Port reconfigurable phase-change resonator

Abstract

Active control and manipulation of electromagnetic waves are highly desirable for advanced photonic device technology such as optical cloaking, active camouflage, and information processing. Designing a resonator with high ease-of-control and reconfigurability remains an open challenge thus far. Here, we propose a mechanism to continuously reconfigure a resonator between one-port and two-port configurations via a phase-change material for efficient spectra modulation. By incorporating a phase-change material VO2 substrate into a photonic crystal, we computationally show that the system behaves as a one-port device with near-perfect absorption and two-port device with high transmission up to 92% when VO2 is in the metallic rutile phase and insulating monoclinic phase, respectively. The optical response can be continuously and reversibly modulated between various intermediate states. More importantly, the proposed device is compatible with wide-angle operation and is robust against structural distortion. The switching operation of the proposed device can be further expanded into the mid-infrared regime. These findings reveal a device architecture of a port reconfigurable resonator uniquely enabled by the switchable optical properties of phase change materials.