Multiple‐Partition Cross‐Modulation Programmable Metasurface Empowering Wireless Communications

Abstract With the versatile manipulation capability, programmable metasurfaces are rapidly advancing in their intelligence, integration, and commercialization levels. However, as the programmable metasurfaces scale up, their control configuration becomes increasingly complicated, posing significant challenges and limitations. Here, a multiple‐partition cross‐modulation (MPCM) programmable metasurface is proposed to enhance the wireless communication coverage with low hardware complexity. First an innovative encoding scheme is proposed to multiply the control voltage vectors of row‐column crossing, achieving high beamforming precision in free space while maintaining low control hardware complexity and reducing memory requirements for coding sequences. Then an MPCM programmable metasurface is designed and fabricated to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed encoding scheme. The simulated and experimental results show good agreements with the theoretically calculated outcomes in beam scanning across the E and H planes and in free‐space beam pointing. The MPCM programmable metasurface offers strong flexibility and low complexity by allowing various numbers and combinations of partition items in modulation methods, catering to diverse precision demands in various scenarios. The performance of MPCM programmable metasurface is demonstrated in a realistic indoor setting, where the transmissions of videos to specific receiver positions are successfully achieved. It is believed that the proposed programmable metasurface has great potentials in significantly empowering the wireless communications while addressing the challenges associated with the programmable metasurface's design and implementation.