Electrically tunable conducting oxide metasurfaces for high-power applications

Active metasurfaces represent a new class of flat optical elements, which can dynamically control the wavefront of the reflected or transmitted light at a subwavelength scale. Here, we theoretically investigate thermal performance of gate-tunable conducting oxide metasurfaces, which are illuminated with high-power laser beams (~kW/cm2). We develop strategies to mitigate and limit temperature increase of our active metasurfaces. To anchor our approach, we experimentally investigate the short pulse laser-induced damage of thin gold, indium tin oxide, and titanium nitride films. Our analysis reveals that our metasurfaces can support irradiances necessary for free space optical communication or light detection and ranging applications.