Nonvolatile reconfigurable terahertz wave modulator

Miniaturized nonvolatile reconfigurable optical components with a subwavelength thickness, extremely compact size, high-speed response, and low power consumption will be the core of next-generation all-optical integrated devices and photonic computing to replace traditional bulky optical devices and integrated circuits, which are reaching physical limitations of Moore's law. Metasurfaces, as ultrathin planar surfaces, have played a major role in controlling the amplitude, phase, and polarization of electromagnetic waves and can be combined with various active modulation methods to realize a variety of functional devices. However, most existing reconfigurable devices are bounded in volatile nature with constant power to maintain and single functionality, which restricts their further extensive applications. Chalcogenide phase change materials (PCM) have attracted considerable attention due to their unique optical properties in the visible and infrared domains, whereas in the terahertz (THz) regime, research on the reversible phase transition in large-scale areas and applications of Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) are still under exploration. Here, we achieved reversible, repeated, and large-area switching of GST with the help of optical and thermal stimuli. Large-area amorphization with a 1 cm diameter of GST is realized by using a single laser pulse. Then, we incorporate GST into metasurface designs to realize nonvolatile, reconfigurable, multilevel, and broadband terahertz modulators, including the anomalous deflector, metalens, and focusing optical vortex (FOV) generator. Experimental results verify the feasibility of multilevel modulation of THz waves in a broadband frequency range. Moreover, the modulators are reusable and nonvolatile. The proposed approach presents novel avenues of nonvolatile and reconfigurable metasurface designs and can enable wide potential applications in imaging, sensing, and high-speed communications.

Automated summary

Researchers have achieved large-area, reversible, and repeated switching of chalcogenide phase change materials (PCM) with the help of optical and thermal stimuli, and incorporated them into metasurface designs to realize nonvolatile, reconfigurable, multilevel, and broadband terahertz modulators. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of multilevel modulation of THz waves in a wide frequency range, and the modulators are reusable and nonvolatile, holding great potential for various applications.