Tunable wave plates based on phase-change metasurfaces

Wave plates based on metasurfaces have attracted intensive attention over the past decade owing to their compactness and design flexibility. Although various wave plates have been designed, their working wavelengths are fixed once they are made. Here we present a study on tunable wave plates based on phase-change metasurfaces made of Ge2Sb2Te5 nanopillar structures. The Ge2Sb2Te5 nanopillars can work as a high-efficiency transmissive half- or quarter-wave plate depending on their structural parameters. The working wavelength of wave plate can be tuned via the phase transition of Ge2Sb2Te5. Moreover, the polarization state of the transmitted light at a fixed wavelength can be modified by changing the crystallinity of Ge2Sb2Te5. The features suggest that tunable wave plates may have applications in optical modulators, molecular detection, and polarimetric imaging. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

Wave plates based on phase-change metasurfaces made of Ge2Sb2Te5 nanopillar structures are tunable in working wavelength through phase transition, and can modify the polarization state of transmitted light by changing crystallinity, suggesting potential applications in optical modulators, molecular detection, and polarimetric imaging.