Shared‐Aperture 2‐Bit Coding Metasurface for Simultaneous Manipulation of Space Wave and Surface Wave

Abstract A shared‐aperture 2‐bit coding metasurface for simultaneously and independently manipulating space wave and surface wave is proposed in this paper. When the proposed coding metasurface is expected to modulate space wave, the unit cells can control the reflection phase. The reflected wave becomes various according to the specific coding sequence. When the proposed coding metasurface acts as spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPP) transmission line, the unit cells can modulate the surface impedance. With periodic modulation to the surface impedance, electromagnetic wave can be radiated into free space and the radiation beam scans as frequency changes. Space wave modulator works at 22.5 GHz, while the surface wave modulator works during the frequency range of 6.5–11.4 GHz. The total scanning angle of the radiated beam of surface wave modulator covers from −54° to 52°, with an average gain of 10.64 dBi. Simultaneous manipulation of both space wave and surface wave by a single metasurface makes the proposed device promising in the new radar and satellite communication systems with compact requirement.