Thermally actuated micro-/nanoscale deformations for optical reconfigurations

The unique three-dimensional (3D) deformations caused by nano-kirigami have enabled a new degree of freedom for reconfigurable optics. Here, we demonstrate a facile nano-kirigami method that can create 3D deformed structures, which can flexibly manipulate optical properties using thermally actuated micro-/nanoscale deformations. By connecting four pairs of thermal actuators to the four sides of a gradient metasurface, large-angle beam steering (1/490°) can be achieved by adjusting the temperature of the actuators. The amplitude of circular dichroism can be adjusted by thermally actuating micro-/nanoscale deformations. The 2D-to-3D transformation of the curved arm structure on metallic substrate results in enhanced structural absorption, inducing an almost perfect absorption at specific wavelengths. Curved asymmetric structures can also be created by thermally actuated micro-/nanoscale deformations, which provides a novel method for cross-polarized light conversion. The proposed design with thermally actuated micro-/nanoscale deformations provides a new methodology to explore versatile reconfigurable functionalities.