Reconfigurable photonic metamaterials英文.pdfVIP

LETTER /NanoLett Reconfigurable Photonic Metamaterials J. Y. Ou,*,? E. Plum,*,? L. Jiang,? and N. I. Zheludev*,? ?Optoelectronics Research Centre and Centre for Photonic Metamaterials and ?School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom ABSTRACT: We introduce mechanically recon?gurable photonic metamaterials (RPMs) as a ?exible platform for realizing metamaterial devices with reversible and large-range tunable characteristics in the optical part of the spectrum. Here we illustrate this concept for a temperature-driven RPM exhibiting reversible relative transmission changes of up to 50%. KEYWORDS: Tunable metamaterial, recon?gurable nanostructure, bimaterial, nanophotonics Switchable and tunable metamaterials are expanding areas of research driven by the development of nanophotonic alloptical data processing circuits, optical memory, smart surfaces, adaptable detection, imaging systems, and transformation optics devices.1 Several avenues are being explored. Metamaterials where metal nanostructures are hybridized with nonlinear and switchable layers provide a way to achieve high-contrast optical switching and enhanced nonlinear responses. Indeed, a change in the refractive index or absorption in the hybridized material will modify the plasmon spectrum of the nanostructure. This can lead to a strong change in the resonant transmission and re?ection characteristics of the hybrid structure. For instance the ability to change a metamaterial’s response at terahertz frequencies by injection or optical generation of free carriers in a semiconductor substrate has been reported.2,3 A layer of single-wall semiconductor carbon nanotubes deposited on a metamaterial shows an order of magnitude higher nonlinearity than the already extremely strong response of the nanotubes themselves due to resonant plasmon-exciton interactions.4 Nanoscale metamaterial electro-optical switches using phase change chalcogenide glass5 and vanadium dioxide6 have alre