Optical metasurfaces and two-dimensional materials (2DM) have optical properties that are widely tunable via several approaches, such as heating, electrostatic gating, and interfacial engineering such as twisting. Being able to tailor the interfacial properties in a similar real-time manner represents the next leap in our ability to modulate the underlying physics and build exotic photonics devices. We demonstrate the first on-chip platform designed for optical metasurface and 2D materials with in situ tunable interfacial properties, utilizing a microelectromechanical system (MEMS). Each of these compact, cost-effective, and versatile devices is a standalone micromachine that allows voltage-controlled approaching, twisting, and pressurizing of two sheets of materials with high accuracy.
Dr. Haoning Tang, Harvard Quantum Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences