title: Dynamic Control over the Optical Transmission of Nanoscale Dielectric Metasurface by Alkali Vapors.
abstract: In recent years, dielectric and metallic nanoscale metasurfaces are attracting growing attention and are being used for variety of applications. Resulting from the ability to introduce abrupt changes in optical properties at nanoscale dimensions, metasurfaces enable unprecedented control over light's different degrees of freedom, in an essentially two-dimensional configuration. Yet, the dynamic control over metasurface properties still remains one of the ultimate goals of this field. Here, we demonstrate the optical resonant interaction between a form birefringent dielectric metasurface made of silicon and alkali atomic vapor to control and effectively tune the optical transmission pattern initially generated by the nanoscale dielectric metasurface. By doing so, we present a controllable metasurface system, the output of which may be altered by applying magnetic fields, changing input polarization, or shifting the optical frequency. Furthermore, we also demonstrate the nonlinear behavior of our system taking advantage of the saturation effect of atomic transition. The demonstrated approach paves the way for using metasurfaces in applications where dynamic tunability of the metasurface is in need, for example, for scanning systems, tunable focusing, real time displays, and more.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, The Benin School of Engineering and Computer Science, The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Jerusalem, 91904, Israel.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4464-636X
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bar-David
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, The Benin School of Engineering and Computer Science, The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Jerusalem, 91904, Israel.
authors.forename: Liron
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, The Benin School of Engineering and Computer Science, The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Jerusalem, 91904, Israel.
authors.forename: Uriel
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5918-1876
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Levy
mesh_terms: D000468:Alkalies / Q000737:chemistry*; D004867:Equipment Design; D007700:Kinetics; D008027:Light; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D055096:Optical Devices; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D000468:Alkalies; D012825:Silicon
keywords: dielectric metasurface; photon-atom interaction; polarization encoding; tunable metasurface