Phase-change Material Ge2Sb2Te5 Research Articles

Tunable third harmonic generation based on high-Q polarization-controlled hybrid phase-change metasurface

Abstract Dielectric metasurfaces have made significant advancements in the past decade for enhancing light–matter interaction at the nanoscale. Particularly, bound states in the continuum (BICs) based on dielectric metasurfaces have been employed to enhance nonlinear harmonic generation. However, conventional nonlinear metasurfaces are typically fixed in their operating wavelength after fabrication. In this work, we numerically demonstrate tunable third harmonic generation (THG) by integrating a dielectric metasurface with the phase-change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). The hybrid phase-change metasurface can support two BICs with different electromagnetic origins, which are transformed into two high-Q quasi-BICs through the introduction of structural asymmetry. The two quasi-BICs are selectively excited by controlling the polarization of incident light, and their wavelengths are tunable due to the phase transition of GST. Notably, the efficiency of THG is significantly enhanced at the fundamental wavelengths corresponding to the two quasi-BICs, and the operating wavelength for THG enhancement can be dynamically tuned through the GST phase transition. Furthermore, the wavelength of THG enhancement can be further tuned by manipulating the polarization of pump light. Additionally, a high-Q analog of electromagnetically induced transparency is numerically achieved through the interaction between a low-Q Mie resonance and a quasi-BIC mode, which also improves the THG efficiency. The high-Q polarization-controlled hybrid phase-change metasurface holds promise for applications in dynamically tunable nonlinear optical devices.

On-chip guided wave THz photonic switching with a phase change material on a dielectric waveguide encompassed with a novel micro-fins heater

On-chip photonic components, particularly for switching applications, are becoming more and more in demand to create high-density photonic integrated circuits in the THz regime. The nonvolatile switching can meet the requirement of power saving when the complexity of integrated circuits grows in the near future. Here, we propose and analyse the THz wave switching using a nonvolatile phase change material (PCM) Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) integrated on a broadband THz dielectric waveguide that is encompassed by a novel micro-fins heater. In the proposed device, a small patch of GST of length 1500μm integrated on top of the HRFZ-Si waveguide provides an acceptable insertion loss and high extinction ratio for its broadband operation in the frequency span of 0.5–1.0 THz. Using a novel micro-fins heater, the phase transformation of the GST is carried out through Joule heating. Short electrical pulses of 11 ms and 4μs are found to be capable of raising the temperature of the GST region above its crystallization and re-amorphization temperature, respectively. The corresponding energy consumption for crystallization and re-amorphization is found to be 61.73 mJ and 19.84 mJ, respectively. The switching speed of our reported device is 100 times better than the previously reported metamaterial-based THz photonic switches using PCMs. Since GST is nonvolatile in nature, no continuous pump power is needed to maintain the particular switching state of the proposed device. The work reported here is a step forward for enabling THz photonic switching, and further THz circuits, in guided wave photonic platform using CMOS-compatible materials.

Coordinated multi-band stealth based on phase change materials

With the integrated application of multiple detection technologies, multi-band compatible stealth is crucial to improve the counter-detection capability of targets. However, there are still significant challenges in achieving stealth that is compatible with different bands. This paper presents a wavelength-selective emitter with a structure consisting of a layer composed of a high-temperature-resistant material and a phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), and an upper truncated pyramid array composed of TiO2. The structure can transition between “stealthy” and “non-stealthy” states by controlling the phase transition process of the GST. The structure in stealth mode has low reflectivity in the visible (VIS) region, low emissivity in the mid-wave infrared and long-wave infrared region. In addition, it has laser stealth at 1.06 μm and 1.54 μm, and provides radiative cooling in the non-atmospheric window (5–8 μm). The dipole resonance formed by TiO2 on the side gives the structure lower reflectivity in the VIS band and at two laser wavelengths. The high emission in the non-atmospheric window is mainly attributed to the Fabry-Perot resonance supported in the structure. In addition, the effects of incidence angle and temperature on the stealth performance of the structure are investigated. This research has promising applications in the field of multi-band compatible stealth.

