High-efficiency broadband active metasurfaces via reversible metal electrodeposition

Qizhang Li; Sachin Prashant Kulkarni; Chenxi Sui; Ting-Hsuan Chen; Gangbin Yan; Ronghui Wu; Wen Chen; Pei-Jan Hung; Xubing Wu; Tadej Emersic; Koray Aydin; Po-Chun Hsu

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-02136-x

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High-efficiency broadband active metasurfaces via reversible metal electrodeposition

Original Articles

- High-efficiency broadband active metasurfaces via reversible metal electrodeposition
- High-efficiency broadband active metasurfaces via reversible metal electrodeposition
- Light: Science & Applications 2026年15卷第2期页码：526-537
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
  2.Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
  3.Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
  4.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- Author bio：
  
  Po-Chun Hsu (pochunhsu@uchicago.edu)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-02136-x
  中图分类号：
- 收稿：2025-05-12，
  
  修回：2025-10-26，
  
  录用：2025-11-12，
  
  网络首发：2026-01-03，
  
  纸质出版：2026-02-28
- Accepted：
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Qizhang Li, Sachin Prashant Kulkarni, Chenxi Sui, 等. High-efficiency broadband active metasurfaces via reversible metal electrodeposition[J]. Light: Science & Applications, 2026,15(2):526-537.

Li, Q. Z. et al. High-efficiency broadband active metasurfaces via reversible metal electrodeposition. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 526-537 (2026).
Qizhang Li, Sachin Prashant Kulkarni, Chenxi Sui, 等. High-efficiency broadband active metasurfaces via reversible metal electrodeposition[J]. Light: Science & Applications, 2026,15(2):526-537. DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-02136-x.

Li, Q. Z. et al. High-efficiency broadband active metasurfaces via reversible metal electrodeposition. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 526-537 (2026). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-02136-x.

摘要

Abstract

Realizing active metasurfaces with substantial tunability is important for many applications but remains challenging due to difficulties in dynamically tuning light-matter interactions at subwavelength scales. Here

we introduce reversible metal electrodeposition as a versatile approach for enabling active metasurfaces with exceptional tunability across a broad bandwidth. As a proof of concept

we demonstrate a dynamic beam-steering device by performing reversible copper (Cu) electrodeposition on a reflective gradient metasurface composed of metal-insulator-metal resonators. By applying different voltages

the Cu atoms can be uniformly and reversibly electrodeposited and stripped around the resonators

effectively controlling the gap-surface plasmon resonances and steering the reflected light. This process experimentally achieved >90% diffraction efficiencies and >60% reflection efficiencies in both specular and anomalous modes

even after thousands of cycles. Moreover

these high efficiencies can be extended from the visible to the near- and mid-infrared regimes

demonstrating the broad versatility of this approach in enabling various active optical and thermal devices with different working wavelengths and bandwidths.

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references

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