Modeling and Characterization of Plasma Tubes as Building Blocks for Reconfigurable and Programmable Metasurfaces

ABSTRACT Reconfigurable and programmable metasurfaces require reliable strategies for dynamic control of their electromagnetic response. Among the approaches explored so far, low‐temperature plasma is particularly attractive thanks to its tunable permittivity, which can be adjusted in real time via electron density modulation. Despite this potential, quantitative experimental validation at microwave frequencies has remained limited. In this work, we present a comprehensive characterization of plasma tubes as reconfigurable building blocks for metasurface architectures. Using a custom waveguide measurement setup, we retrieve key plasma parameters–such as electron density and plasma frequency–under varying excitation conditions. These measurements are complemented by multiphysics plasma simulations, full‐wave electromagnetic modeling, and circuit‐level electrical diagnostics, ensuring cross‐validation across independent methodologies. Our results demonstrate a continuous and controllable tunability of the plasma response, with electron densities reaching the range. The close agreement between experiments, models, and simulations confirms the feasibility of integrating plasma elements into adaptive metasurfaces. This study establishes plasma tubes as viable dynamic meta‐atoms, paving the way toward high‐power, high‐speed, and fully reconfigurable microwave systems.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Electronic Materials
Published
2025-12-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202500605
Primary Topic
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Modeling and Characterization of Plasma Tubes as Building Blocks for Reconfigurable and Programmable Metasurfaces

Filiberto Bilotti, Giulia Laghi, Alessio Di Iorio, Odhisea Gazeli et al.
Advanced Electronic Materials
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
article

Modeling and Characterization of Plasma Tubes as Building Blocks for Reconfigurable and Programmable Metasurfaces

Filiberto Bilotti, Giulia Laghi, Alessio Di Iorio, Odhisea Gazeli, Giulia Di Iorio, Alessandro Toscano, Stefano Vellucci, Maria Kafesaki, Alessio Monti, Roberto Filippone, Matteo Gherardi, Filippo Capelli, Mirko Barbuto, Konstantinos Kourtzanidis, Mohammad G. H. Alijani, Mariachiara Grande, Ioannis Katsantonis, Jingye Yan, Tonino Giagnacovo
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Reconfigurable and programmable metasurfaces require reliable strategies for dynamic control of their electromagnetic response. Among the approaches explored so far, low‐temperature plasma is particularly attractive thanks to its tunable permittivity, which can be adjusted in real time via electron density modulation. Despite this potential, quantitative experimental validation at microwave frequencies has remained limited. In this work, we present a comprehensive characterization of plasma tubes as reconfigurable building blocks for metasurface architectures. Using a custom waveguide measurement setup, we retrieve key plasma parameters–such as electron density and plasma frequency–under varying excitation conditions. These measurements are complemented by multiphysics plasma simulations, full‐wave electromagnetic modeling, and circuit‐level electrical diagnostics, ensuring cross‐validation across independent methodologies. Our results demonstrate a continuous and controllable tunability of the plasma response, with electron densities reaching the range. The close agreement between experiments, models, and simulations confirms the feasibility of integrating plasma elements into adaptive metasurfaces. This study establishes plasma tubes as viable dynamic meta‐atoms, paving the way toward high‐power, high‐speed, and fully reconfigurable microwave systems.

Advanced Electronic MaterialsVol. 11(21)
Roma Tre University (IT), University of Crete (GR), Ion Beam Applications (Belgium) (BE), Alfasigma (Italy) (IT), University Niccolò Cusano (IT), Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (GR), Ingegneria dei Sistemi (Italy) (IT), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (GR), University of Bologna (IT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 72%
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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