{
  "abstract": "Metasurfaces enable subwavelength control of free-space light for applications in sensing, nonlinear optics, and quantum photonics. However, their practical deployment is hindered by two key limitations: a tradeoff between low-Q resonances and weak amplitude contrast, and their predominantly static nature allowing only passive functionalities. These challenges are particularly severe in the mid-infrared (mid-IR), where the scarcity of low-loss materials constrains performance and scalability. Here, we demonstrate actively tunable single-crystalline silicon membrane metasurfaces combining high-Q resonances, strong amplitude contrast, and wafer-scale manufacturability. Our platform achieves record-high measured Q-factors up to 3000 in the mid-IR and supports two dynamic modulation schemes: electro-thermal tuning via Joule heating with >50% modulation depth at CMOS-compatible voltages and speeds up to 14.5 kHz, and ultrafast all-optical modulation via carrier generation in silicon with nanosecond response times and estimated sub-GHz rates. These results establish silicon membrane metasurfaces as a scalable platform for active mid-IR photonics.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland",
    "Qingdao Innovation and Development Center, Harbin Engineering University, Quingdao, China",
    "School of Physics and Engineering, ITMO University, St. Petersburg, Russia",
    "University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy",
    "Qingdao Innovation and Development Center, Harbin Engineering University, Quingdao, China. makarovsv@hrbeu.edu.cn",
    "School of Physics and Engineering, ITMO University, St. Petersburg, Russia. makarovsv@hrbeu.edu.cn",
    "Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland. hatice.altug@epfl.ch"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Felix Richter",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8410-9131"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Aleksei S. Ezerskii",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3385-5123"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Olesia Pashina"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Nikita Glebov",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9026-6106"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wenping Yin",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2688-6738"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wenping Yin",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2688-6738"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Sergey V. Makarov",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9257-6183"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Mihail I. Petrov",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8155-9778"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ivan Sinev",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4246-7747"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Hatice Altug",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5522-1343"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1a9xmnyz5em70.bib",
  "cited_by": 7,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-75121-6",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1a9xmnyz5em70",
  "issns": [
    "2041-1723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75121-6",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2504|Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W4415332125",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-75121-6_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13493965",
  "pmid": "42469191",
  "published": "2026-07-17",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1a9xmnyz5em70.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T13:21:20Z",
      "native_id": "W4415332125",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75121-6"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2504|Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Mid-IR light modulators enabled by dynamically tunable ultra-high-Q silicon membrane metasurfaces",
  "title_text": "Mid-IR light modulators enabled by dynamically tunable ultra-high-Q silicon membrane metasurfaces",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T13:21:23Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1a9xmnyz5em70",
  "venue": "Nature Communications",
  "versions": []
}