Breaking the bandwidth barrier: Graphene-driven programmable transmissive metasurfaces enable ultra-wideband terahertz beam steering

Breaking the bandwidth barrier: Graphene-driven programmable transmissive metasurfaces enable ultra-wideband terahertz beam steering | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Breaking the bandwidth barrier: Graphene-driven programmable transmissive metasurfaces enable ultra-wideband terahertz beam steering Jian Zhang, Hao Jiang, Fan Yang, Feiliang Chen, Yang Liu, Yuqian Tang, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6699543/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The breakthrough of metasurfaces in recent years has offered a new paradigm for beam manipulation. However, as the working frequency moves to the terahertz (THz) range, the intrinsic properties of tunable devices constrain the bandwidth expansion of THz metasurfaces. This study tackles the bandwidth bottleneck of metasurface technology in THz beam steering by leveraging the ultra-wideband electromagnetic response characteristics enabled by the linear energy-momentum relation of graphene. For the first time, a graphene-driven transmissive programmable metasurface is experimentally validated. Leveraging graphene’s intrinsic broadband properties, three key technical challenges are addressed: First, a dual-resonance structure is designed using coupled-mode theory to enhance the transmission efficiency of graphene-integrated metasurfaces. Second, a graphene-insulator-graphene (GIG) structure is adopted to replace ion gel-based modulation schemes, circumventing the time-dependent performance degradation of ion gel and offering a viable solution for practical implementations of graphene metasurfaces. Third, a broadband 1-bit phase coding theoretical model is established through a mirror current operation mode, effectively alleviating the constraints of non-uniformity in CVD-grown graphene on beam steering bandwidth. The implemented programmable transmissive metasurface, comprising 4,608 unit cells, demonstrates ±45° beam scanning across 187 to 250 GHz (28.8% relative bandwidth), achieving the highest relative bandwidth reported to date. Our work not only provides a reconfigurable hardware platform for the upcoming 6G communications, but also extends the broadband control mechanism to multidimensional parameter manipulation, including amplitude, polarization, and orbital angular momentum. Physical sciences/Materials science/Nanoscale materials/Graphene/Electronic properties and devices Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supportinginformation20250429.pdf Supporting information for “Breaking the bandwidth barrier: Graphene-driven programmable transmissive metasurfaces enable ultra-wideband terahertz beam steering” Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6699543","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":460059435,"identity":"bbc257c0-713c-4bfa-ac1c-d83a1ff4d49b","order_by":0,"name":"Jian 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