Ultra-low loss compact active TM mode pass polarizer using phase change material in silicon waveguide

An active low-loss transverse magnetic (TM) pass polarizer, based on the phase change material (Ge2Sb2Te5), is proposed. The proposed polarizer is based on silicon-on-insulator technology that consists of a silicon waveguide that incorporates a thin layer of Si3N4 placed in-between GST. Enhancing the interaction between light and GST is achieved by strategically placing a double-layer GST adjacent to the slot waveguide. The polarizer’s tunability, on the other hand, depends on the shift in the refractive index (RI) of GST as it transitions between its crystalline and amorphous phases. By optimizing the structure, the polarizer exhibits negligible loss for both modes in the amorphous phase, and with the change of phase to crystalline, the loss of TE mode is more than 8 dB. In contrast, the loss of TM is less than 0.05 dB with a high ER of 21.82 dB, propagation length of 79.89 µm and Figure of merit reaches up to 108 at 1550 nm. Due to the combination of these performance parameters, the suggested active TM pass polarizer is an appealing and effective device for various photonic applications. In addition, the fabrication technique of the proposed active TM pass polarizer is explained.

Tunable high-order harmonic generation in GeSbTe nano-films

Abstract High-order harmonic generation (HHG) in solids opens new frontiers in ultrafast spectroscopy of carrier and field dynamics in condensed matter, picometer resolution structural lattice characterization and designing compact platforms for attosecond pulse sources. Nanoscale structuring of solid surfaces provides a powerful tool for controlling the spatial characteristics and efficiency of the harmonic emission. Here we study HHG in a prototypical phase-change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). In this material the crystal phase can be reversibly changed between a crystalline and amorphous phase by light or electric current mediated methods. We show that optical phase-switching is fully reversible and allows for dynamic control of harmonic emission. This introduces GST as new addition to materials that enable flexible metasurfaces and photonic structures that can be integrated in devices and allow for ultrafast optical control.

Thermally Controlled Broadband Ge2Sb2Te5-Based Metamaterial Absorber for Imaging Applications

In this paper, we theoretically and numerically demonstrate a thermally controlled broadband absorber based on the phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). When GST operates in the amorphous state, the proposed metamaterial acts as a broadband nearly perfect absorber. The absorption can reach more than 90% in the wavelength range from 0.9 to 1.41 μm. As an application of the GST-based metamaterial absorber, the near-field imaging effect is achieved by using the intensity difference of optical absorption. Moreover, the thermally controlled switchable imaging can be performed by changing the phase transition characteristics of GST, and the imaging quality and contrast can be adjusted by changing the geometrical parameters. This designed metamaterial may have potential applications in near-infrared temperature control imaging, optical encryption, and information hiding.

Metasurface with all-optical tunability for spatially-resolved and multilevel thermal radiation

Abstract Manipulating the thermal emission in the infrared (IR) range significantly impacts both fundamental scientific research and various technological applications, including IR thermal camouflage, information encryption, and radiative cooling. While prior research has put forth numerous materials and structures for these objectives, the significant challenge lies in attaining spatially resolved and dynamically multilevel control over their thermal emissions. In this study, a one-step ultrafast laser writing technique is experimentally demonstrated to achieve position-selective control over thermal emission based on the phase-change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). Ultrafast laser writing technique enables direct fabrication and manipulation of laser-induced crystalline micro/nano-structures on GST films. Thermal emission can be precisely controlled by adjusting the pulse energy of the ultrafast laser, achieving a high thermal emissivity modulation precision of 0.0014. By controlling thermal emission, the ultrafast laser writing technique enables multilevel patterned processing. This provides a promising approach for multilevel IR thermal camouflage, which is demonstrated with emissivity-modulated GST emitters. Remarkably, ultrafast laser-induced crystalline micro/nano-structures display geometric grating features, resulting in a diffraction-based structural color effect. This study demonstrates the effective use of laser-printed patterns for storing information in both visible and infrared spectrum.

