Metasurfaces are ultra-thin, artificially nanostructured materials that have a unique capability to manipulate light. They make it possible to create flat optical devices such as metalenses, holograms, and advanced sensors with capabilities far beyond traditional optics. Most metasurfaces are static, meaning their properties are fixed once they are made. For metasurfaces to be useful in real applications, it is crucial that they are dynamic—able to control light in real time. For example, a flat lens could adjust its focus instead of being limited to a single fixed focus. 

To achieve this kind of tunability, metasurfaces can be combined with materials that respond to external stimuli. In this project, we focus on integrating metasurfaces with liquid crystals (LCs), which are familiar from display screens. LCs are special materials that behave like both solids and liquids, and they react strongly to temperature, electric and magnetic fields, or light. This makes them ideal for tuning metasurfaces. Our research aims to develop new methods for designing and integrating LC-based tunable metasurfaces. These nanostructures will enable reconfigurable optical devices that can control light in powerful new ways, while also giving us the chance to study novel physical effects at the nanoscale.

This project can be adapted to suite the student's year level.