Reversible Thermal Tuning of All-Dielectric Metasurfaces

Abstract

All-dielectric metasurfaces provide a powerful platform for a new generation of flat optical devices, in particular, for applications in telecommunication systems, due to their low losses and high transparency in the infrared. However, active and reversible tuning of such metasurfaces remains a challenge. This study experimentally demonstrates and theoretically justifies a novel scenario of the dynamical reversible tuning of all-dielectric metasurfaces based on the temperature-dependent change of the refractive index of silicon. How to design an all-dielectric metasurface with sharp resonances by achieving interference between magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole modes of constituted nanoparticles arranged in a 2D lattice is shown. Thermal tuning of these resonances can cause drastic but reciprocal changes in the directional scattering of the metasurface in a spectral window of 75 nm. This change can result in a 50-fold enhancement of the radiation directionality. This type of reversible tuning can play a significant role in novel flat optical devices including the metalenses and metaholograms.