Design and validate a wide-bandwidth, high-performance tunable metamaterial based on cultural-innovation shell materials and its sensing applications

The application of metamaterials in controllable thermal emission devices is an interesting field. However, most of the demonstrated thermal emitters required continuous consumption of external energy (electrical or thermal) to provide an effective thermal emissivity. Here, a metamaterial containing phase change materials Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) and shell materials with controllable thermal emission power was proposed and measured. Based on the completely amorphous state of the GST layer, an emissivity of 0.212 at wavelength 7.11 μm was achieved by this this metamaterial, while a thermal emission band (with an average amplitude of 0.857 and a bandwidth of 6.16 μm) was excited for the crystalline state. Moreover, numerous thermal emission states were excited by this metamaterial based on the intermediate states between completely amorphous and crystalline states of the GST layer. Tunability of the thermal emission window was obtained by this metamaterial sample. The temperature sensitivity of this metamaterial thermal emitter was 341 nm °C−1. By increasing the thickness of the GST or shell layers, the thermal emission performance of the metamaterial was enhanced. Since the phase transition of GST does not require the continuous consumption of external energy, the metamaterial has the potential to be used in the development of low-power heat emitters, as well as temperature sensors.

Medium-range structural order in amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 phase change material

The crystallization rate is an important factor for the application of phase change materials as memory devices, which, thus, motivates a strong interest in the underlying crystallization processes. We analyzed the crystallization kinetics of as-deposited amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 by differential scanning calorimetry, revealing that the thermal treatment below the crystallization onset temperature effectively enhances the crystallization rate compared to the as-deposited samples. Variable resolution fluctuation electron microscopy was carried out to characterize the corresponding amorphous structure of the as-deposited films and the differently annealed states regarding their medium-range order (MRO). As a result, relatively large MRO correlation lengths in the range of 3–4 nm were observed, whereas the MRO volume fraction doubled after longer annealing treatments, demonstrating the importance of MRO and MRO tuning for optimizing the properties of amorphous phase change materials. The increased volume fraction of the MRO seems to also favor an increased nanoindentation hardness.

Dynamic and Polarization-Independent Wavefront Control Based on Hybrid Topological Metasurfaces.

Exceptional points (EPs), known as non-Hermitian singularities, have been observed and investigated in parity-time symmetric metasurfaces. However, the chirality and tunability in non-Hermitian metasurfaces still need to be explored. Here, we propose a dynamic topological metasurface with the meta-atom consisting of two orthogonally oriented nanorods, which are placed on the phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) and SiO2 dielectric layer, respectively. When GST is converted from the amorphous state (a-GST) to the crystalline state (c-GST), an EP can be dynamically switched from the "ON" state to the "OFF" state in a parameter space. Moreover, based on the topologically protected phase and amplitude modulations of the cross-polarization component, the phase-only hologram and amplitude-only hologram are engineered in the a-GST case and concealed in the c-GST case. Finally, we explore the 2D-chiral symmetry of meta-atoms and further propose two spin-selective meta-deflectors and a hybrid meta-deflector operating with arbitrary polarizations. The GST-based hybrid metasurface offers richer possibilities to realize various wavefront controls.

Actively Reconfigurable Valley Topological Edge and Corner States in Photonic Crystals Based on Phase Change Material Ge2Sb2Te5

Actively Reconfigurable Valley Topological Edge and Corner States in Photonic Crystals Based on Phase Change Material Ge2Sb2Te5

Realization of a photoswitchable anapole metasurface based on phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5

The electromagnetic anapole mode originates from the phase cancellation interference between the far-field radiation of an oscillating electric dipole moment and toroidal dipole moment, which presents a radiation-free state of light while enhancing the near-field, and has potential applications in micro- and nanophotonics. The active control of the anapole is crucial for the design and realization of tunable photonic devices. In this paper, we realize dynamic tuning of an anapole metasurface and metasurface optical switching based on the phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). By utilizing the destructive interference of the electric dipole moment and ring dipole moment, we design the non-radiative anapole mode. At the same time, we introduce the phase change material GST to dynamically regulate the intensity and position of the far-field scattering, electric field, and transmission spectra, and to realize the transition from anapole mode to electric dipole mode. At the same time, the modulation of the transmission spectrum by the metasurface after the addition of GST film is achieved. A relative transmission modulation of 640.62% is achieved. Our study provides ideas for realizing effective active modulation of active micro- and nanophotonic devices, and promotes active modulation of active micro- and nanophotonic devices in lasers and filters and potential applications in dynamic near-field imaging.

