Dielectric Metasurfaces with Overlapped Modes: An Ultrathin Platform for Infrared Optics

Abstract

As demand for technology with more power in smaller form factors continues to rise, meta-optics provide a unique solution for ultra-compact and customizable performance where naturally occurring materials cannot. In order to explore and surpass the limits of metasurface optics, several architectures combining electromagnetic modes of dielectric particles in unique ways are investigated. By overlapping such modes in a lossy, dispersive, and high-permittivity medium, a novel approach toward efficient narrow-band thermal emissivity is realized, paving the way for better long-wave sources and detectors. By organizing the same modes in a loss-less medium alongside an electrically tunable material, dynamic transmission control in the near-infrared is accomplished, enabling adjustable filtering and spatial light modulation at the nanoscale. By integrating resonators with phase-change media, high-efficiency optical limiting is achieved using either temperature or optical intensity to control the performance. Finally, combining modes with quantum wells allow for dynamic phase control in the mid-infrared. These developments provide an exciting degree of new functionality and customizability that pave the way towards new or improved ultracompact technologies.