Efficient dynamic tunable metasurface based on Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ in the near infrared band

Abstract

For effective wavefront management in the optical infrared range, dynamic all-dielectric metasurfaces, always based on phase transition materials, particularly Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), can be used. In this paper, we propose a GST-based tunable metasurface by structuring the phase-change material GST. We confirm that the nanopillar we designed has high transmittance in the wavelength band around 1550 nm and can fully cover the 0∼2π phase. Based on these characteristics, we can achieve beam steering and a focusing effect in amorphous phase by elaborately arranging GST nanopillars, while the aforementioned optical phenomena disappear in crystalline phase. Additionally, by arranging the array of vortex phases, we also realize switching the perfect composite vortex beam (PCVB) when changing the crystal state of GST, and simulate the generation of PCVB with different topological charges and sizes in amorphous phase. We believe that our research results can serve as a reference for multifunctional optical surfaces, dynamic optical control, optical communication, and information processing.