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Broadband Achromatic Programmable Electromagnetic Camouflage via Fluidic-Accessible Metasurface
Shipeng Liu1, Jiahao Zhang1, Jiale Wang1
1School of Electronic Engineering, Xidian University, Xian, China.
Advanced Science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
|January 10, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a Fluidic-Accessible Metasurface (FAM) for advanced electromagnetic cloaking. This programmable system enables dynamic radar camouflage for diverse targets across ultrawide bandwidths.
Area of Science:
- Electromagnetic wave manipulation
- Metasurface technology
- Advanced camouflage systems
Background:
- Broadband and reconfigurable illusion camouflage is challenging due to dispersion control and real-time switching demands.
- Existing metasurface cloaks have limitations in bandwidth and adaptability for dynamic scenarios.
- Metasurfaces are crucial for controlling electromagnetic waves but require enhanced flexibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and demonstrate a Fluidic-Accessible Metasurface (FAM) for overcoming limitations in current cloaking technologies.
- To enable programmable electromagnetic illusions with precise dispersion control and real-time switching.
- To achieve dynamic camouflage for various targets across a wide frequency range.
Main Methods:
- Design of supercells with strong dispersion control and achromatic focusing capabilities.
- Assembly and fluidic reconfiguration of supercells to create programmable electromagnetic illusions.
- Focal-spot encoding for generating stable scattering hotspots from a radar perspective.
Main Results:
- Demonstration of a FAM enabling programmable electromagnetic illusions.
- Dynamic reconstruction of illusionary contours for targets like aircraft, drones, and tanks.
- Ultrawide operational bandwidth from 9-14 GHz with reliable and repeatable camouflage states verified by experiments and simulations.
Conclusions:
- The FAM strategy unifies broadband operation, dynamic programmability, high adaptability, and structural robustness.
- This approach addresses key limitations of existing metasurface cloaks.
- Establishes a versatile platform for programmable electromagnetic illusions and next-generation intelligent camouflage systems.
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