High-Quality-Factor Silicon-on-Lithium Niobate Metasurfaces for Electro-optically Reconfigurable Wavefront Shaping

Nano Lett. 2022 Feb 23;22(4):1703-1709. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c04723. Epub 2022 Feb 3.

Abstract

Dynamically reconfigurable metasurfaces promise compact and lightweight spatial light modulation for many applications, including LiDAR, AR/VR, and LiFi systems. Here, we design and computationally investigate high-quality-factor silicon-on-lithium niobate metasurfaces with electrically driven, independent control of its constituent nanobars for full phase tunability with high tuning efficiency. Free-space light couples to guided modes within each nanobar via periodic perturbations, generating quality factors exceeding 30,000 while maintaining a bar spacing of <λ/1.5. We achieve nearly 2π phase variation with an applied bias not exceeding ±25 V, maintaining a reflection efficiency above 91%. Using full-field simulations, we demonstrate a high-angle (51°) switchable beamsplitter with a diffracted efficiency of 93% and an angle-tunable beamsteerer, spanning 18-31°, with up to 86% efficiency, all using the same metasurface device. Our platform provides a foundation for highly efficient wavefront-shaping devices with a wide dynamic tuning range capable of generating nearly any transfer function.

Keywords: beamsteering; electro-optics; high Q; multifunctionality; reconfigurable metasurface.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Electricity*
  • Niobium
  • Oxides
  • Silicon*

Substances

  • Oxides
  • Niobium
  • lithium niobate
  • Silicon