Nanosecond polarization modulation in vanadium dioxide thin films

Abstract

The polarization state of light beams reflecting off thin layers of vanadium dioxide is measured as the material undergoes an insulator-metal phase transition by optical excitation. Under certain conditions, films as thin as 50 nm are shown to rotate linear polarization by 90° in reflection on the nanosecond and potentially shorter timescales. Possible applications for high-contrast optical modulation over a wide spectral range and high bandwidths are discussed.