Vanadium dioxide spatial light modulator for applications beyond 1200 nm

Spatial light modulators based on vanadium dioxide are used to demonstrate all-optical spectral filtering in the near infrared, up to 1700 nm, with potential to application into the mid-infrared. By spectrally dispersing the shaped beam and transmitting the beam through a vanadium dioxide thin film, the transmission is modified by optically pumping the film locally with a laser beam. Heating causes the film to undergo an insulator-to-metal transition, along with a drop in transmission. The spectrum can be shaped by pumping with a beam at different location and/or different intensity profiles. The method is promising for longer wavelength since the film is more efficient further in the infrared.