Multi-functional Metasurface: Visibly and RF Transparent, NIR Control and Low Thermal Emissivity

Abstract

Rapid advances in metamaterial technology are enabling the engineering of wavematter interactions heretofore not realized and functionalities with potentially farreaching implications for major challenges in the fields of energy conservation and radio frequency (RF) communication. We propose a visibly and RF transparent composite metasurface utilizing dielectric-metal spectrally selective coatings with high NIR control and low thermal emissivity, thus achieving a multi-functional metasurface capable of enhancing 5G communication efficiency and exhibiting energy conservation features. The proposed meta-glass yields 92% peak RF transmission at 30 GHz which corresponds to 20% and 90% enhancement when compared to plain glass and lowemissive glass substrates. This meta-glass possesses 86% peak optical transparency at λ = 550nm, >60% near-IR reflection, and > 80% mid-IR reflection which corresponds to ≈ 0.2 thermal emissivity. The proposed metasurface design is highly flexible and can be tuned to operate over different frequency ranges owing to its frequency scalability.