Research progress of terahertz wave dynamic control of digital coded metasurfaces

Metasurfaces have shown their powerful ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves. However, achieving dynamic and real-time modulation of electromagnetic waves remains challenging in practical applications due to the fixed topological geometry of traditional metamaterials and metasurfaces. The digital coded metasurfaces utilizes digital coding to replace traditional equivalent medium parameters in order to characterize the metasurface, thereby streamlining the design process and bridging a bridge between the information world and physical reality. This facilitates an organic integration of metamaterial physics with information theory, signal processing methods, and intelligent algorithms. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of various dynamic modulation methods for digital coded hypercoding, explore future research frontiers in reconfigurable coded metasurfaces, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with different dynamic regulation approaches. Reconfigurable digital coded metasurfaces hold immense potential for applications in wireless communication, internet of things, microwave imaging, radar systems, and various other domains. Lastly, this paper presents an outlook on the challenges and future directions pertaining to intelligent metasurfaces.