New Class of RCS-Reduction Metasurfaces Based on Scattering Cancellation Using Array Theory

Abstract

A technique to synthesize a new category of radar cross-section (RCS)-reduction metasurfaces is presented. The appealing feature of the proposed technique is that by representing the generalized Snell-Descartes' law of reflection in the form of array factor, it unifies the two most widely studied and well-established modern RCS-reduction methods: checkerboard metasurfaces and gradient index metasurfaces. More importantly, it refines the concepts of both of these metasurfaces and overcomes numerous limitations associated with them. It can synthesize the RCS-reduction metasurfaces which can be placed along with almost any existing metasurface, without replacing the original metasurface that may be designed to serve a specific purpose, to reduce its RCS. The proposed technique is fundamentally based on scattering cancellation, and it is validated using artificial magnetic conductor technology for several configurations. Moreover, a phasor representation is developed and implemented for complex configurations to make the synthesis simpler and more insightful. Finally, to display the versatility of the proposed technique, an example of RCS-reduction metasurface has been synthesized and introduced to an existing high-gain metasurface ground plane available in the literature. This paper is confined to the conventional specular direction.