Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
Adv Mater. 2018 Feb;30(5). doi: 10.1002/adma.201703878. Epub 2017 Dec 11.
The unique correspondence between mathematical operators and photonic elements in wave optics enables quantitative analysis of light manipulation with individual optical devices. Phase-transition materials are able to provide real-time reconfigurability of these devices, which would create new optical functionalities via (re)compilation of photonic operators, as those achieved in other fields such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA). Here, by exploiting the hysteretic phase transition of vanadium dioxide, an all-solid, rewritable metacanvas on which nearly arbitrary photonic devices can be rapidly and repeatedly written and erased is presented. The writing is performed with a low-power laser and the entire process stays below 90 °C. Using the metacanvas, dynamic manipulation of optical waves is demonstrated for light propagation, polarization, and reconstruction. The metacanvas supports physical (re)compilation of photonic operators akin to that of FPGA, opening up possibilities where photonic elements can be field programmed to deliver complex, system-level functionalities.
在波动光学中，数学运算符与光子元件之间存在独特的对应关系，这使得我们能够对单个光学器件对光的操控进行定量分析。相变材料能够实时对这些器件进行重新配置，从而通过（重新）编译光子运算符来创造新的光学功能，就像在其他领域（如现场可编程门阵列（FPGA））中实现的那样。在这里，我们利用二氧化钒的滞后相变，展示了一种几乎任意的光子器件都可以快速、重复地写入和擦除的全固态、可重写的元画布。写入过程使用低功率激光，整个过程温度保持在 90°C 以下。使用该元画布，演示了光传播、偏振和重建过程中的动态光操控。该元画布支持类似于 FPGA 的光子运算符的物理（重新）编译，为能够现场编程以实现复杂的系统级功能的光子元件开辟了可能性。
