About the project
This project aims to design and build software-controlled smart surfaces to shape wireless signals for advanced applications like analogue computation and next-generation communications. It will pioneer active metasurfaces that dynamically steer, process, and amplify electromagnetic waves, blending theoretical modelling, PCB design, and lab testing to create the foundation for future programmable radio environments.
This project will research and build a new class of dynamic metasurfaces that use integrated electronic components to actively control electromagnetic waves, creating a foundation for smarter, more efficient technologies. It aims to overcome the limitations of current passive systems by designing a dynamic metasurface architecture that integrates active transistor-based circuits directly with antenna elements.
The core research problem is achieving full electronic software control over wavefronts to realise advaced signal processing, nonreciprocal amplification, dynamic 3D beamsteering, and intelligent wave routing. You will address this through a combination of:
- electromagnetic simulation, such as COMSOL multiphysics
- theoretical modelling of wave-matter interactions in active systems
- practical microwave engineering.
The work involves designing and fabricating printed circuit board (PCB) prototypes with custom metasurface unit cells, integrating electronic components to achieve amplification and phase-shifting, and experimentally characterising designs using a vector network analyser and anechoic chamber measurements to validate performance.
This research will provide the foundational knowledge for future programmable wireless environments, significantly enhancing spectral efficiency and enabling novel applications.
The project offers outstanding training in cutting-edge RF design, simulation, and experimental measurement techniques, with access to our state-of-the-art microwave labs and anechoic chamber.
