Proposal of a grating-based optical reflection switch using phase change materials

We have proposed a novel grating-based optical reflection switch using a phase change material (PCM). The device switches on/off light or shifts the light propagation direction by switching the PCM grating between its amorphous and crystalline states. Thus, the switching status is non-volatile and the device is promising for realizing low power consumption. The device structure was designed and optimized by numerical simulations to obtain high switching efficiency. It is shown that there exists a parameter window where high efficiency is achievable. The static switching characteristics were confirmed by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. The design scheme can also be applied to other planar dielectric gratings.