Conventional optical components control light using gradual phase accumulation through propagation in refractive materials. Recently, ultrathin optical interfaces capable of controlling the light properties, including amplitude - phase - polarization and the dispersion of light, have been proposed for mid-infrared and optical wavelengths. These devices, called metasurfaces, rely on the scattering properties of ultrathin subwavelength-scale optical resonators patterned at interfaces.
The concept of metasurfaces has gained considerable attention in the optics community, offering new perspectives for the realization of photonic components with unexpected optical properties. The topics of interest are fundamental principles and technological applications targeting new phenomena and advanced functionalities. Of particular relevance has been the exploitation of metasurface concepts to introduce new exotic phenomena for ultrafast modulation and switching, thus overcoming limitations of conventional optical devices. Reconfigurable metasurfaces have been opening a new paradigm for efficient and ultracompact tunable light generation and shaping, and other innovative applications.
We aim at gathering leading experts in light scattering and innovative light manipulation with reconfigurable nanostructures and metasurfaces, and get exposure to the latest advancements in this burgeoning research field.