Metal-dielectric-metal plasmonic resonators for active beam steering in the infrared

Active beam-steering devices near the optical frequencies have long been sought after due to their applications in communication, defense, and display technologies; however, the challenge lies in achieving actively tunable structures near these frequencies. An array of metal-dielectric-metal plasmonic resonators is demonstrated as a dynamic beam-steering device to operate at midinfrared wavelengths. We numerically demonstrate continuous-angle beam steering of 8.75 by making use of tunable properties of silicon as the active dielectric. The proposed device achieves a refractive index insensitive divergence angle and it operates in a 650 nm wide spectral window around 10 mu m wavelength. The results of this Letter pave the way to exploiting active beam steering in various applications at midinfrared wavelengths. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America