable solution for a family of nonreciprocal performance within a shared hardware architecture. This concept is validated by a metasurface prototype with the integration of a digital module at microwave frequencies. Based on the proposed mechanism, the properties can be customized as demanded, ranging from a normal reciprocal response to a variety of nonreciprocal functions, including electromagnetic (EM) diode and EM unidirectional limiting functions, which have been experimentally demonstrated with direction reversibility and threshold tunability. The proposed metasurface is also underpinned by the nonhysteretic performance and wide operating bandwidth, thereby potentially making it an inexpensive and stable candidate for advanced manipulations of EM waves.