Electrically tunable strong coupling in a hybrid-2D excitonic metasurface for optical modulation
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 exciton\`s 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.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2502.12132,
title = {Electrically tunable strong coupling in a hybrid-2D excitonic metasurface for optical modulation},
author = {Tom Hoekstra and Jorik van de Groep},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2502.12132},
year = {2025}
}