Ultrathin van der Waals Metalenses.

Ultrathin and flat optical lenses are essential for modern optical imaging, spectroscopy, and energy harvesting. Dielectric metasurfaces comprising nanoscale quasi-periodic resonator arrays are promising for such applications, as they can tailor the phase, amplitude, and polarization of light at subwavelength resolution, enabling multifunctional optical elements. To achieve 2π phase coverage, however, most dielectric metalenses need a thickness comparable to the wavelength, requiring the fabrication of high-aspect-ratio scattering elements. We report ultrathin dielectric metalenses made of van der Waals (vdW) materials, leveraging their high refractive indices and the incomplete phase design approach to achieve device thicknesses down to ∼λ/10, operating at infrared and visible wavelengths. These materials have generated strong interest in recent years due to their advantageous optoelectronic properties. Using vdW metalenses, we demonstrate near-diffraction-limited focusing and imaging and exploit their layered nature to transfer the fabricated metalenses onto flexible substrates to show strain-induced tunable focusing. Our work enables further downscaling of optical elements and opportunities for the integration of metasurface optics in ultraminiature optoelectronic systems.

Inverse design of optical elements based on arrays of dielectric spheres.

Arrays of wavelength scale scatterers are a promising platform for designing optical elements with a compact footprint. The large number of degrees of freedom in this system allows for unique and plentiful functionalities. However, the many variables also create a complex design problem. While intuitive forward design methods work for simple optical elements, they often fail to produce complicated elements, especially those involving multiple elements. We present an inverse design methodology for large arrays of wavelength scale spheres based on both adjoint optimization or sensitivity analysis and generalized multi-sphere Mie theory as a solution to the design problem. We validate our methodology by designing two sets of optical elements with scatterers on sub-wavelength and super-wavelength periodic grids. Both sets consist of a singlet and a doublet lens with one and two layers of spheres respectively designed for 1550 nm. The designed NA is ∼0.33 (∼0.5) for the sub-wavelength (super-wavelength) periodic structure. We find that with the sub-wavelength periodicity, the full width at half-maximum of the focal spot produced by the singlet and doublet is smaller than that produced by an ideal lens with the same geometric parameters. Finally, we simulate a realistic experimental scenario for the doublet, where the spheres are placed on a substrate with the same refractive index. We find the performance is similar, but with lower intensity at the focal spot and larger spot size. The method described here will simplify the design procedure for complicated multi-functional optical elements and or scatterer array-based volume optics based on a specified figure of merit.

Phase-matched nonlinear optics via patterning layered materials.

The ease of integration and a large second-order nonlinear coefficient of atomically thin layered two-dimensional (2D) materials presents a unique opportunity to realize second-order nonlinearity in a silicon compatible integrated photonic system. However, the phase-matching requirement for second-order nonlinear optical processes makes the nanophotonic design difficult. We show that by nano-patterning the 2D material, quasi-phase-matching can be achieved. Such patterning-based quasi-phase-matching could potentially compensate for inevitable fabrication errors and significantly simplify the design process of the nonlinear nanophotonic devices.

Cavity enhanced nonlinear optics for few photon optical bistability.

Weak material nonlinearity at optical frequencies poses a serious hurdle to realizing optical bistability at low optical powers, which is a critical component for digital optical computing. In this paper, we explore the cavity enhancement of the second-order optical nonlinearity in order to determine the feasibility of few photon optical bistability. Starting from a quantum optical formalism of a doubly resonant cavity (required to meet the condition of phase matching), we derive a dynamic classical model of a cavity that is bistable at the fundamental mode. We analyze the optical energy and the switching speed as a function of the cavity quality factors and mode volumes and identify the regime where only ten's of photons are required to perform the switching. An unusual trend in the switching speed is also observed, where the speed monotonically decreases as the cavity linewidth increases. This is ascribed to the increase in the switching gain with increasing cavity linewidth.