Design of a wide bandwidth achromatic metalens based on phase change material GST with aperture sharing

This paper proposes the use of aperture sharing synergistic operation in the structure of the metalens, together with the rational selection of the scattering unit size according to the linear relationship between the output phase and frequency of the scattering unit, and the selection of the slope of the phase variation with frequency, combined with the modulation of the phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 crystallization rate m value, in the set wavelength band, for different wavelengths of incident light through the metasurface can produce a uniform phase distribution. The method is used to achieve a polarization-insensitive achromatic metalens in the 9.5-13 μm continuous wavelength band by adjusting the m value of the phase transition material Ge2Sb2Te5 crystallization rate and producing a phase distribution with a uniform focal length for different wavelengths of incident light passing through the metasurface. The simulation results show that the focal length of the achromatic metasurface varies by 3.57 μm in the working band, with an error of about 4.3% from the set focal length, and the full width of the half-peak of the focal point at all wavelengths of incidence reaches the diffraction limit, and the focusing efficiency exceeds 60%. The achromatic metalens proposed in this paper provides a new idea for the design of achromatic metasurfaces and promotes the research of phase change materials in broadband achromatic metasurfaces.

Tunable full-space light field manipulation based on double-layer Ge2Sb2Te5 metasurfaces

Metasurfaces have the strong ability to reshape wave front and are attractive for a wide range of applications. However, metasurface based light field manipulation can be realized usually in either transmission or reflection space individually, which will limit its application scenario of metasuface. In this paper, we design a phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) based double-layer dielectric metasurface in mid-infrared bands, which can achieve the light field manipulation in full space and dynamically control the focal intensity of reflected and transmitted light. As proof-of-concepts, two functional metasurfaces are designed and investigated: the first metasurface realizes the dynamically adjustable focus intensity in full-space under left circularly polarized (LCP) light incidence, the second metasurface is designed to provide spin-dependent bifocal in full space, which can generate custom designed two focal points under LCP or right circularly polarized (RCP) light incidence. Our proposed tunable full-space dielectric metasurfaces can be potentially applied for energy-harvesting, optical communication and optical imaging.

Supervised learning and pattern recognition in photonic spiking neural networks based on MRR and phase-change materials

Traditional computers are limited by the separation of memory and processor units, is difficult to achieve fast, efficient, and low-power computing. While photonic spiking neural networks (SNNs) can overcome these shortcomings, they encounter limitations in large-scale integration. Silicon photonics platform, compatible with mature Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) platforms, is a promising candidate for realizing large-scale photonic SNNs. In this work, we proposed an integrated photonic SNN by exploiting the photonic properties of phase-change material (PCM) Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) and micro-ring resonators (MRR), and demonstrated its integrate-and-fire (IF) behavior. Based on a system-level behavioral model, we adopt an improved Tempotron-like ReSuMe supervised learning algorithm to train the proposed photonic SNNs and complete a pattern recognition task for the clock's 12 clockwise directions. Then the influence of different noise levels is considered, and the accuracy is close to 1 when the noise level is less than 0.2. We propose a photonic implementation of such an SNN system, and use wavelength division multiplexing to achieve a scalable architecture for the pattern recognition task. The collaborative design and optimization of hardware architecture and algorithm are realized, providing a theoretical basis for the realization of photonic SNN based on MRRs and PCM.

Tellurium self-diffusion in amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 phase change materials

Amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 phase change material is considered as a prototype material for non-volatile memories due to the reversibility of the amorphous-to-crystalline transition on a nanosecond timescale. In this context, the kinetics of atomic self-diffusion has important bearings for the crystallization process and the switching behavior of phase change materials. It is thus important for applications as well as for the general understanding of the rapid and reversible switching behavior to understand atomic self-diffusion, especially in the amorphous phase. However, up to now, reliable data on the kinetics of atomic self-diffusion in amorphous phase change materials is almost non-existent. For this reason, Te tracer diffusion was measured using secondary ion mass spectroscopy and applying the highly enriched natural 122Te isotope. For the first time, Te self-diffusion coefficients in amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 are experimentally measured and the activation energy of Te self-diffusion was determined as (1.43±0.08) eV.

