19 h In e na ional Cong ess on A i icial Ma e ials o No el Wa e Phenomena – Me ama e ials 2025
Ams e dam, The Ne he lands, Sep. 1s –6 h, 2025
MEMS Tunable Op ical Me asu aces
C. Meng1, Paul C. V. Th ane1,2, F. Ding1, Se gey I. Bozhe olnyi1
1 Cen e o Nano Op ics, Uni e si y o Sou he n Denma k, Campus ej 55, Odense DK-5230, Denma k
2 SINTEF Mic osys ems and Nano echnology, Gaus adalleen 23C, 0737 Oslo, No way
[email protected]
Abs ac – Elec ically unable me asu aces o e signi ican po en ial o minia u ized, sma ,
and adap i e op oelec onic sys ems. He e, we p esen he concep , simula ion, and expe imen al
ealiza ion o ou MEMS-OMS pla o m, enabling e icien and as dynamic wo-dimensional
ligh ield manipula ion. We highligh wo implemen a ions: a MEMS- unable wa epla e o
ull- ange bi e ingence con ol and a MEMS- unable bilaye me asu ace o dual-s a e
e lec ion phase con ol. These componen s pa e he way o highly e icien unable op ical
me asu aces, wi h applica ions in ad anced imaging, in e e ome y, lase machining, and ee-
space op ical communica ions. We o esee his pla o m playing a key ole in nex -gene a ion
econ igu able pho onic echnologies.
I. INTRODUCTION
Dynamic op ical me asu aces (OMS) a e a he cu ing edge o nex gene a ion in eg a ed and in elligen
op ical sys ems and ne wo ks, hanks o hei ul a-compac and lexible design and adap able unc ionali ies [1].
The de elopmen o dynamic OMS has been g ea ly enhanced by he in eg a ion o ac i e ma e ials such as wo-
dimensional (2D) ma e ials, phase-change ma e ials (PCMs), and liquid c ys als (LCs) [2]-[4]. Howe e , s iking
he op imal balance be ween mul iple pe o mance me ics including absolu e and modula ion e iciency,
esponse speed as well as ma e ial obus ness and eliabili y emains a challenge. Fo example, OMS employing
2D ma e ials exhibi as esponse imes bu o en su e om limi ed modula ion dep h. In con as , hose
u ilizing PCMs and LCs can achie e s onge modula ion bu ypically ope a e a slowe speeds, no o men ion
ha LCs exhibi pola iza ion-dependen esponses and i s esponse is also sensi i e o empe a u e.
In a ecen b eak h ough, we in oduced a MEMS-OMS pla o m ha combines a piezoelec ic MEMS mi o
wi h a plasmonic OMS, esul ing in an ul a-compac and lexible con igu a ion capable o dynamically uning
ligh ield in e lec ion [5]-[11]. This app oach deli e s high e iciency, s ong modula ion capabili y, and apid
esponse imes o up o 100 kHz, as demons a ed in ou expe imen s. We ha e success ully ealized di e se
unable op ical unc ionali ies o dynamic wa e on , pola iza ion, chi ali y con ol, and e y ecen ly
demons a ed i s in eg a ion o MEMS-OMS wi hin lase ca i ies o mode-swi chable o ex lase s.
He e, we p esen he main concep , simula ion and expe imen al me hodology o ou MEMS-OMS pla o m,
ocusing on wo key MEMS-OMS implemen a ions: (1) a unable wa epla e o ull- ange bi e ingence con ol,
achie ing high e iciency (> 75%) o e sa ile pola iza ion con e sion [7]; (2) a unable bilaye OMS o dual-
s a e 2D phase con ol, o pola iza ion-dependen and independen econ igu able op ical unc ions, which
ea u es high econ igu able quali y in e ms o e iciency and speed while main aining a ema kably wi h e y
simple elec ical con ol mechanism [11].
II. MEMS TUNABLE WAVEPLATE FOR FULL-RANGE BIREFRINGENCE CONTROL
Dynamic pola iza ion con ol is essen ial o eme ging highly in eg a ed pho onic sys ems, wi h a ious
me asu aces being explo ed o i s implemen a ion. These app oaches ypically ely on he bi e ingence
p ope ies o ei he na u al ma e ials o me asu aces composed o aniso opic me a-a oms. Howe e , due o he
limi ed hickness o a ailable OMS (i.e., in e ac ion leng h) and inhe en bi e ingence cons ain s, iden i ying an
op imal OMS con igu a ion emains a complex and challenging ask. Mo eo e , exis ing solu ions o en su e
om d awbacks such as slow esponse imes, na ow bandwid hs, limi ed bi e ingence unabili y, and low
pola iza ion con e sion e iciencies.
