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.
Authors
- Lukas Conrads (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2840-1354)
- Paul Buske (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3357-2622)
- Andreas Ulm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2681-7890)
- Thomas Taubner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0628-3043)
- Robert Schmitt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0011-5962)
- Matthias Wuttig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1498-1025)
- Carlo Holly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8769-4468)
- Florian Bontke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3545-6294)
Institutions
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT (DE)
- Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (DE)
- RWTH Aachen University (DE)
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
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft