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Topologically-optimized on-chip metamaterials for ultra-short-range light focusing and mode-size conversion
Wei Ma1,2, Maojing Hou2, Ruiqi Luo2
1State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
Nanophotonics (Berlin, Germany)
|December 5, 2024
Summary
We developed a new hierarchical inverse design for metamaterials, enabling ultra-compact on-chip photonic devices. This approach overcomes limitations in conventional designs, achieving significant mode-size squeezing for advanced optical applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Metamaterials offer precise light manipulation via subwavelength structures for integrated photonics.
- Conventional metamaterial design faces challenges with extreme targets, limiting device performance and footprint.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a hierarchical inverse design approach for metamaterials.
- To demonstrate its effectiveness in creating ultra-compact on-chip meta-lenses for light focusing and mode-size conversion.
Main Methods:
- Cascading conventional unit-cell-based design with holistic topology optimization.
- Utilizing on-chip meta-lenses for ultra-short-range light manipulation.
- Experimental realization of mode-size squeezing.
Main Results:
- Achieved mode-size squeezing by nearly 20 times in ultra-short tapering regions (8 μm and 5 μm).
- Demonstrated low insertion loss and broadband performance in fabricated meta-lenses.
- Validated the compensation of violated locally periodic approximation by holistic optimization.
Conclusions:
- The proposed hierarchical inverse design approach effectively addresses challenges in conventional metamaterial design.
- This method enables flexible on-chip wavefront control and light routing for applications in fiber communication, sensing, and optical computing.
