Abstract The ultrafast, reversible, nonvolatile and multistimuli responsive phase change of Ge-Sb-Te (GST) alloy makes it an interesting “smart” material. The optical features of GST undergo significant variation when its state changes between amorphous and crystalline, meaning that they are useful for tuning photonic components. A GST phase change material (PCM) can be efficiently triggered by stimuli such as short optical or electrical pulses, providing versatility in high-performance photonic applications and excellent capability to control light. In this review, we study the fundamentals of GST-tuned photonics and systematically summarise the progress in this area. We then introduce current developments in both GST-metal hybrid metamaterials and GST-based dielectric metamaterials, and investigate the strategy of designing reversibly switchable GST-based photonic devices and their advantages. These devices may have a vast array of potential applications in optical memories, switches, data storage, cloaking, photodetectors, modulators, antennas etc. Finally, the prospect of implementing GST PCM in emerging fields within photonics is considered.

中文翻译：

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光子Ge-Sb-Te相变超材料及其应用

摘要 Ge-Sb-Te (GST) 合金的超快、可逆、非挥发性和多刺激响应相变使其成为一种有趣的“智能”材料。当 GST 的状态在非晶态和晶态之间变化时，其光学特性会发生显着变化，这意味着它们可用于调整光子组件。GST 相变材料 (PCM) 可以通过短光或电脉冲等刺激有效触发，从而在高性能光子应用中提供多功能性和出色的光控制能力。在这篇综述中，我们研究了 GST 调谐光子学的基础知识，并系统地总结了该领域的进展。然后，我们介绍了 GST-金属混合超材料和基于 GST 的介电超材料的当前发展，并研究基于可逆切换 GST 的光子器件的设计策略及其优势。这些器件可能在光存储器、开关、数据存储、隐形、光电探测器、调制器、天线等方面具有广泛的潜在应用。最后，考虑了在光子学新兴领域实施 GST PCM 的前景。