Reconfigurable metasurfaces and x-band RF devices employing the acoustoelectric effect
| DWPI Title: Reconfigurable metasurface device comprises piezoelectric substrate, interdigitated transducer located on piezoelectric substrate, adapted to receive radio frequency input signal and to generate surface acoustic wave in piezoelectric substrate in response to radio frequency input signal received |
| Abstract: A reconfigurable metasurface device that leverages the interaction of phonon modes and a charge carrier distribution in a thin film semiconductor/piezoelectric film stack via the acoustoelectric interaction is disclosed. A surface acoustic wave (SAW) is launched into the piezoelectric layer. The SAW propagates through the piezoelectric layer, where the resulting strain wave induces a corresponding propagating electric field. This electric field capacitively couples to the thin film semiconductor, where it electrostatically induces periodic modulations of the charge carriers. The charge carrier distribution in the thin film semiconductor will form ribbons of charge carriers following the constant phase fronts of a sufficiently large amplitude SAW. By controlling the charge carrier patterning one can modulate the coupling to the plasmonic modes in the thin film semiconductor. By controlling the charge carrier patterning via the power and wavelength of the SAW, a reconfigurable metasurface results. |
| Use: Reconfigurable metasurface device. |
| Advantage: The device in which electric fields generated by a surface acoustic wave in a piezoelectric substrate can pattern charge carriers in an adjacent semiconductor thin film via the acoustoelectric effect and thus reconfigure the optical transmission in an unpatterned metasurface. |
| Novelty: Reconfigurable metasurface device (100) comprises a piezoelectric substrate (110); interdigitated transducer (140A )(IDT) located on the piezoelectric substrate, adapted to receive a radio frequency (RF) input signal and to generate a surface acoustic wave (SAW) in the piezoelectric substrate in response to the radio frequency (RF) input signal received; and a thin film semiconductor layer (130) located on the piezoelectric substrate adjacent to IDT, the thin film semiconductor layer adapted to form a charge carrier pattern in response to the SAW in the piezoelectric substrate, the thin film semiconductor layer adapted to create plasmons in response to the charge carrier pattern. |
| Filed: 4/3/2023 |
| Application Number: US18130148A |
| Tech ID: SD 15202.1 |
| This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. |
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