Real-time programmable metasurface for terahertz multifunctional wave front engineering

Terahertz (THz) technologies have become a focus of research in recent years due to their prominent role in envisioned future communication and sensing systems. One of the key challenges facing the field is the need for tools to enable agile engineering of THz wave fronts. Here, we describe a reconfigurable metasurface based on GaN technology with an array-of-subarrays architecture. This subwavelength-spaced array, under the control of a 1-bit digital coding sequence, can switch between an enormous range of possible configurations, providing facile access to nearly arbitrary wave front control for signals near 0.34 THz. We demonstrate wide-angle beam scanning with 1° of angular precision over 70 GHz of bandwidth, as well as the generation of multi-beam and diffuse wave fronts, with a switching speed up to 100 MHz. This device, offering the ability to rapidly reconfigure a propagating wave front for beam-forming or diffusively scattered wide-angle coverage of a scene, will open new realms of possibilities in sensing, imaging, and networking.