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A reconfigurable non-linear active metasurface for coherent wave down-conversion

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  • Pouria Sanjari

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Firooz Aflatouni

    (University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract

Metasurfaces can manipulate the amplitude and phase of electromagnetic waves, offering applications from antenna design and cloaking to imaging and communication. Temporal and non-linear metasurfaces can also adjust the frequency of impinging waves, advancing frequency conversion, sensing, and quantum systems. Here, we demonstrate a non-linear active electronic-photonic metasurface that transfers information from an impinging optical wave to a millimeter-wave beam. The proof-of-concept metasurface is designed to radiate a steerable 28 GHz beam when illuminated with an optical wave at 193 THz and consists of optically synchronized electronic-photonic chips tiled on a printed circuit board containing a microstrip patch antenna array. Light, modulated with a data-encoded mm-wave carrier, is coupled into electronic-photonic chips using microlenses. Within each chip, the mm-wave signal is detected, phased adjusted, amplified, and routed to an off-chip antenna. Beam-steering over a range of 60° in elevation and azimuth and data transmission at 2 Gb/s over a fiber-wireless link are demonstrated.

Suggested Citation

  • Pouria Sanjari & Firooz Aflatouni, 2025. "A reconfigurable non-linear active metasurface for coherent wave down-conversion," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-57132-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57132-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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