Active Switching of Orbital Angular Momentum of Light Using Metasurfaces Incorporating Vanadium Dioxide
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT The growing demand for orbital angular momentum (OAM) in optical communications calls for compact efficient beam‐control platforms. Metasurfaces have emerged as a powerful tool for generating OAM beams, yet most designs remain static. Vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ), a phase‐change material, with its reversible insulator‐to‐metal transition offers a promising path to dynamic control. However, in existing VO 2 integrated metasurfaces, its potential is underexploited. It is often used as a thin film that fails to exploit the full refractive index variance. Although recent attempts have incorporated VO 2 into nanostructures, they remain limited to binary‐phase modulation or involve fabrication‐complex structures that are unsuitable for applications in the telecommunication waveband. Here, we propose a reflective active metasurface at 1500 nm that integrates VO 2 into metal‐insulator‐metal meta‐atoms. Our design strategy selects the geometry of each meta‐atom based on the phase difference across VO 2 transition, and its orientation is governed by the proposed equations. Our design enables efficient OAM switching with large topological charge leaps. We numerically demonstrate three metasurfaces that switch OAM states between ℓ = (−1, −3), l = (−2, −3), and (4, −1). Our work establishes a versatile and fabrication‐friendly platform for active OAM manipulation, promising advanced applications in high‐capacity optical communications.
Source: Nanophotonics
DOI: 10.1002/nap2.70040
Authors: Qinghong Lyu, Qiuchen Yan, Yulan Fu, Xiaoyong Hu, Qihuang Gong
Language: English
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,995
OpenAlex ID: W7134114146
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