A rotary transformable kirigami-inspired metasurface for broadband electromagnetic absorption using additive manufacturing technology

Abstract

Rotary-dependent metasurfaces incorporating with kirigami configuration feature unique properties that offer alternative and active solutions in reconfigurable structures and devices providing diverse platforms to control electromagnetic (EM) waves on the deep subwavelength scale. Herein, a transformable metasurface using a switchable rotating kirigami configuration that absorbs EM waves at different frequency regions and overcomes several fundamental limitations of conventional metasurfaces, including non-reconfigurability, narrow bandwidth operation, and sensitive polarization, is introduced. By rotating kirigami-pixels in predestinated orientations, the absorption bandwidths can be mechanically switched to cover the S, C, X and Ku bands. The concept and physical phenomena were confirmed by numerical simulations, theoretical analysis, and experiments. Such a switchable metasurface promotes an impressive approach to realize reconfigurable meta-devices that are lightweight, cost-effective and flexible.