Reconfigurable chalcogenide phase change metamaterials: a material, device, and fabrication perspective

Abstract

Chalcogenide phase change semiconductors have played a crucial role in the evolution of photonic technologies. From their decades-long utilization at the core of optical disks to their emergence as a highly promising reconfigurable component for a variety of nanophotonic modulation, switching and sensing platforms, the field of optics has continuously recognized their potential and sought to engineer their properties through a variety of material, device and fabrication level schemes. Most recently, the integration of phase change semiconductors within various photonic metamaterials, metadevices and metasystems has ignited research interest worldwide. This has facilitated the development of a wealth of highly promising application-driven nanophotonic device platforms that address growing societal demands requiring higher data storage capacity, faster and more efficient telecommunication, as well as adaptive sensing and imaging with reduced size, weight and power requirements. Here, we present a comprehensive review on the evolution of reconfigurable phase change chalcogenide metamaterials that focuses not just on a device level perspective but also examines the underlying material and fabrication considerations that are critical to obtaining optimal performance in these groundbreaking devices.