Electrically driven hybrid photonic metamaterials for multifunctional control

Lei Kang; Liu Liu; Sawyer D. Campbell; Taiwei Yue; Qiang Ren; Theresa S. Mayer; Douglas H. Werner

doi:10.1117/12.2273218

24 August 2017 Electrically driven hybrid photonic metamaterials for multifunctional control

Lei Kang, Liu Liu, Sawyer D. Campbell, Taiwei Yue, Qiang Ren, Theresa S. Mayer, Douglas H. Werner

Proceedings Volume 10345, Active Photonic Platforms IX; 103451G (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2273218
Event: SPIE Nanoscience + Engineering, 2017, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The unique light-matter interaction in metamaterials, a type of artificial medium in which the geometrical features of subunits dominate their optical responses, have been utilized to achieve exotic material properties that are rare or nonexistent in natural materials. Furthermore, to extend their behaviors, active materials have been introduced into metamaterial systems to advance tunability, switchability and nonlinearity. Nevertheless, practical examples of versatile photonic metamaterials remain exceedingly rare for two main reasons. On the one hand, in sharp contrast to the broad material options available at lower frequencies, it is less common to find active media in the optical regime that can provide pronounced dielectric property changes under external stimuli, such as electric and magnetic fields. Vanadium dioxide (VO₂), offering a large refractive index variation over a broad frequency range due to its near room temperature insulator-to-metal transition (IMT), has been favored in recent studies on tunable metamaterials. On the other hand, it turns out that regulating responses of hybrid metamaterials to external forces in an integrated manner is not a straightforward task. Recently, metamaterial-enabled devices (i.e., metadevices) with ‘self-sufficient’ or ‘self-contained’ electrical and optical properties have enabled complex functionalities. Here, we present a design methodology along with the associated experimental validation of a VO₂ thin film integrated optical metamaterial absorber as a hybrid photonic platform for electrically driven multifunctional control, including reflectance switching, a rewritable memory process and manageable localized camouflage. The nanoengineered topologically continuous metal structure simultaneously supports the optical resonance and electrical functionality that actuates the phase transition in VO₂ through the process of Joule heating. This work provides a universal approach to creating self-sufficient and highly-versatile nanophotonic systems.

Citation Download Citation

Lei Kang, Liu Liu, Sawyer D. Campbell, Taiwei Yue, Qiang Ren, Theresa S. Mayer, and Douglas H. Werner "Electrically driven hybrid photonic metamaterials for multifunctional control", Proc. SPIE 10345, Active Photonic Platforms IX, 103451G (24 August 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2273218

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