Multi-stream signals separation based on space-time-isomeric (SPATIO) array using metasurface antennas

In spatial domain signal processing, it is necessary to equip more antennas at the receiver to improve spatial demultiplexing capability. However, increasing the number of antennas under restricted space will reduce antenna spacing and raise the channel correlation, making the number of signal streams spatially demultiplexed much smaller than that of antennas. This paper proposes a method to design a space-time-isomeric (SPATIO) array based on metasurface antennas under wireless multipath conditions. Each antenna in this array has a different pattern and varies independently with time, reducing the channel correlation by superposing multipath at distinct positions and moments. Based on the SPATIO array, we present an array parameter design scheme based on infinity norm minimization, which can maximize the received energy of each stream while separating multi-stream received signals. Simulation results illustrate the performance of the SPATIO array for multi-stream signal reception. Compared with conventional multiple-input multiple-output arrays, the proposed array can reduce the bit error rate by one order of magnitude under the same simulation conditions.