Experimental and numerical validation of tape-based metasurfaces in guiding high-frequency surface waves for efficient power transfer

We present an effective method for transmitting electromagnetic waves as surface waves with a tape-based metasurface design. This design incorporates silver square patches periodically patterned on an adhesive tape substrate. Specifically, our study proposes a strategy to enhance the efficiency of power transfer in high-frequency bands by guiding signals as surface waves rather than free-space waves. Both the numerical and experimental results validate the markedly enhanced efficiency in power transfer of high-frequency signals compared to that achieved with conventional methods, such as wireless power transfer and microstrips. Importantly, our metasurface design can be readily manufactured and tailored for various environments. Thus, our study contributes to designing power-efficient next-generation communication systems such as 6G and 7G, which leverage high-frequency signals in the millimeter-wave and terahertz bands.