Electrically switchable metasurface for beam steering using PEDOT

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates an electrochemically switchable metasurface using PEDOT for beam steering, achieving diffraction angles up to 10 degrees and switching speeds around 1 Hz, with potential applications in dynamic holography.

Contribution

It introduces a novel PEDOT-based active metasurface capable of electrically controlled beam steering with fast switching speeds.

Findings

Achieved beam diffraction angles up to 10 degrees.

Demonstrated switching speeds around 1 Hz.

Showed potential for display and holographic applications.

Abstract

Switchable and active metasurfaces allow for the realization of beam steering, zoomable metalenses, or dynamic holography. To achieve this goal, one has to combine high-performance metasurfaces with switchable materials that exhibit high refractive index contrast and high switching speeds. In this work, we present an electrochemically switchable metasurface for beam steering where we use the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) as an active material. We show beam diffraction with angles up to 10{\deg} and change of the intensities of the diffracted and primary beams employing an externally applied cyclic voltage between -1 V and +0.5 V. With this unique combination, we realize switching speeds in the range of 1 Hz while the extension to typical display frequencies in the tens of Hz region is possible. Our findings have immediate implications on the design and fabrication of future electronically switchable and display nanotechnologies, such as dynamic holograms.