Artstorm
Chinese sixth-generation J-50 Trident stealth fighter
China has developed a smart surface capable of transforming electromagnetic waves into electricity. This innovation could be used both in stealth fighter jet technology and in 6G wireless communications.
A team of researchers from Xidian University in China created a smart surface capable of capturing electromagnetic radiation and converting it into electricity, powering any equipment, from a computer to the systems of a stealth aircraft such as the J-36 sixth-generation fighter.
According to researchers, the invention, with civil and military applicationscould allow electronic systems to operate without the use of batteries. However, according to , the most interesting application for the People’s Liberation Army will be military in nature.
Traditionally, to survival of a stealth aircraft before a radar depends on a technical choice: divert the signal so that it does not return to the sender or absorb it passively, dissipating energy into residual heat.
With this new surface, the coating on future Chinese fighters will be able to use enemy radar beams as an external power sourceintegrating into a single platform not only the wireless transfer of information, but also the energy harvesting.
According to , published in National Science Reviewthis system has the potential to profoundly transform the evolution of future 6G networks and dynamics of electronic warfareallowing devices to not only hide, but also that they feed on the environment itself that tries to detect them.
How it works
Design is an evolution of the so-called Reconfigurable Smart Surface (RIS), which works as a wall covered in thousands of small mirrorssimilar to those of a disco mirror ball, with each mirror being able to be individually oriented at great speed under the control of a microprocessor.
In the radio wave universe, the two-dimensional surface is composed of tiny elements capable of manipulating signals without wires that affect it, reinforcing the intensity of the signaling or, in the military case, diverting it to create dead zones where the enemy cannot detect or hear anything.
The true evolutionary leap of this new Chinese design lies in its ability to be “all in one”.
So far, RIS surfaces required separate hardware for communications and radar detection, which increased costs and weight. Xidian University researchers managed to create an architecture that unifies the control of dispersed and radiated waves.
If it were human skin, not only would it feel the heat of the sunas well as using this light to communicate with the brain and generate the necessary energy to move the muscles, all at the same time.
The team guarantees that this design “allows significant savings in physical space and costs, while ensuring multifunctionality”.
A most interesting of the capabilities is energy collection. Just as a dam uses the flow of water to move turbines and generate electricity, this dynamic surface can capture energy from the wireless waves that constantly hit it. The stronger the signal strength, the greater the energy generated.
This means that a stealth fighter equipped with this surface will be able to use the enemy’s powerful radar beams. not as a threatbut as an external source of energy for upload your own sensorss or power the very metasurface that keeps it hidden.
It is, in simple terms, how to use punch strength of an opponent in your favor.
This technology could also be the cornerstone of China’s future 6G network. The new RIS surfaces present an elegant solution, the inventors say.
By manipulating the wavefront — the way energy propagates —, it is possible to guarantee clear communications even without direct line of sight, making ricochet the signal around buildings or physical obstacless, as if it were an intelligent rubber ball that always finds its destination.
If it works on an industrial scale, implementing this technology into real military equipment seems like the logical next step for Beijing, especially with the development of J-36 E-8its sixth generation fighters.
