Reconfigurable Ultraviolet and High-Energy Visible Dielectric Metamaterials

Photonic materials with tunable and switchable ultraviolet (UV) to high-energy visible (HEV) optical properties may benefit applications such as sensing, high-density optical memory, beam-steering, adaptive optics, and light modulation. Here, for the first time we demonstrate a nonvolatile switchabl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nano letters 2019-03, Vol.19 (3), p.1643-1648
Main Authors: Gholipour, Behrad, Piccinotti, Davide, Karvounis, Artemios, MacDonald, Kevin F, Zheludev, Nikolay I
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Photonic materials with tunable and switchable ultraviolet (UV) to high-energy visible (HEV) optical properties may benefit applications such as sensing, high-density optical memory, beam-steering, adaptive optics, and light modulation. Here, for the first time we demonstrate a nonvolatile switchable dielectric metamaterial operating in the UV–HEV spectral range. Nanograting metamaterials in a layered composite of low-loss ZnS/SiO2 and the chalcogenide phase-change medium germanium–antimony–telluride (Ge2Sb2Te5 or GST) exhibit reflection resonances at UV–HEV wavelengths that are substantially modified by light-induced (amorphous–crystalline) phase transitions in the chalcogenide layer. Despite the presence of the lossy GST, resonance quality factors up to Q ∼ 15 are ensured by the transparency (low losses) of ZnS/SiO2 in the UV–HEV spectral range and values of Q increase as the refractive index of Ge2Sb2Te5 decreases, upon crystallization. Notably, however, this switching leaves resonance spectral positions unchanged.
ISSN:1530-6984
1530-6992
DOI:10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b04576