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.