Broadband RCS reduction metasurface based on vortex singularities generated by Spin-to-Orbital angular momentum conversion

A broadband radar cross-section (RCS) reduction employed by the vortex metasurface is proposed. The underlying physics is associated with the Pancharatnam-Berry geometrical phases involved in spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion. The proposed metasurface generates spin-controlled vortex waves with different topological charges. The vortex singularity implements specular extremely low RCS reduction. The prototypes are fabricated and measured to verify the wideband performance of the RCS reduction. The simulated results illustrate that −10 dB broadband RCS reduction from 9 GHz to 22.5 GHz and the RCS reduction has peak values −37.2 dB, −40.8 dB, and −42.5 dB at 9.8 GHz, 13.1 GHz, and 20.8 GHz, respectively. The measurement results illustrate that −10 dB RCS reduction over 9.1–18 GHz is realized, and the RCS reduction peak −53 dB at 10.1 GHz. The measured electric field intensities and phase distribution of the vortex metasurface also be displayed. Due to the limitation of experimental conditions, no test was done in the range greater than 18 GHz. Far-field results achieve good agreement between simulations and experiments, and the near-field measurements are a subtle difference in the experimental results. This work reveals the potential advantages of vortex waves in the fields of multifunctional electromagnetic stealth, beamforming for communication systems, etc.