Large-area, low-cost near-infrared meta-surface reflector based on a pixelated two-dimensional silicon disk array

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science

Background:

• All-dielectric meta-surfaces are emerging as low-loss alternatives to plasmonic counterparts in optical research.
• They leverage electric and magnetic multipole resonances for tailored optical responses.
• Applications include meta-lenses and meta-surface holography.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for fabricating large-area, all-dielectric meta-surface perfect reflectors.
• To investigate the optical performance of silicon meta-surface reflectors with controlled designs.
• To demonstrate the efficiency and scalability of the fabrication technique.

Main Methods:

• Utilized digital holography lithography for large-area fabrication of meta-surfaces.
• Fabricated meta-surface perfect reflectors using arrays of silicon discs, truncated cones, and diamond-shaped discs.
• Characterized the optical response, focusing on reflectance in the near-infrared spectrum.

Main Results:

• Achieved high peak reflectance (nearly 100%) and average reflectance (over 97%) in specific spectral regions for fabricated meta-surface reflectors.
• Demonstrated the capability to precisely control optical responses in the near-infrared spectrum.
• Showcased the high processing efficiency of digital holography lithography, fabricating millions of structures over 100 mm² in just 4 minutes.

Conclusions:

• The digital holography lithography technique enables cost-effective, high-efficiency production of large-area all-dielectric meta-surfaces.
• This fabrication strategy is promising for mass production of optical devices like optical communication components and semiconductor lasers.
• The developed silicon meta-surface reflectors offer excellent performance for near-infrared applications.