Space-time-coding metasurface Enabled Integrated Design of Radar Communication and Electromagnetic Stealth

ZHANG Ming; WANG Zhe; WANG Boya; YANG Lin; HAN Qi; HE Yuhang; HOU Weimin; LI Kang

doi:10.11999/JEIT260536

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ZHANG Ming, WANG Zhe, WANG Boya, YANG Lin, HAN Qi, HE Yuhang, HOU Weimin, LI Kang. Space-time-coding metasurface Enabled Integrated Design of Radar Communication and Electromagnetic Stealth[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT260536

Citation:

ZHANG Ming, WANG Zhe, WANG Boya, YANG Lin, HAN Qi, HE Yuhang, HOU Weimin, LI Kang. Space-time-coding metasurface Enabled Integrated Design of Radar Communication and Electromagnetic Stealth[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT260536

Citation:

ZHANG Ming, WANG Zhe, WANG Boya, YANG Lin, HAN Qi, HE Yuhang, HOU Weimin, LI Kang. Space-time-coding metasurface Enabled Integrated Design of Radar Communication and Electromagnetic Stealth[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT260536

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Space-time-coding metasurface Enabled Integrated Design of Radar Communication and Electromagnetic Stealth

doi: 10.11999/JEIT260536 cstr: 32379.14.JEIT260536

ZHANG Ming^1
,,
WANG Zhe¹,
WANG Boya¹,
YANG Lin¹,
HAN Qi¹,
HE Yuhang¹,
HOU Weimin^{1
,
,},
LI Kang²

1.
School of Information Science and Engineering, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang 050018, China
2.
Faculty of Integrated Circuit, Xidian University, Xi’an 710003, China

Funds: National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2022YFB4400400), National Natural Science Foundation of China (N0. 62441401), National Key Laboratory of Basic Scientific Research for Innovation Fund (No. IFN20230113), the Major Science and Technology Support Project of Hebei Province (No.24290201Z), Hebei Natural Science Foundation (No. F2024208020 and F2026208017), Science and Technology Project of Hebei Education Department (No. BJK2024089), Hebei Provincial Department of Education Grant for Cultivating Innovative Ability of Postgraduate Students (CXZZSS2026090)

Accepted Date: 2026-07-08
Rev Recd Date: 2026-07-08

Available Online: 2026-07-31

Abstract

Abstract

Objective To address the complexity and limited modulation of existing reconfigurable metasurfaces integrating radiation and stealth, this study proposes a single-layer space-time-coding metasurface that dynamically switches between beam scanning and RCS reduction. By periodically modulating meta-atom states in the time domain, the phase responses of incident and harmonic waves are differentiated, enabling dynamic integration of radiation and stealth without complex feeding networks or multilayer structures. The design achieves precise beam scanning and excellent RCS reduction, providing a simple, low-cost solution for integrating radar communication and electromagnetic stealth. Methods This metasurface adopts a metal-dielectric-metal structure, with each meta-atom integrating a PIN diode. Electromagnetic simulations are conducted using CST Microwave Studio. At the optimal operating frequency, the meta-atom exhibits a 1-bit tunable reflection phase and a near-lossless co-polarized reflection amplitude. By feeding space-time-coding sequences into the metasurface model, dynamic control of beam scanning and RCS reduction is achieved. A prototype is fabricated using PCB technology, and its performance is validated through echo scattering measurements conducted with a vector network analyzer and a frequency offset option. Results and Discussions Simulations and measurements confirm that the proposed space-time-coding metasurface enables precise beam steering and excellent RCS reduction. At 10.0 GHz, the meta-atoms provide a 180° reflection phase difference and near-lossless amplitude. In radiation mode, harmonic beams are steered to angles of +2°, +14°, +32°, +46°, –15°, –28°, and –44°, with side-lobe levels for the ±3rd to fundamental harmonics suppressed to –10.59 dB. In scattering mode, the RCS of the fundamental echo is reduced by 11.56 dB compared to a copper plate. Additionally, a –10 dB RCS reduction is achieved from 9.9 to 10.1 GHz, peaking at 14.83 dB at 9.95 GHz. Experimental results validate the design’s integrated radiation-scattering capability and dynamic control flexibility. Conclusions This study presents a design method for a space-time-coding metasurface that enables dynamically integrated manipulation of radiation and scattering. By employing meta-atoms integrated with PIN diodes, the proposed method periodically modulates the operating states of the meta-atoms on a single-layer metasurface to achieve differentiated distributions of the wavefront phases of various harmonics. The proposed scheme significantly reduces design complexity and manufacturing costs. The successful realization of beam scanning and RCS reduction highlights the great potential of this technology in the integrated design of radar communication and electromagnetic stealth.
- Metasurface,
- space-time-coding sequence,
- beam scanning,
- RCS reduction

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References(31)

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