A New OAM Paradigm for High-Throughput, Short-Range Communications

The ever-increasing demand for faster, more efficient wireless communication drives the need for revolutionary technologies that transcend the limitations of conventional systems. Orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing, which exploits the unique twisting properties of electromagnetic waves, offers a powerful new dimension for transmitting multiple data streams simultaneously with minimal interference. Despite its potential, current OAM systems depend on bulky and energy-intensive hardware, such as multiple antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains and mode combiners, making them impractical for scalable and energy-efficient deployment in future networks like 6G.This project seeks to overcome these barriers by pioneering a transformative transceiver design by integrating OAM multiplexing with space-time metasurfaces (STM), an emerging class of dynamically reconfigurable electromagnetic structures. Leveraging PI’s leading expertise and foundational contributions in both OAM and STM technologies, we propose to develop a unified, hardware-efficient transceiver platform that can generate, modulate, multiplex, and align multiple OAM modes—along with polarization and frequency channels—onto a single, programmable metasurface. By directly embedding baseband information into the space-time reflectivity/transmission/leaky profile of the STMs, our approach collapses the complex functions of beamforming and signal modulation into a simple, low-power process, eliminating the need for multiple antennas and RF chains.Our research will deliver new theoretical frameworks, design methodologies, and working prototypes that demonstrate simultaneous, high-fidelity transmission of independent data streams across multiple OAM, polarization, and frequency channels. We will address persistent challenges such as OAM beam multiplexing and misalignment by developing real-time, electronically controlled beam steering and automatic alignment correction. Furthermore, we will benchmark the capacity, energy efficiency, and scalability of various STM architectures, establishing practical guidelines for future deployment.The proposed research has the potential to redefine wireless communication by introducing a compact and energy-efficient platform capable of supporting ultra-fast, high-capacity short-distance data transmission. The outcomes will directly contribute to addressing global challenges in wireless networks, benefiting applications such as data centers, secure communications, and wireless personal area networks. By merging cutting-edge metasurface technology with OAM communications, this project represents a bold step toward realizing the transformative potential of 6G and beyond. Its success could position Hong Kong as a global leader in the development of breakthrough wireless technologies.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