Electrically programmable photonic crystal slab based on the metal-insulator transition in VO₂

The possibility of an electrically programmable photonic crystal is investigated theoretically based on the metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide (VO₂). Recent experiments indicate that this phase transition of the first order can be controlled via external bias and results in significant changes in the electrical and optical properties of VO₂. We propose a slab structure based on VO₂ whose dielectric properties are modulated periodically in the in-plane direction by selectively inducing phase transition through a lithographically defined array of gate electrodes. A two-dimensional photonic band calculation predicts the presence of a band gap, clearly illustrating the feasibility of the proposed structure. The electrically controlled nature may enable the VO₂- based structure to be programmable at a very high speed.