Optical Microwave Metasurface Phased Arrays

The concept, design and validation of optical microwave metasurface phased arrays (OMMPA) are introduced. The proposed OMMPA is composed of a microwave source, an optically-reconfigurable microwave metasurface, and an optical-control system. Different from microwave-photonics antennas that use light as the carrier for low-loss wideband microwave transmission (or light carries microwave), the proposed OMMPA uses light as the control signal for low-cost large-scale microwave tuning (or light controls microwave). Three important design considerations are highlighted with examples, concerning firstly the experimental modeling of tunable components, secondly the design of the optical-controlling system and thirdly the design of metasurfaces. Possible future directions and applications of the proposed OMMPA are also outlined.