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Revolution in the infrared: RWTH Aachen presents groundbreaking technology!
RWTH Aachen develops innovative infrared components with meta-surfaces. Results from collaboration with Fraunhofer Institutes.
Revolution in the infrared: RWTH Aachen presents groundbreaking technology!
On May 13, 2025, a RWTH Aachen research team led by Professor Thomas Taubner announced a groundbreaking method for producing optical infrared components. This development, which was created in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Technology (IPT) and Laser Technology (ILT), sheds new light on the availability and functionality of infrared optics.
Infrared light remains invisible to the human eye, but plays a crucial role in numerous areas such as material processing, LIDAR technology and thermal imaging cameras. Traditionally, the optics required for this are expensive and difficult to obtain because they have to be manufactured in small series. With this new technology, this could change quickly.
Innovative materials and techniques
The innovative method is based on the use of meta-surfaces in combination with the phase change material indium antimonide telluride (In3SbTe2). This material has the ability to switch between a dielectric amorphous and a metallic crystalline phase through targeted laser radiation. These properties allow micron-sized metal nanoantennas to be optically programmed to create tailored optical components for specific applications.
The developments are based on Andreas Heßler's dissertation, which was also written under the supervision of Professor Taubner and Matthias Wuttig at RWTH Aachen. Heßler developed concepts for the local optical programming of infrared phase change material metasurfaces. These meta-surfaces consist of periodically arranged antennas, also known as meta-atoms, and are promising for fabricating compact and multifunctional optics.
Functionalities and applications
A central innovation of this technology is programmability. This enables a wide variety of manipulation of the light amplitude and phase of each individual meta-atom. Research has already demonstrated experimentally that antenna resonances can be shifted, opening up new possibilities for telecommunications, thermal imaging and medical diagnostics.
Potential applications of this technology include highly efficient, ultra-compact and active optical elements, including adjustable lenses, dynamic holograms and spatial light modulators. The results of this research are not only a milestone in optics, but could also lay the foundation for new markets in the field of infrared optical components.
The research and development of metamaterials, especially those composed of phase change materials, are in line with current trends. Customizable and switchable functionalities at the metaatom level open up new degrees of freedom in the design of active photonic devices. These advances are not only theoretical in nature but are supported by numerical methods to study hybrid phase change metamaterials to develop novel media for the optical and infrared spectral range.
The cooperation between RWTH Aachen and the Fraunhofer Institutes illustrates the role of the Photonics Cluster as a place of innovation. These approaches could not only strengthen the economic situation of the institutions involved, but also advance technological development in Germany.