Integrated sensing and communication based on space-time-coding metasurfaces

Principle of STCM-based communication and sensing Referring to the concept illustrated in Fig. 1, the proposed scheme features an STCM that manipulates the incoming EM wave, controlling the direction of propagation of the fundamental frequency and simultaneously generating spatially distributed harmonics. The fundamental-frequency wave is used for communication, while the spatial-spectral characteristics of the harmonics are processed to accurately estimate the direction of arrival (DOA) of some targets. Using the DOA information, the STCM’s coding pattern is adjusted to ensure that the direction of the beam of the fundamental-frequency (carrier) wave is consistently steered towards the user’s location. This configuration allows the dual functions of wireless sensing and communication to operate simultaneously without mutual interference. Even changing the direction of the incoming waves, the STCM can continuously sense the DOA information in real time and can autonomously configure t ... Read full article.