Electromagnetic all-in-one radiation-scattering reconfigurable intelligent metasurface

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) bring new opportunities for various fields. Currently, RISs can only be used in specific scenarios, such as wireless communication in scattering mode. It is difficult to integrate radiation and scattering modes in a single RIS for multi-scenario applications. To achieve integrated hardware design for multifunctional and multi-scenario applications while reducing hardware costs and size, we propose an electromagnetic all-in-one RIS. A simple and flexible radiation-scattering design framework is constructed, which can realize a radiation-scattering meta-atom design with on-demand polarization and phase-that is, an all-in-one radiation-scattering meta-atom. The meta-atom consists of a radiating patch and a 3-dB coupler. The radiating patch determines the polarization characteristics. The diodes are loaded on the 3-dB coupler to realize the radiation-scattering mode switching and the corresponding mode phase control. By loading different capacitors on the radiating patch, this design also integrates initial radiation and scattering phases into a single structure for the first time. The meta-atoms with specific polarization exhibit amplitude control, phase control and customizable initial phase properties. Specifically, loading PIN diodes or varactor diodes on the 3-dB coupler enables 1-bit or continuous phase regulation, respectively. Under stringent hardware constraints and limited physical space, the radiation-scattering RIS provides multifunctional capabilities within a single platform. The RIS can achieve cost-effective phased arrays in radiation mode. Non-line-of-sight communication is achieved in scattering mode. A [Formula: see text] radiation-scattering RIS was fabricated to demonstrate its performance. This framework bridges a critical gap in electromagnetic radiation-scattering systems by enabling arbitrary polarization and phase modulation, offering a promising technical solution for 6G wireless communication.