A Mechatronic Shape-Shifting Reflector System With True Independent Reflection Magnitude and Phase Control for Dynamic Beamforming

A novel shape-shifting mechatronic reflector system is proposed and demonstrated experimentally with a variety of real-time beam-forming examples. The reflector system consists of a 1D array of panels of sub-wavelength split ring resonators (SRR) loaded with PIN diodes for reflection magnitude contr...

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Main Authors: Keigan Macdonell, Debidas Kundu, Shulabh Gupta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10942380/
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author Keigan Macdonell
Debidas Kundu
Shulabh Gupta
author_facet Keigan Macdonell
Debidas Kundu
Shulabh Gupta
author_sort Keigan Macdonell
collection DOAJ
description A novel shape-shifting mechatronic reflector system is proposed and demonstrated experimentally with a variety of real-time beam-forming examples. The reflector system consists of a 1D array of panels of sub-wavelength split ring resonators (SRR) loaded with PIN diodes for reflection magnitude control and a stepper motor array that de-embeds each panel to achieve column-by-column phase control, thus offering excellent decoupling between magnitude and phase. A complete system prototype is built including a printed circuit board (PCB) based resonator array forming the reflector front end, a stepper motor array assembly, a custom-built chassis using 3D-printed parts, and a fully programmable analog and digital electronic back-end for PIN diode biasing and motor control. The real-time beam-forming feature of the proposed reflector system is further experimentally demonstrated using illustrative examples of single beam steering with gain control and the generation of asymmetric dual beam radiation patterns where the two beams are independently controlled - a capability unlocked through achieving true decoupling between reflection magnitudes and phases.
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publishDate 2025-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-371bafb2d84f4603aa3f2b6669f744272025-08-20T02:18:27ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-0113653016531510.1109/ACCESS.2025.355519710942380A Mechatronic Shape-Shifting Reflector System With True Independent Reflection Magnitude and Phase Control for Dynamic BeamformingKeigan Macdonell0https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2272-845XDebidas Kundu1Shulabh Gupta2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0264-9474Department of Electronics, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, CanadaDepartment of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi, New Delhi, IndiaDepartment of Electronics, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, CanadaA novel shape-shifting mechatronic reflector system is proposed and demonstrated experimentally with a variety of real-time beam-forming examples. The reflector system consists of a 1D array of panels of sub-wavelength split ring resonators (SRR) loaded with PIN diodes for reflection magnitude control and a stepper motor array that de-embeds each panel to achieve column-by-column phase control, thus offering excellent decoupling between magnitude and phase. A complete system prototype is built including a printed circuit board (PCB) based resonator array forming the reflector front end, a stepper motor array assembly, a custom-built chassis using 3D-printed parts, and a fully programmable analog and digital electronic back-end for PIN diode biasing and motor control. The real-time beam-forming feature of the proposed reflector system is further experimentally demonstrated using illustrative examples of single beam steering with gain control and the generation of asymmetric dual beam radiation patterns where the two beams are independently controlled - a capability unlocked through achieving true decoupling between reflection magnitudes and phases.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10942380/Smart electromagnetic reflectorselectromechanical controlmechatronic surfacereconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS)real-time beamformingmetasurfaces
spellingShingle Keigan Macdonell
Debidas Kundu
Shulabh Gupta
A Mechatronic Shape-Shifting Reflector System With True Independent Reflection Magnitude and Phase Control for Dynamic Beamforming
IEEE Access
Smart electromagnetic reflectors
electromechanical control
mechatronic surface
reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS)
real-time beamforming
metasurfaces
title A Mechatronic Shape-Shifting Reflector System With True Independent Reflection Magnitude and Phase Control for Dynamic Beamforming
title_full A Mechatronic Shape-Shifting Reflector System With True Independent Reflection Magnitude and Phase Control for Dynamic Beamforming
title_fullStr A Mechatronic Shape-Shifting Reflector System With True Independent Reflection Magnitude and Phase Control for Dynamic Beamforming
title_full_unstemmed A Mechatronic Shape-Shifting Reflector System With True Independent Reflection Magnitude and Phase Control for Dynamic Beamforming
title_short A Mechatronic Shape-Shifting Reflector System With True Independent Reflection Magnitude and Phase Control for Dynamic Beamforming
title_sort mechatronic shape shifting reflector system with true independent reflection magnitude and phase control for dynamic beamforming
topic Smart electromagnetic reflectors
electromechanical control
mechatronic surface
reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS)
real-time beamforming
metasurfaces
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10942380/
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