A highly transmissive polarization converting active metasurface using liquid crystal reorientation

We report on the active control of transmissive polarization switching of near infrared light in two dimensions (2D) using liquid crystal (LC) infiltrated Ti3O5 nanostructures with > 50% efficiency in experiment. Our device consists of a periodic array of elliptical Ti3O5 pillars submerged in a thin (~ 2 um) LC layer and supports overlapping electric and magnetic dipoles under linearly polarized incidence. Using a biased photoactive top contact, we manipulate light in 2D by patterning a 435 nm pump laser on its surface to locally modulate LCs in illuminated areas. This work can find applications in solid-state programmable beam shaping and steering.