Electrically tunable strong coupling in a hybrid-2D excitonic metasurface for optical modulation

Tom Hoekstra; Jorik van de Groep

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arXiv · 2502.12132

Electrically tunable strong coupling in a hybrid-2D excitonic metasurface for optical modulation

Tom Hoekstra·Jorik van de Groep

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Abstract

Atomically thin semiconductors exhibit tunable exciton resonances that can be harnessed for dynamic manipulation of visible light in ultra-compact metadevices. However, the rapid nonradiative decay and dephasing of excitons at room temperature limits current active excitonic metasurfaces to few-percent efficiencies. Here, we leverage the combined merits of pristine 2D heterostructures and non-local dielectric metasurfaces to enhance the excitonic light-matter interaction, achieving strong and electrically tunable exciton-photon coupling at ambient conditions in a hybrid-2D excitonic metasurface. Using this, we realize a free-space optical modulator and experimentally demonstrate 9.9 dB of reflectance modulation. The electro-optic response, characterized by a continuous transition from strong to weak coupling, is mediated by gating-induced variations in the free carrier concentration altering the excitons nonradiative decay rate. These results highlight how hybrid-2D excitonic metasurfaces offer novel opportunities to realize nanophotonic devices for active wavefront manipulation and optical communication.

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Tom Hoekstra, Jorik van de Groep. 2025-02-17. Electrically tunable strong coupling in a hybrid-2D excitonic metasurface for optical modulation. https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.12132

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