Space-time-coding metasurfaces for high-dimensional communications with OAM-, polarization-, and frequency-division multiplexing

Zhang and Cui Light: Science & Applications (2026)15:205 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-026-02282-w NEWS & VIEWS www.nature.com/lsa Open Access Space-time-coding metasurfaces for highdimensional communications with OAM-, polarization-, and frequency-division multiplexing Lei Zhang 1 and Tie Jun Cui 1✉ 1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; Abstract Recent advances in high-dimensional multiplexing have enabled the concurrent operation of multiple independent communication channels through orbital angular momentum, polarization, and frequency division multiplexing, all implemented on a compact space-time-coding metasurface platform. These developments provide a streamlined and high-efficiency approach to optimizing multiplexing performance and enhancing channel capacity in wireless communication systems. In wireless communication systems, multiplexing plays a pivotal role in the efficient utilization of limited spectral and spatial resources. Beyond the conventional multiplexing schemes operating in the frequency, polarization, and time domains—which are ubiquitously employed in state-of-the-art wireless communication systems—orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing introduces a novel, orthogonal physical domain for multiplexing implementation1. However, OAM multiplexing requires precise manipulation of electromagnetic (EM) wavefields, which renders the hardware architectures reported in previous studies bulky, complex, and difficult to integrate. A promising strategy to simplify the hardware platform for orbital angular momentum (OAM) generation and manipulation lies in the adoption of programmable metasurfaces2. By embedding programmable components into artificially engineered structures, such metasurfaces enable dynamic, time-varying control of EM wavefronts, making them particularly well-suited for versatile applications. To further enhance EM manipulation capabilities, Zhang et al. proposed space-time-coding metasurfaces (STCMs)3,4, introducing a novel paradigm that enables dynamic control of EM wave properties in both spatial and time domains. With the rapid development of STCMs, a variety of novel Correspondence: Tie Jun Cui () 1 State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves, School of Information Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China physical phenomena have been demonstrated across both microwave and optical frequency regimes5–7. To expand their application scope, extensive studies have explored the use of STCMs in new-architecture wireless communication8–11 and radar12 systems, integrated sensing and communication13, electronic countermeasures14, antenna design15,16, and dynamic holograms17. Nevertheless, most existing STCM-based communication studies remain primarily focused on space-frequency and/or polarization multiplexing techniques8–10, indicating that the full potential of STCMs for enhancing wireless communication capacity has yet to be fully exploited. In a recent paper published in Light: Science & Applications, Geng-bo Wu’s research team at City University of Hong Kong proposed a high-dimensional multiplexing wireless communication system based on space-timecoding metasurfaces18. As illustrated in Fig. 1, by employing space-time-coding sequences and regional control of a dual-polarized programmable metasurface, the researchers simultaneously realized OAM-, polarization-, and frequency-multiplexing within a compact and structurally compact platform. The proposed system supports eight independent quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) communication channels, achieving a signal-tonoise ratio (SNR) exceeding 12.5 dB and a low bit error rate (BER) of 10−5, thereby substantially increasing the communication capacity. © The Author(s) 2026 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Zhang and Cui Light: Science & Applications (2026)15:205 Page 2 of 3 OAM-, polarization-, and frequency-division multiplexed multi-channel wireless communications 1 Channels 2 4 3 5 6 7 8 OAM1 f1 f2 High-dimensional multiplexed OAM beams OAM2 y-pol. OAM1, f1, x-pol. x-pol. … … Dual–linearly-poarized meta-atom Asynchronous space–time-coding metaurface OAM2, f2, y-pol. Fig. 1 OAM-, polarization-, and frequency-division multiplexed multi-channel wireless communications based on an asynchronous space-timecoding metasurface To meet the stringent requirements for precise and flexible EM wave control in high-dimensional multiplexing systems, a dual-polarized asynchronous spacetime-coding metasurface (DASM) is introduced as a versatile hardware platform for realizing multi-channel wireless communications. In contrast to conventional OAM communication systems that rely on complex analog, digital, and radio-frequency components, the proposed DASM-based system enables direct modulation, frequency multiplexing, and OAM beam generation using a single programmable surface, significantly reducing hardware complexity. Owing to its dualpolarized programmability, the DASM allows independent manipulation of EM waves in orthogonal polarizations (x- and y-directions), thereby facilitating polarization multiplexing. Moreover, by applying distinct time-coding sequences, the reflection amplitude and phase at harmonic frequencies can be independently controlled, enabling the generation of superimposed states of multiple OAM modes and realizing OAM multiplexing. To support frequency multiplexing and suppress inter-channel interference, the aperture of the DASM is spatially partitioned into two distinct regions, each dedicated to time modulation and wave manipulation at different harmonic frequencies. Importantly, since the OAM, polarization, and frequency dimensions are mutually orthogonal, the total number of multiplexing channels in the proposed system equals the product of the number of channels in each individual dimension. To experimentally validate the high-dimensional multiplexing capability, a prototype communication system was implemented using a 12×12 DASM array. The system was designed to simultaneously transmit independent data streams through eight independent multiplexing channels, incorporating orthogonal x- and y-polarization (...truncated)