Metamaterial electro-optic switch of nanoscale thickness

Z. L. Sámson, K. F. MacDonald, F. De Angelis, B. Gholipour, K. Knight, C. C. Huang, E. Di Fabrizio, D. W. Hewak, N. I. Zheludev

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

297 Scopus citations

Abstract

We demonstrate an innovative concept for nanoscale electro-optic switching. It exploits the frequency shift of a narrow-band Fano resonance mode in a plasmonic planar metamaterial induced by a change in the dielectric properties of an adjacent chalcogenide glass layer. An electrically stimulated transition between amorphous and crystalline forms of the glass brings about a 150 nm shift in the near-infrared resonance providing transmission modulation with a contrast ratio of 4:1 in a device of subwavelength thickness.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number143105
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume96
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported in the U.K. by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Royal Society and in Italy under EU Project Nos. FP6-NMP-STRP 032131 ‘DIPNA’ and FP7-NMP 229375-2 ‘SMD’, and the Ministry of Education, University, and Research Project No. MIUR-PRIN2008. G. Adamo is gratefully acknowledged for preparing Fig. 1(a).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Metamaterial electro-optic switch of nanoscale thickness'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this