Inverse-Designed Dispersive Time-Varying Nanostructures

Time-varying nanostructures allow to control the spatial and temporal properties of light. The temporal modulation of the nanostructures constitutes an additional degree of freedom to control their scattering properties on demand and in a reconfigurable manner. However, these additional parameters create a vast design space, raising challenges in identifying optimal designs. Therefore, tools from the field of photonic inverse design must be used to optimize the degrees of freedom of the system to facilitate predefined optical responses. To further develop this field, here a differentiable transition (T-) matrix-based inverse design framework is introduced for dispersive time-varying nanostructures. The electron density of the material of the nanostructures is modulated non-adiabatically as a generic periodic function of time. Using the inverse design framework, the temporal shape of the electron density can be manipulated to reach the target functionality. This computational framework is exploited, exemplarily, in two instances. First, the decay rate enhancement of oscillating dipoles near time-varying spheres is controlled on demand. Second, using spatiotemporal metasurfaces, a system supporting asymmetric transmission of light at visible frequencies is designed. This work paves the way toward programmable spatiotemporal metasurfaces and space-time crystals for a future generation of reconfigurable functional photonic devices.