The applications of adaptive optics extend across multiple sectors, encompassing areas such as LiDAR, biological and chemical sensing, and free-space communications. In this study, we report on the design, fabrication, testing, and modeling of electrically reconfigurable metasurfaces using a low-loss high contrast phase change material, Ge2Sb2Se4Te integrated with an IR-transparent silicon microheater. Through this work, we introduce a reliable architecture for switching PCM-based metasurfaces within an integrated circuit configuration and the capability of controlling the transmission of electromagnetic waves through the precise stimulation of PCM-based pixels, each spanning a few hundred microns, over numerous cycles. By leveraging PCM-based pixels, we unlock the potential to create metasurfaces encompassing a diverse range of functionalities such as dielectric filters, metalens, or beam steering devices, which is governed by the design of the meta-atoms.
Phase change materials (PCMs) are commonly used in rewritable optical disks and memory devices. Recently, there have been efforts to incorporate PCMs into optical components and photonic circuits for developing reconfigurable optics, which necessitates the use of larger-scale PCMs. However, enlarging PCM-based devices has proven challenging due to difficulties in the switching mechanism, which demands significant thermal energy density. In this study, through computational models and experimental observations, we explore the effective parameters in phase transformation of Ge2Sb2Te5 and Ge2Sb2Se4Te, with areal length scale on the order of tens of micrometers. Our findings offer insight regarding the development of next-generation adaptive optics such as filters, zoom lenses, and beam steering devices.
Optical metasurfaces are planar subwavelength nanoantenna arrays engineered to provide on-demand manipulation of light, thereby enabling ultra-compact flat optics with high performance, small form-factor and new functionalities. When integrated with active elements, the pixelated, thin device architecture further facilitates dynamic tuning of local and global optical responses. Leveraging advanced materials, designs and architectures, we develop novel active and passive meta-optics capable of transforming a variety of optical systems that are traditionally bulky and complicated.
We report the design, fabrication, and testing of electrically tunable metasurface k-space filters based on the phase-change material GSST and a transparent Si electrode heating architecture. A 10x10 array of PCM elements and Si heaters was fabricated via the foundry processes, and used to control the crystallinity of a metasurface consisting of GSST nano antennae. By selectively crystallizing individual elements, specific k-vectors of transmitted light can effectively be filtered out, resulting in improved imaging quality by reducing the scattered light that reaches the detector. Optimized doping profiles in the Si heaters allow for uniform, low power switching of the GSST state.
Chalcogenide phase change materials (PCMs) are a unique class of compounds whose switchable optical and electronic properties have fueled an explosion of emerging applications in microelectronics and microphotonics. The key to any application is the ability of PCMs to reliably switch between crystalline and amorphous states over a large number of cycles. While this issue has been extensively studied in the case of microelectronic memories, current PCM-based optical devices suffer from much inferior endurance. To understand the failure mechanisms limiting endurance of PCMs specifically in microphotonic devices, we have developed an on-chip resistive micro-heater platform and an automatic multi-modal characterization system to analyze cycling performance of optical PCMs. Reversible switching of large-area PCM devices over 50,000 cycles was demonstrated.
Phase change materials or PCMs are truly remarkable compounds whose unique switchable properties have fueled an explosion of emerging applications in electronics and photonics. Nonetheless, if we discount their use in optical discs, PCMs’ immense application potential in photonics beyond data recording has only begun to unfold in the past decade. While the material requirements for optical or electronic data storage have been succinctly summarized as five key elements “writability, archival storage, erasability, readability, and cyclability” decades ago, these requirements are not universally relevant to the diverse set of photonic applications now being explored. It also comes as no surprise that existing PCMs, which have been heavily vetted for data storage, are not necessarily the optimal compositions for different use cases in optics and photonics. PCMs with their attributes custom-tailored for specific applications are therefore in demand as phase-change photonics continue to expand. Here we discuss the PCM selection and design strategies specifically for photonic applications as well as our recent work developing active integrated photonic devices and meta-surface optics based on new PCMs tailored for photonics.
Chalcogenide phase change materials (PCMs) are a class of alloys exhibiting gigantic optical property contrast upon structural transition from an amorphous to a crystalline state. The structural transition is also nonvolatile and does not require constant power supply to maintain its optical state. These unique behaviors qualify PCMs as a novel functional material enabling various on-chip and free-space re-programmable optical computing network architectures. Here we present monolithic integration of PCMs with integrated photonics and metasurface optics leveraging standard silicon foundry facilities, and the demonstration of electrically programmable photonic devices for on-chip optical routing, memory, and computing functions
Optical phase change materials (PCMs) are a unique class of materials which exhibit extraordinarily large optical property change (e.g. refractive index change > 1) when undergoing a solid-state phase transition, and they have witnessed increasing adoption in active integrated photonics and metasurface devices in recent years. Here we report integration of chalcogenide phase change materials in the Lincoln Laboratory 8-inch Si foundry process and the demonstration of electrothermally switched phase-change photonic devices building on a wafer-scale silicon-on-insulator heater platform.
Two scanning electron beam lithography (SEBL) patterning processes have been developed, one positive and one negative tone. The processes feature nanometer-scale resolution, chemical amplification for faster throughput, long film life under vacuum, and sufficient etch resistance to enable patterning of a variety of materials with a metal-free (CMOS/MEMS compatible) tool set. These resist processes were developed to address two limitations of conventional SEBL resist processes: (1) low areal throughput and (2) limited compatibility with the traditional microfabrication infrastructure.
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