Optically transparent and microwave diffusion coding metasurface by utilizing ultrathin silver films.

The past few years have witnessed the great success of artificial metamaterials with effective medium parameters to control electromagnetic waves. Herein, we present a scheme to achieve broadband microwave low specular reflection with uniform backward scattering by using a coding metasurface, which is composed of a rational layout of subwavelength coding elements, via an optimization method. We propose coding elements with high transparency based on ultrathin doped silver, which are capable of generating large phase differences (∼180°) over a wide frequency range by designing geometric structures. The electromagnetic diffusion of the coding metasurface originates from the destructive interference of the reflected waves in various directions. Numerical simulations and experimental results demonstrate that low reflection is achieved from 12 to 18 GHz with a high angular insensitivity of up to ±40° for both transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations. Furthermore, the excellent visible transparency of the encoding metasurface is promising for various microwave and optical applications such as electronic surveillance, electromagnetic interference shielding, and radar cross-section reduction.