{
  "patent_number": "US 11843171",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "Smart Surfaces That Bend Radio Waves",
  "original_title": "Multi-layer reconfigurable surface for an antenna",
  "summary": "Samsung's patent describes a special surface made of tiny cells that can change how radio waves bounce off it, directing them precisely where needed.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a 'reconfigurable intelligent surface' (RIS) made of many small 'unit-cells'. Each unit-cell has a conductive top layer with a specific pattern, like an inverted L-shape, that reflects radio waves at a set angle. Crucially, there's a middle layer with material whose electrical properties can be changed, like its dielectric constant. By altering this middle layer, the surface can precisely control the phase, or timing, of the reflected waves. This allows the surface to steer radio signals, like those from a Wi-Fi router, to a specific receiver, improving signal strength and coverage. For example, a surface could be placed on a wall to redirect a weak Wi-Fi signal around an obstacle to your phone.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Surfaces that only reflect waves without changing the phase of reflection.",
    "Surfaces that actively transmit or amplify radio waves instead of just reflecting them.",
    "Surfaces where the dielectric properties of the middle layer cannot be tuned.",
    "Reflective patterns that are not sub-wavelength (smaller than the wavelength of the radio wave).",
    "Systems that do not use a conductive material for the first layer."
  ],
  "filed": "2021-07-23",
  "granted": "2023-12-12",
  "expires": "2041-07-23",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Samsung Electronics Co",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/samsung-electronics-co",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Sandy Saab",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/sandy-saab"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mohammed Reza Hashemi",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/mohammed-reza-hashemi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shadi Abu-Surra",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/shadi-abu-surra"
    },
    {
      "name": "Gang Xu",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/gang-xu"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 5,
  "tags": [
    "telecommunications",
    "consumer_electronics",
    "semiconductors",
    "software"
  ],
  "abstract": "A multi-layer reconfigurable reflective intelligent surface (RIS). The RIS includes a unit-cell of a reconfigurable intelligent surface. The unit-cell includes a first layer composed of a conductive material and structured according to a sub-wavelength reflective pattern. The first layer reflects an impinging wave at a predetermined phase and steers the reflected impinging wave toward an intended receiver. The unit-cell includes a second layer composed of a first dielectric substrate material. Between the first and second layers, the unit-cell includes a middle layer composed of a second dielectric material having tunable dielectric properties. Tuning a dielectric constant of the second dielectric material modifies the predetermined phase of reflection of the impinging wave.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11843171/multi-layer-reconfigurable-surface-for-an-antenna",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11843171/multi-layer-reconfigurable-surface-for-an-antenna/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11843171",
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}