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arXiv · 1906.09640

Light-induced optical switching in an asymmetric metal-dielectric microcavity with phase-change material

R. Thomas·A. A. Chabanov·I. Vitebskiy·T. Kottos
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Abstract

We propose an infrared power switch based on an asymmetric high-Q microcavity incorporating a metallic nanolayer in close proximity to a layer made of a phase-change material (PCM). The microcavity is designed so that when the PCM layer is in the low-temperature phase, the metallic nanolayer coincides with a nodal plane of the resonant electric field component, to allow a high resonant transmittance. As the light intensity exceeds a certain threshold, light-induced heating of the PCM layer triggers the phase transition accompanied by an abrupt change in its refractive index in the vicinity of the transition temperature. The latter results in a shift of the nodal plane away from the metallic nanolayer, rendering the entire microcavity highly reflective over a broad frequency range. The nearly binary nature of the PCM refractive index allows for the low-intensity resonant transmission over a broad range of ambient temperatures below the transition point.

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R. Thomas, A. A. Chabanov, I. Vitebskiy, T. Kottos. 2019-06-23. Light-induced optical switching in an asymmetric metal-dielectric microcavity with phase-change material. https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/126/64003

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