Joint Radar and Communication Empowered by Digital Programmable Metasurface

Abstract

Digital programmable metasurfaces (DPMs) can dynamically modulate electromagnetic waves in space, time, and frequency domains with powerful capabilities. In contrast, joint radar and communication (JRC) is an important avenue to use the electromagnetic waves universally and intelligently. Hence, combining DPM and JRC may produce a promising way to achieve universal and intelligent electromagnetic terminals. Herein, a mechanism of extremely flexible JRC based on DPM is proposed, in which DPM can improve the flexibility of JRC in processing multidimensional information, and JRC endows DPM with the capabilities of perception, expression, and cognition to promote its intelligent level. Three kinds of functions are explored to interpret the mechanism. First, encryption and decryption of wireless secure communications are realized through DPM; second, range profile imaging is accomplished by using DPM‐based biphase‐coded signals; and third, wireless communication and radar detection are simultaneously presented using DPM. The combination of DPM and JRC greatly decreases the complexity of signal processing and simplifies the architecture of the JRC system, and promotes the intelligent level of DPM.

Keywords

• digital programmable metasurfaces
• joint radar and communication
• range profile imaging
• secure communication