Quasi-N-bit-quantized reconfigurable metasurface antenna

A quasi-N-bit-quantized reconfigurable metasurface antenna, comprising:

• a metasurface including a plurality of unit cells arranged in a lattice array,
• wherein N is an integer of 2 or more,
• wherein the plurality of unit cells comprise 2N-1 different types of unit cells including a first type through a 2N-1th type, the different types having different phase responses with respect to an electromagnetic wave reflected from or transmitted through the metasurface,
• wherein each unit cell includes a switching element electrically controllable between at least a first state and a second state such that the unit cell is switchable between two quantized phase states, thereby providing 1-bit phase quantization at a unit-cell level, and
• wherein, by virtue of (i) the 2N-1 different types of unit cells and (ii) electrical control of the switching elements, the plurality of unit cells are collectively controllable to provide 2N different phase states across the lattice array for beam steering in at least one preset target direction.