Liquid metal-based reconfigurable linear-to-multi-polarization conversion metasurfaces

Metasurfaces as advanced artificial materials enable a variety of electromagnetic control functions, especially polarization manipulation. The existing functional switching methods tend to produce a high system complexity and encounter challenges, such as limited working bandwidth and insufficient reconfigurable degrees of freedom, although polarization conversion device based on reconfigurable metasurfaces are extensively investigated. Here, we propose a multifunctional polarization converter employing a liquid metal-based metasurface with various types of integrated microchannels on a single layer. The switching among different functionalities occurs through the injection of liquid metal into various types of microfluidic channels, maintaining the electromagnetic performance of the polarization converter, which encompasses broadband capability and large insensitivity of incident angle. Metasurfaces based on liquid metal microfluidic technology present highly adaptable and reconfigurable materials, offering new possibilities for the development of electromagnetic devices with unprecedented flexibility, with potential applications in microwave imaging, communication systems, remote sensing, among others.