Active flat optics using a guided mode resonance

Dynamically-controlled flat optics relies on achieving active and effective control over light-matter interaction in ultrathin layers. A variety of metasurface designs have achieved efficient amplitude and phase modulation. Particularly, noteworthy progress has been made with the incorporation of newly emerging electro-optical materials into such metasurfaces, including graphene, phase change materials, and transparent conductive oxides. In this Letter, we demonstrate dynamic light-matter interaction in a silicon-based subwavelength grating that supports a guided mode resonance. By overcoating the grating with indium tin oxide as an electrically tunable material, its reflectance can be tuned from 4% to 86%. Guided mode resonances naturally afford higher optical quality factors than the optical antennas used in the construction of metasurfaces. As such, they facilitate more effective control over the flow of light within the same layer thickness.