All-dielectric multifunctional transmittance-tunable metasurfaces based on guided-mode resonance and ENZ effect

Electrically tunable metasurfaces open new doors for manipulating the phase, amplitude and polarization of light in ultrathin layers. Compared with metal assisted metasurfaces, all-dielectric transmission metasurfaces-with outstanding feature of low loss, especially incorporating with new electro-optical materials-show great potential for the next generation flat optics. In this study, by combining the epsilon-near-zero effect in indium tin oxide (ITO) with guided-mode resonance, we propose novel electrically tunable all-dielectric metasurface architectures with versatile functions for widespread potential application. The inserted periodic ITO and hafnium oxide layers sandwiched in silicon act as two metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors in a single period to disturb the resonance wavelength in the near-infrared spectral range under the voltage applied. For the one-dimensional structure, the transmittances of this metasurface at 1512 and 1510 nm change 20 and -14 dB under 0 similar to 5 V bias voltage, respectively. In addition, the bilayer structure performs well in double-waveband applications, indicating that more layers can support more operation wavebands. Meanwhile, the two-dimensional structure works as a polarization insensitive device when setting the same structural parameters in both orthogonal directions. The proposed architecture, with various merits including ultra-compact size, high-speed and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor compatibility, provides a multifunctional and multi-degree-of-freedom design, as well as enormous potential applications in more complicated flat optics.

Automated summary

Electrically tunable all-dielectric metasurface structures have been proposed in this study, combining indium tin oxide with guided-mode resonance to disturb the resonance wavelength in the near-infrared spectral range. The research found that in a one-dimensional structure, the transmittances at 1512 and 1510 nm changed by 20 and -14 dB, respectively, under bias voltages of 0 to 5 V, with the bilayer structure performing well in double-waveband applications.