Novel Scalable Metasurface Control System

A low cost controller was designed, simulated and tested in order to meet the requirements of bias control for active metasurfaces. The controller was required to set the bias elements on arbitrary metasurface designs containing both PIN Diodes and Varactors. This controller has a distributed architecture allowing it to be scaled to any metasurface required, while being easy to integrate into future metasurface designs. Programmatic control was achieved through a Python script in the same environment as test and measurement equipment, allowing for a fully automated experimentation setup. This controller was then applied to the beam steering of a metasurface, and control was demonstrated in real time. New applications are made possible by the low cost and ease of integration.