Tunable wave plate based on active plasmonic metasurfaces

Polarization conversion is highly desired for numerous valuable applications such as remote detection and high-precision measurement. It is conventionally achieved through utilizing bulky birefringent crystals or by delicate tailored anisotropy materials. However, such schemes are not compatible with both dynamic and compact on-chip applications. We propose an active metasurface that can generate tunable ellipticity for arbitrary incident polarization with a non-volatile and reversible modulation method. The metasurface consists of V-shape plasmonic antenna arrays and an interval modulation layer made of the phase change material GST for active phase control. Our approach allows the generation of high-quality arbitrary elliptical polarization states in an ultrathin, non-mechanical, and flexible fashion, representing a significant advance compared with its conventional counterparts. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America