Geodesic lenses for guided optical waves.

Area of Science:

• Optics
• Integrated Optics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Two-dimensional lenses are crucial for integrated optical systems.
• Existing methods for fabricating these lenses have limitations.
• The principle of configuration lenses, successful in microwave antennas, offers a potential alternative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel method for creating two-dimensional geodesic lenses for integrated optics.
• To adapt the configuration lens principle from microwave antennas to thin film optics.
• To demonstrate the practical application and advantages of these geodesic lenses.

Main Methods:

• Extending the principle of configuration lenses to thin film optics.
• Utilizing the concept of propagation along a curved surface in a two-dimensional Riemann space, where rays follow geodesics.
• Constructing and testing two optical geodesic lenses with planar input and output.

Main Results:

• Successfully constructed and tested two optical geodesic lenses.
• Demonstrated that these lenses can be easily integrated into planar film circuits.
• Highlighted the advantage of pre-fabricating the substrate with high accuracy, similar to glass optics.

Conclusions:

• The developed method offers a viable alternative for fabricating two-dimensional geodesic lenses.
• These lenses are suitable for integration into planar optical circuits.
• The technique allows for precise substrate preparation and subsequent dielectric film deposition using established methods.