Tunable and programable devices hold a significant interest in electromagnetic (EM) engineering. A notable example is the programmable metasurfaces, which are quite powerful in controlling the phase front and steering beam of free‐space waves. Similarly, managing in‐plane EM waves on board is crucial for various applications. However, a programmable metamaterial (PMM) suitable for in‐plane EM wave control is yet to be developed. Here, a PMM is presented that dynamically controls in‐plane waves and is integrated on‐boardly. The PMM is designed by incorporating metallic structures and tunable varactors. By biasing the varactors, a bulk module composed of an array of metamaterial unit cells can exhibit varied responses to incoming waves. As proof of concept, a PMM module for microwave control is fabricated and measured. In experiments, the PMM is successfully programmed to perform three distinct functions: wave splitting, Luneburg focusing, and wave differentiation, around the destination frequency (4.5 GHz). Although the PMM is dispersive and its bandwidth is somehow limited, its central frequency can be shifted in a dynamic range from 4 to 5 GHz. The proposed PMM resembles a miniaturized platform for reprogrammable in‐plane wave control and manipulation, showing promise for realizing full wave operators, integrable computing, and deep learning devices.

中文翻译：

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用于微波范围内面内电磁波控制的可编程超材料


可调谐和可编程设备对电磁 （EM） 工程有着浓厚的兴趣。一个值得注意的例子是可编程超表面，它在控制自由空间波的相位前和转向束方面非常强大。同样，管理机载的面内电磁波对于各种应用都至关重要。然而，适用于面内电磁波控制的可编程超材料 （PMM） 尚未开发。本文介绍了一种 PMM，它可以动态控制面内波并集成在机上。PMM 是通过结合金属结构和可调谐变容二极管设计的。通过偏置变容二极管，由超材料晶胞阵列组成的体模块可以对入射波表现出不同的响应。作为概念验证，制造并测量了用于微波控制的 PMM 模块。在实验中，PMM 被成功编程为在目标频率 （4.5 GHz） 附近执行三个不同的功能：分波、Luneburg 聚焦和波区分。尽管 PMM 是色散的，并且其带宽在某种程度上受到限制，但其中心频率可以在 4 到 5 GHz 的动态范围内移动。拟议的 PMM 类似于一个用于可重新编程的面内波控制和操纵的小型化平台，有望实现全波算子、可集成计算和深度学习设备。