Infrared beam-shaping on demand via tailored geometric phase metasurfaces employing the plasmonic phase-change material In3SbTe2

Conventional optical elements are bulky and limited to specific functionalities, contradicting the increasing demand of miniaturization and multi-functionalities. Optical metasurfaces enable tailoring light-matter interaction at will, especially important for the infrared spectral range which lacks commercially available beam-shaping elements. While the fabrication of those metasurfaces usually requires cumbersome techniques, direct laser writing promises a simple and convenient alternative. Here, we exploit the non-volatile laser-induced insulator-to-metal transition of the plasmonic phase-change material In<sub>3</sub>SbTe<sub>2</sub> (IST) for optical programming of large-area metasurfaces for infrared beam-shaping. We tailor the geometric phase of metasurfaces with rotated crystalline IST rod antennas to achieve beam steering, lensing, and beams carrying orbital angular momenta. Finally, we investigate multi-functional and cascaded metasurfaces exploiting enlarged holography, and design a single metasurface creating two different holograms along the optical axis. Our approach facilitates fabrication of large-area metasurfaces within hours, enabling rapid-prototyping of customized infrared meta-optics for sensing, imaging and quantum information.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-04-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59122-5
Citations
20
Primary Topic
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
8.55

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article

Infrared beam-shaping on demand via tailored geometric phase metasurfaces employing the plasmonic phase-change material In3SbTe2

Lukas Conrads, Paul Buske, Andreas Ulm, Thomas Taubner et al.
20 citations
Nature Communications
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
8.55
article

Infrared beam-shaping on demand via tailored geometric phase metasurfaces employing the plasmonic phase-change material In3SbTe2

Lukas Conrads, Paul Buske, Andreas Ulm, Thomas Taubner, Robert Schmitt, Matthias Wuttig, Carlo Holly, Florian Bontke
article en
20 citations

Abstract

Conventional optical elements are bulky and limited to specific functionalities, contradicting the increasing demand of miniaturization and multi-functionalities. Optical metasurfaces enable tailoring light-matter interaction at will, especially important for the infrared spectral range which lacks commercially available beam-shaping elements. While the fabrication of those metasurfaces usually requires cumbersome techniques, direct laser writing promises a simple and convenient alternative. Here, we exploit the non-volatile laser-induced insulator-to-metal transition of the plasmonic phase-change material In<sub>3</sub>SbTe<sub>2</sub> (IST) for optical programming of large-area metasurfaces for infrared beam-shaping. We tailor the geometric phase of metasurfaces with rotated crystalline IST rod antennas to achieve beam steering, lensing, and beams carrying orbital angular momenta. Finally, we investigate multi-functional and cascaded metasurfaces exploiting enlarged holography, and design a single metasurface creating two different holograms along the optical axis. Our approach facilitates fabrication of large-area metasurfaces within hours, enabling rapid-prototyping of customized infrared meta-optics for sensing, imaging and quantum information.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT (DE), Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (DE), RWTH Aachen University (DE)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
8.55
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