KAIST announced on July 14 that a research team led by Professor Hyun-Jung Kim of the Department of Aerospace Engineering, in collaboration with Professor Juejun Hu’s team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has developed the world’s first ultra-compact optical chip capable of electrically controlling light.

The team created a transmissive mid-infrared metasurface spatial light modulator whose individual pixels can be independently programmed. The device also retains its optical state after power is removed, making it well suited for satellites and other power-limited space systems.

By integrating a silicon PIN diode into each pixel, the researchers prevented unwanted current flow and successfully controlled a 6 × 6 pixel array. The device remained stable for more than 16,700 operating cycles, showing significantly improved durability over previous technologies.

The technology is expected to support software-defined space sensors for thermal imaging, infrared sensing, spectroscopy, and optical communication.

The study was published online in Nature Communications on July 7, 2026.