Broadband Flexible Metasurface for SAR Imaging Cloaking

Area of Science:

• Electromagnetics
• Materials Science
• Metasurface Technology

Background:

• Traditional electromagnetic invisibility devices often use rigid structures, limiting their adaptability to curved surfaces and dynamic applications.
• Flexible invisibility structures offer significant advantages due to their conformability and ease of deployment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a flexible metasurface for broadband Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging invisibility.
• To achieve multi-domain joint regulation of electromagnetic waves for enhanced stealth.

Main Methods:

• Design of two subwavelength unit structures with distinct reflection characteristics.
• Application of array inverse optimization methods for metasurface design.
• Integration of a sponge-like dielectric substrate with resistive ink to create a resonant structure.

Main Results:

• The flexible metasurface effectively suppresses electromagnetic scattering through joint phase and amplitude modulation.
• Achieved low detectability for targets in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detection scenarios.
• Demonstrated stable invisibility performance across a wide frequency band in both indoor and outdoor experiments.

Conclusions:

• The developed flexible metasurface provides a viable solution for broadband SAR invisibility.
• Offers theoretical and experimental support for the application of flexible metasurfaces in dynamic electromagnetic detection countermeasures.
• Highlights the potential for advanced stealth technologies in modern surveillance environments.