A two-dimensional (2-D) metasurface design for backward leaky wave suppression in microwave regime is proposed based on the theory of holography. The so-called Rabbit’s ears phenomenon describes that the backward mode in the reference wave plays the destructive role and makes the holography principle to behave properly mainly in an only narrow frequency interval. Here, we explore the utilization of the surface wave reflectors to suppress the backward mode to achieve wide-band holograms. Therefore, the reference wave form is manipulated by the choice of various reflector shapes and some providing forward mode dominant reference wave are analyzed and simulated. The less backward mode participates in the reference wave; the wider operation frequency range is obtained. With the canceled Rabbit’s ears phenomenon, variations in the reference wave frequency cause elevation angle scan. The results provide general insights into relation of the Rabbit’s ears phenomenon and the object wave accuracy in frequencies except the design frequency. The idea is also applied to multiple object wave holograms. The concept is verified using both electromagnetic full-wave simulations and experimental measurements.
High resolution microwave leaky wave holograms excited by center-fed cylindrical surface wave launcher show a null at object wave direction which is an undesired effect for electromagnetic beamforming. Also, planar leaky wave metasurfaces generating a tilted beam extremely suffer from the destructive effect of non-forward surface leaky waves at frequencies other than the design frequency and they are almost operable at a single frequency. Here we propose a 2-D modified hologram configuration using parabolic surface reflector to collimate the non-forward leaky modes into the forward leaky modes. The modified hologram presents null-free radiation pattern and highly improved operating frequency bandwidth. The consequent frequency bandwidth provides the scannabality property by frequency variation. The forward mode-dominant surface wave excitation of hologram lets the metasurface to generate the object beam more precisely; therefore, high directivity all over the operating bandwidth is obtained. The parabolic reflector lets the radiative surface of the metasurface to get shrunken in less than half of the conventional holograms. The concept is verified by fabrication and experimentally tested confirming the beam maintenance over a reasonable frequency range and scannability property.
As digital circuits are approaching the limits of Moore’s law, a great deal of effort has been directed to alternative computing approaches. Among them, the old concept of optical signal processing (OSP) has attracted attention, revisited in the light of metamaterials and nano-photonics. This approach has been successful in realizing basic mathematical operations, such as derivatives and integrals, but it is difficult to be applied to more complex ones. Here, inspired by digital filters, we propose a radically new OSP approach, able to realize arbitrary mathematical operations over a nano-photonic platform. Our concept consists in first sampling an optical signal in space through an array of optical antennas and then realizing the desired mathematical operation in discrete space through a network with a discrete number of input and output ports. The design of such network boils down to the design of a structure with a given scattering matrix, which for arbitrarily complex operations can be accomplished through inverse design algorithms. We demonstrate this concept for the case of spatial differentiation through a heuristic design based on a waveguide with periodic arrays of input/output channels at its opposite walls. Our approach combines the robustness and generality of traditional Fourier-based OSP with the compactness of nano-photonics and has the potential of transforming the design of OSP systems with applications in image processing and analog computing.
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