Free-Form Flexible Metasurfaces Robustly Generating Microwave Skyrmions.

Abstract

Skyrmions are topologically stable vector textures as potential information carriers for high-density data storage and communications, especially boosted by the recently emerging meta-generators of skyrmions in electromagnetic fields. However, these implementations always rely on planar, rigid designs with stringent fabrication requirements. Here, we propose the free-form flexible metasurface generating skyrmions toward future wearable and flexible devices for topologically resilient light fields. Furthermore, we experimentally tested the outstanding topological robustness of the skyrmion number under different disorder degrees on the metasurface. The intrinsic topological protection of skyrmions naturally matches the deformability of flexible metasurfaces, enabling a robustness unattainable with conventional carriers. The microwave band can directly be relevant to practical telecommunication systems, also motivate future extension to THz and optical frequency flexible skyrmion platforms. Overall, our results position free-form flexible metasurfaces as a compact and inherently robust framework for skyrmion-based information transfer and next-generation robust free-space communication networks.