Active digital spoof plasmonics. Issue 2 (4th October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Hao Chi; Cui, Tie Jun; Luo, Yu; Zhang, Jingjing; Xu, Jie; He, Pei Hang; Zhang, Le Peng
• Is Part Of: National science review. Volume 7:Issue 2(2020)
• Page Start: 261
• Page End: 269
• Publication Date: 2019-10-04
• Subjects: digital coding -- digital modulation -- plasmonics -- digital metamaterials; Science -- Periodicals; 505
• DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwz148
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2095-5138

Abstract

Abstract: Digital coding and digital modulation are the foundation of modern information science. The combination of digital technology with metamaterials provides a powerful scheme for spatial and temporal controls of electromagnetic waves. Such a technique, however, has thus far been limited to the control of free-space light. Its application to plasmonics to shape subwavelength fields still remains elusive. Here, we report the design and experimental realization of a tunable conformal plasmonic metasurface, which is capable of digitally coding and modulating designer surface plasmons at the deep-subwavelength scale. Based on dynamical switching between two discrete dispersion states in a controlled manner, we achieve digital modulations of both amplitude and phase of surface waves with nearly 100% modulation depth on a single device. Our study not only introduces a new approach for active dispersion engineering, but also constitutes an important step towards the realization of subwavelength integrated plasmonic circuits.