Subvolt high-speed free-space modulator with electro-optic metasurface by Go Soma & Koto Ariu & Seidai Karakida & Yusuke Tsubai & Takuo Tanemura instant download

Subvolt high-speed free-space modulator with electro-optic metasurface by Go Soma & Koto Ariu & Seidai Karakida & Yusuke Tsubai & Takuo Tanemura instant download

Active metasurfaces incorporating electro-optic materials enable high-speed free-space optical modulators that show great promise for a wide range of applications, including optical communication, sensing and computing. However, the limited light–matter interaction lengths in metasurfaces typically require high driving voltages exceeding tens of volts to achieve satisfactory modulation. Here we present low-voltage, high-speed free-space optical modulators based on silicon-organic-hybrid metasurfaces with dimerized-grating-based nanostructures. By exploiting a high-Q resonant mode, normally incident light is efectively trapped within a submicrometre-scale silicon slot region embedded with organic electro-optic material. Consequently, highly efcient modulation is obtained, enabling data transmission at 50 Mbps and 1.6 Gbps with driving voltages of only 0.2 V and 1 V, respectively. These metasurface modulators can now operate at complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor-compatible voltage levels, allowing energy-efcient high-speed practical applications of active metasurfaces.