Electromagnetic and mechanical performance analysis of conformal jigsaw-shaped metasurfaces

A conformal metasurface (MS) is required to load on a curved surface and both electromagnetic and mechanical performances need to be considered in practice. In this study, a bandpass circular-protrusion-jigsaw-shaped metasurface (CPJS-MS) is presented to meet the requirement of high mechanical character. In addition, a square-protrusion-jigsaw-shaped MS (SPJS-MS) is proposed, inspired by a mortise and tenon joint of ancient wooden architecture. First, the electromagnetic performance of a planar JS-MS is obtained using the equivalent circuit model (ECM) and simulation. Also, the polarization-independent angular stability for the two JS-MSs is compared with the conventional square-grid MS (SG-MS) to analyze the effect of protrusion structure on the pass band. Second, the transmission characteristics of the conformal JS-MS and SG-MS with different curvature radii are studied based on ECM. Then, the conformal stability of the three MSs is compared with infinite planar form under various incident angles and polarization states to further understand the conformal effect. Most importantly, mechanical properties, which are rarely reported, are discussed and compared. Finally, three MS samples are fabricated and measured to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed MS designs. The analysis method is beneficial to further understanding electromagnetic and mechanical properties of conformal MSs.