Dynamical Multi-Polarized Reflectarray Antenna Using Spin-Decoupled Programmable Metasurface

A novel concept of multi-polarized electronically reconfigurable reflectarray (ERRA) is proposed to afford a multi-channel beam control using a spin-decoupled programmable metasurface. Two PIN diodes are embedded into top copper structure to achieve independent phase control in two orthogonal circular polarization channels. To achieve a two-dimensional phase profile across metasurface, the states of PIN diodes in each meta-atom are individually controlled by a homemade programmable logic controller with 882 outputs. A programmable beam scanning can be achieved by altering the working states of each PIN diode. As a demonstration, an ERRA consisting of 21 × 21 meta-atoms is fabricated and measured. Numerical and experimental results coincide well, achieving a wide-angle beam scanning of ± 45° in circularly and arbitrary linearly polarized channels around 12 GHz. Measurement results manifest a peak gain of 24 and 23 dB for circularly and linearly polarized beams, corresponding to aperture efficiencies of 28.32% and 22.50%, respectively. Our proposed multi-polarized ERRA opens up a new avenue for space-polarization multiplexing, allowing for versatile beam manipulation.