Abstract

Modulation of metamaterials in the near-infrared regime is limited by the availability of efficient reconfigurable materials at high frequencies. Here we demonstrate a metasurface that minimizes power requirements and enhances switching speed by placing thin nanodisks of vanadium dioxide (VO₂) phase-change material in the feed gaps of an array of bow-tie field antennas. The device is tunableover 360 nm in the near infrared and exhibits a modulation depth of 33% at the resonant wavelength. The metasurface employs integrated local heating to drive the insulator-to-metal transition of VO₂ leading to faster switching and more precise spatial control compared to devices based on phase change thin films. The characteristics of this device foreshadow new opportunities for signal processing, memory, security and holography at optical frequencies.

© 2017 Optical Society of America