Multiphysics implementation strategy for electrically reconfigurable metasurfaces with multiple tuning states (ELECTRA)

Metasurfaces are artificial media comprising planar arrays of sub-wavelength structures (commonly called meta-atoms). By introducing active elements, reconfigurable metasurfaces introduce a new dimension to the space, enabling dynamic tuning of electromagnetic waves while providing compact, lightweight, and energy-efficient solutions. Metasurfaces are a transversal enabling technology that covers the whole spectrum of EM waves and has multiple applications in current society. For example, their capacity for on-demand wavefront manipulation opens the possibility to perform beam steering at infrared frequencies. Beam steering is the base of sensing systems based on light detection and ranging (LiDAR) with direct applications to autonomous vehicles, remote sensing, and displays in augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) modules. Other applications of reconfigurable metasurfaces include adaptative optics and holography, computational imaging, or tunable filters for multispectral sensing, among others.

Conceptually, metasurface are one of the game-changing technologies that will redefine the industry in portable electronic devices. However, to transform reconfigurable metasurfaces from laboratory to commercial devices, important critical technological gaps need to be filled. These challenges include large number of tuning sates, endurance, low power consumption, and scalable manufacturing and packaging. ELECTRA proposes a holistic method for developing a versatile platform for electrically reconfigurable metasurfaces with multiple tuning stages that combines advance modelling and design, materials, fabrication, and characterization. During the development special attention will be paid to the cycling lifetime and the power consumption to transition between tuning states. As a testing scenario of the proposed platform, ELECTRA will target adaptative filtering and beam-steering at infrared frequencies.