ML-ARIS: Multilayer Underwater Acoustic Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface with High-Resolution Reflection Control
This addresses underwater communication challenges by enabling precise beam steering with a single reflector, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing reconfigurable surface concepts.
The paper tackles the problem of underwater communications by introducing a multilayered acoustic reconfigurable intelligent surface (ML-ARIS) that enables high-resolution reflection control, with experimental results showing it is practical in real-world scenarios.
This article introduces a multilayered acoustic reconfigurable intelligent surface (ML-ARIS) architecture designed for the next generation of underwater communications. ML-ARIS incorporates multiple layers of piezoelectric material in each acoustic reflector, with the load impedance of each layer independently adjustable via a control circuit. This design increases the flexibility in generating reflected signals with desired amplitudes and orthogonal phases, enabling passive synthetic reflection using a single acoustic reflector. Such a feature enables precise beam steering, enhancing sound levels in targeted directions while minimizing interference in surrounding environments. Extensive simulations and tank experiments were conducted to verify the feasibility of ML-ARIS. The experimental results indicate that implementing synthetic reflection with a multilayer structure is indeed practical in real-world scenarios, making it possible to use a single reflection unit to generate reflected waves with high-resolution amplitudes and phases.