Dynamic augmentation of scattering cross‐section by a conducting polycylinder coated with varactor‐loaded metasurface

Through reconfigurable scattering pattern assisted by a varactor‐loaded polycylindrical metasurface, augmentation of backscattering as well as bistatic scattering cross‐section of a conducting polycylinder is presented in this study. The tunable reflection phase gradient and the resultant redirection of the dominant scattering that are enabled by the direct‐current‐biased varactors serve as the basis of the agile scattering pattern reconfiguration of the polycylindrical metasurface. To achieve compactness and facilitate biasing, the metasurface unit cell comprises an outer conducting grid frame and an inner rectangular conducting patch grounded with a via hole, while a surface‐mounted varactor is soldered across the gap between them. It is demonstrated that the polycylinder coated with the designed reconfigurable metasurface can generate scattering behaviour very similar to a conducting plate with specific dimensions and orientation towards the plane's electromagnetic wave incidence. As a result, augmentation relative to the polycylinder without coating is observed for both backscattering and bistatic scattering cross‐section. The agreement between simulated and measured scattering cross‐section results validates the observations.