Nonlinear, Active, and Time-Varying Metasurfaces for Wireless Communications: A perspective and opportunities

The requirements of next-generation wireless communications have been growing exponentially in recent years, not only in terms of data rates but also of reliability, latency, and massiveness. These demands have been inspiring new paradigms for hardware and for underlying communication protocols. In this context, metasurfaces have been enabling a range of functionalities and enhanced control over the electromagnetic (EM) wavefront, which is of direct relevance to wireless communications. A concerted effort between EM and system engineers may leverage these advances, with wireless systems taking advantage of metasurfaces, and metasurfaces adapting to address the needs of wireless communications.