February 23
@
4:00 PM
–
5:30 PM
Beyond Beamforming: Extreme Radiation Control with Metamaterial and Metasurface Antennas
Abstract:
As the deployment of 5G wireless networks continues, and the research on 6G intensifies, the need to harness the massive amount of bandwidth offered by millimeter-waves and THz-waves becomes inevitable. However, directly scaling current radiofrequency technologies to this previously untapped portion of the electromagnetic spectrum will be difficult and costly, due to a confluence of adverse effects including obstruction, absorption, path loss and interference. Hence, to enable the ubiquitous connectivity, low-latency and high-capacity data access promised by next-generation wireless systems, paradigm-shifting innovations are needed at their physical layer. In recent years, artificial materials and surfaces, also known as metamaterials and metasurfaces, have emerged in response to this challenge. By interacting with electromagnetic fields and waves in exotic yet highly advantageous manners, these engineered materials and surfaces empower us to build novel antennas and devices which can challenge or even overcome certain constraints associated with their conventional counterparts.
In this talk, I will highlight recent advancements in the capabilities of metasurfaces to passively shape free-space electromagnetic waves, enabling extreme manipulation of antenna beams. Then, I will describe the integration of elementary feeds into passive metasurfaces with inverse design techniques, realizing high-performance ultra-low-profile transceivers. Finally, I will discuss how we can maximize the potential of such metasurface antennas by leveraging powerful forward design methods adopted from the field of nanophotonics. I will conclude with an overview of my vision for the important roles metamaterials and metasurfaces will play in shaping future technologies, for communications and beyond.
Dr. Geng Yu (Paul) Xu
Bio:
Geng Yu (Paul) Xu is a postdoctoral researcher at the Photonics Initiative at the Advanced Science Research Center in New York. He received the Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Engineering Science and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto, in 2016 and 2022 respectively. His research centers around antennas as well as radiofrequency/millimeter-wave devices and circuits based on artificial electromagnetic materials, also known as metamaterials. He is also interested in interdisciplinary research connecting applied electromagnetics to physics, biomedical engineering, and other subjects. His academic contributions have been recognized by numerous awards including the Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship and the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Fellowship.