Wideband switchable linear polarization rotator based on metasurface

The realization of dynamic polarization rotation based on the metamaterial or metasurface is always a concerned issue in electromagnetic manipulation. In this Letter, a transmission-type switchable metasurface is proposed, which can rotate the linear polarized (LP) wave to arbitrary angle among ±45° in a wide frequency band. The polarization rotation metasurface (PRM) consists of a polarization conversion surface and a partially reflective surface. By controlling the resistances of PIN diodes, the PRM can change the polarization angle of transmitted LP wave. To verify the design, a prototype of the proposed PRM is fabricated and tested, and the simulated and measured results are in good agreement. According to the measured results, the fractional bandwidth at each state of prototype is larger than 20.4%. The overlapping operational band of the prototype is from 3.03 to 3.60 GHz, where the transmission coefficient remains higher than –2 dB, and the axial ratio of transmitted wave is higher than 15 dB. The proposed design may have the application potential in target detection, wireless communication, and polarimetric imaging.