Integrated optical pattern generation on thin-film lithium niobate with electro-optic modulators and phase-change material cells

Reconfigurable photonic integrated circuits enable high-bandwidth signal shaping with the prospect for scalability and compact footprint. Cointegration of electro-optical tunability with nonvolatile attenuation through functional materials allows for implementing photonic devices that operate on both phase and amplitude. Based on this approach, we propose an integrated photonic design for optical pattern generation deploying a continuous-wave laser and a single electrical function generator. We employ the nonvolatile and reconfigurable phase-change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) as a tunable attenuator for an integrated photonic circuit on the lithium-niobate-on-insulator (LNOI) platform. The GST can be switched between its amorphous and crystalline phases, leading to an optical contrast of ≅18dB. Combining this with integrated electro-optical modulators with a 4 GHz bandwidth in LNOI enables the generation of short optical pulses, based on the principles of inverse discrete Fourier transform.

Sb2S3-Based Dynamically Tuned Color Filter Array via Genetic Algorithm.

Color displays have become increasingly attractive, with dielectric optical nanoantennas demonstrating especially promising applications due to the high refractive index of the material, enabling devices to support geometry-dependent Mie resonance in the visible band. Although many structural color designs based on dielectric nanoantennas employ the method of artificial positive adjustment, the design cycle is too lengthy and the approach is non-intelligent. The commonly used phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) is characterized by high absorption and a small contrast to the real part of the refractive index in the visible light band, thereby restricting its application in this range. The Sb2S3 phase change material is endowed with a wide band gap of 1.7 to 2 eV, demonstrating two orders of magnitude lower propagation loss compared to GST, when integrated onto a silicon waveguide, and exhibiting a maximum refractive index contrast close to 1 at 614 nm. Thus, Sb2S3 is a more suitable phase change material than GST for tuning visible light. In this paper, genetic algorithms and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) solutions are combined and introduced as Sb2S3 phase change material to design nanoantennas. Structural color is generated in the reflection mode through the Mie resonance inside the structure, and the properties of Sb2S3 in different phase states are utilized to achieve tunability. Compared to traditional methods, genetic algorithms are superior-optimization algorithms that require low computational effort and a high population performance. Furthermore, Sb2S3 material can be laser-induced to switch the transitions of the crystallized and amorphous states, achieving reversible color. The large chromatic aberration ∆E modulation of 64.8, 28.1, and 44.1 was, respectively, achieved by the Sb2S3 phase transition in this paper. Moreover, based on the sensitivity of the structure to the incident angle, it can also be used in fields such as angle-sensitive detectors.

Active control of surface plasmon polaritons with phase change materials

Active control of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) is highly desired for nanophotonics. Here we employ a phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) to actively manipulate the propagating direction of SPPs at the telecom wavelength. By utilizing the phase transition-induced refractive index change of GST, coupled with interference effects, a nanoantenna pair containing GST is designed to realize switchable one-way launching of SPPs. Devices based on the nanoantenna pairs are proposed to manipulate SPPs, including the direction tuning of SPP beams, switchable SPP focusing, and switchable cosine–Gauss SPP beam generating. Our design can be employed in compact optical circuits and photonics integration.

High spatial resolution Stokes metasurface based on three-pixel technology

A dynamically reconfigurable metasurface grating is proposed in this work based on the phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). The metasurface grating keeps as the 0° polarizer that allows only x-polarized light to pass when the GST is in the crystalline state, and switches to the 90° polarizer (only y-polarized light passes through) while the GST transforms into the amorphous state. Furthermore, the circular polarization dichroism could be achieved using a double-layer metasurface consisting of this dynamic grating and a large broadband plasmonic quarter-wave plate. We can expect to achieve fully polarized detection with the ultra-high spatial resolution using only three components. In addition, we can obtain the largest bandwidth (300 nm) of the full Stokes large-image-element to date in the near infrared band by using the six-image-element technique with the crystalline phase GST.