Gigahertz modulation of a fully dielectric nonlocal metasurface

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates gigahertz modulation of a dielectric nonlocal metasurface using optomechanical coupling, achieving fast tunability without optical losses, suitable for high-power and quantum optical applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, chip-integrated, dielectric nonlocal metasurface with gigahertz modulation via piezoelectric optomechanical coupling, overcoming tunability challenges.

Findings

Achieved gigahertz modulation of a dielectric metasurface.

Eliminated optical losses by avoiding conductive materials.

Potential applications in high-power and quantum optical systems.

Abstract

Nonlocal metasurfaces are currently emerging as advanced tools for the manipulation of electromagnetic radiation, going beyond the widely explored Huygens metasurface concept. Nonetheless, the lack of an unified approach for their fast and efficient tunability still represents a serious challenge to overcome. In this article we report on gigahertz modulation of a dielectric slab-based, nonlocal (i.e. angle-dispersive) metasurface, whose operation relies on the optomechanical coupling with a mechanical wave excited piezoelectrically by a transducer integrated on the same chip. Importantly, the metasurface region is free from any conductive material, thus eliminating optical losses, and making our device of potential interest for delicate environments such as high-power apparatuses or quantum optical systems.