H2020 ERC - Consolidator Grant 2019-2025
METAmorphoses
Shapeshifting Metasurfaces for Chemically Selective Augmented Reality
Sommario: I propose to realize the first shapeshifting optical metasurface that changes its functionality on-demand and adapts to changing external conditions. The metasurface may work as a chemically selective lens that allows transmission only of the spectral fingerprint of a specific molecule in the mid-IR wavelength range. The same metasurface can later be turned into an adaptive lens. For such ambitious goal, a radically new approach is needed. I will realize shapeshifting metasurfaces made of a polymer containing photo-switchable molecules. The surface of such polymers undergoes a morphology re-organization (surface structuring) when illuminated by an external visible light pattern. The polymer will be structured with visible ligh. I will use state-of-the-art optical nano-imaging techniques to investigate the surface structuring phenomenon at the nanoscale in order to achieve full control of the mechanism. Since the polymer surface can continuously be adjusted with the illuminating visible light, it will be possible to shift from one encoded optical functionality to a completely different one.