19 h In e na ional Cong ess on A i icial Ma e ials o No el Wa e Phenomena – Me ama e ials 2025
Ams e dam, The Ne he lands, Sep. 1s –6 h, 2025
Figu e 1. MEMS-OMS unable wa epla e.
Capi alizing on ou de elopmen o piezoelec ic MEMS-OMSs, we demons a e elec ically con olled ull-
ange bi e ingence by in eg a ing a plasmonic OMS wi h p ecisely designed aniso opic me a-a oms and a hin-
ilm piezoelec ic MEMS mi o [7], as shown in Fig. 1(a). The OMS componen consis s o a glass subs a e
suppo ing an OMS laye wi h a 2D a ay o iden ical ec angula gold nanob icks. Posi ioned in close p oximi y
o an ac ua ed MEMS gold mi o , i s sepa a ion dis ance
T
a om he OMS is p ecisely con olled ia an applied
ac ua ion ol age 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉. The esul ing MEMS-OMS-based unable wa e pla e ope a es in e lec ion, o e ing
con inuously unable aniso opy and enabling comple e a e sal o he Poinca é sphe e, he eby allowing o
dynamic pola iza ion con e sion, including ansi ions om linea o ci cula pola iza ion, o hogonal linea
s a es, and opposi e ci cula pola iza ions, as shown in Fig. 1(b). In addi ion, his sys em achie es high
pola iza ion con e sion e iciencies (~75%), b oadband ope a ion (~100 nm a ound he 800 nm wa eleng h),
and apid esponse imes (<0.4 milliseconds).
III. MEMS TUNABLE BILAYER METASURFACE FOR DUAL-STATE PHASE CONTROL
Mos exis ing unable OMSs can dynamically con ol only one unc ionali y encoded in he OMS design, hus
acing subs an ial challenges in achie ing mul iple econ igu able unc ionali ies. This limi a ion s ems om he
unde lying mechanism: in mos exis ing unable OMSs, dynamic esponse is ealized by ac i ely uning he
me a-a om esonances, which in u n modi ies he phase esponse. Howe e , due o he high densi y o
subwa eleng h-sized a ay elemen s a anged in nanome e - hin plana con igu a ions, ede ining he esonances
o indi idual elemen s independen ly p esen s eno mous echnological challenges, ende ing i p ac ically
un easible. In ecen yea s, pixela ed unable OMSs ha e shown signi ican po en ial o ully econ igu able
me a op ics [12]-[14]. Howe e , owing o he subs an ial ab ica ion and con ol complexi y, hese OMSs a e
designed wi h con ol elec odes and/o me a-a oms connec ed along a single dimension, inhe en ly limi ing
phase con ol o one-dimensional (1D) wi h pola iza ion-dependen esponses. Addi ionally, some o hese
con igu a ions su e om limi ed e iciency [14]. The e o e, dynamic e icien 2D phase con ol emains elusi e.
Figu e 2. MEMS unable bilaye me asu ace o dual-s a e phase con ol
He e, we in eg a e a hin- ilm piezoelec ic MEMS mi o wi h a plasmonic bilaye OMS (BMS) in an
elec ically ac ua ed, unable opological MEMS-BMS pla o m ha enables comple e dual-s a e e lec ion phase
ans o ma ion by adjus ing he MEMS-BMS sepa a ion [11], as shown in Fig. 2(a). In his con igu a ion, dual-
s a e phase ans o ma ion is achie ed by posi ioning he BMS a wo dis inc loca ions wi hin he in e e ence
19 h In e na ional Cong ess on A i icial Ma e ials o No el Wa e Phenomena – Me ama e ials 2025
Ams e dam, The Ne he lands, Sep. 1s –6 h, 2025
pa e n abo e he MEMS mi o , as shown in Fig. 2(b). In one s a e, only he MS1 laye in e ac s wi h inciden
ligh , while in he o he , bo h MS1 and MS2 laye s con ibu e o he o e all esponse, he eby enabling he
swi ch be ween wo dis inc unc ions ia MEMS ac ua ion. Building on his concep , we demons a ed
pola iza ion-independen MEMS-BMS componen s including a unable blazed g a ing o swi ching be ween
opposi e ±1 di ac ion o de s and a unable o ex phase pla e capable o gene a ing swi chable o ex beams
wi h wo di e en opological cha ges, as shown in Fig. 2(c).
VI. CONCLUSION
We ha e de eloped an elec ically d i en dynamic MEMS-OMS pla o m by in eg a ing a hin- ilm
piezoelec ic MEMS mi o wi h a plasmonic OMSs. Wi h design lexibili y on bo h he OMS and MEMS sides,
along wi h simple and p ecise MEMS ac ua ion con ol, his pla o m enables e sa ile and eliable dynamic
ligh ield manipula ion. We o esee i s applica ions in minia u ized op ical de ices and sys ems.
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