Tunable beam deflection based on plasmonic resonators mounted freestanding thermoresponsive hydrogel

Abstract

We propose and numerically demonstrate a dynamic beam deflector based on plasmonic resonator loaded thermoresponsive freestanding hydrogel that swells and collapses in water by temperature. For this purpose, we utilize four-step phase gradients mounted on freestanding hydrated hydrogel. For normal incidence, linearly orthogonal light deflects to 19.44° in the collapsed state and 14.40° in the swollen state of hydrogel. Furthermore, the light deflects at a third angle of 12.29° when the solvent changes from water to ethanol. It is expected that our metadesign will provide a platform for dynamic holography, active lensing, data storage, and anticounterfeiting.