Optical receiver employing a metasurface collection lens having concentric belts or rings

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11222987-B2
Application number	US-201815927391-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 21, 2018
Priority date	Mar 21, 2018
Publication date	Jan 11, 2022
Grant date	Jan 11, 2022

Abstract

In embodiments, an optoelectronic apparatus may include a substrate with a first side and a second side opposite the first side; a photodetector disposed on the first side of the substrate, the photodetector to convert a light signal into an electrical signal; and a dielectric metasurface lens etched into the second side of the substrate, the dielectric metasurface lens to collect incident light and focus it through the substrate onto the photodetector.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optoelectronic apparatus, comprising:
a substrate with a first side and a second side opposite the first side;
a photodetector disposed on the first side of the substrate, to convert a light signal into an electrical signal; and
a dielectric metasurface lens etched into the second side of the substrate, the dielectric metasurface lens to collect incident light and focus it through the substrate onto the photodetector, wherein a surface of the dielectric metasurface lens comprises a plurality of repeated concentric belts, to provide for a change in phase at different radial distances along the dielectric metasurface lens in each of the repeated concentric belts, wherein a width of one of the plurality of repeated concentric belts is defined by a function of a thickness of the substrate, wherein the width of the one of the plurality of repeated concentric belts decreases for each repeated concentric belt of the plurality of repeated concentric belts corresponding to a distance between a center of the dielectric metasurface lens and the one of the plurality of repeated concentric belts, wherein the one of the plurality of repeated concentric belts comprises:
a first structure that includes a first silicon (Si);
a second structure adjacent to the first structure, wherein the second structure includes a second Si with multiple holes cut into the second Si;
a third structure adjacent to the second structure, wherein the third structure includes a third Si with multiple holes comprising a first silicon oxide (SiO2) cut into the third Si;
a fourth structure adjacent to the third structure, wherein the fourth structure includes a shape that is inverse relative to the third structure, and further includes a second SiO2 with multiple holes comprising a fourth Si cut into the second SiO2;
a fifth structure adjacent to the fourth structure, wherein the fifth structure includes a shape that is inverse to the second structure and further includes a third SiO2 with multiple holes cut into the third SiO2; and
a sixth structure adjacent to the fifth structure, wherein the sixth structure includes a fourth SiO2.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric metasurface lens is to receive the incident light.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the incident light comprises a high-speed optical signal.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a spot size of the incident light is at least twice as large as a diameter of the photodetector.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the diameter of the photodetector is chosen to reduce a capacitance of the photodetector.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the spot size of the incident light is from 100 to 1000 microns.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the diameter of the photodetector is from 2 to 100 microns.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric metasurface lens has a first side adjacent to the second side of the substrate, and a second side, opposite the first side, the second side having a planar surface.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric metasurface lens comprises an array of subwavelength nanostructures to achieve a phase shift of the incident light of between 0 and 2π.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the substrate comprises silicon, and the array of subwavelength nanostructures comprises high refractive index silicon features surrounded by a low refractive index material.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the low refractive index material is one of SiO2 or air.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the high refractive index silicon features include at least one of posts or holes.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a height of the subwavelength nanostructures is determined by:
height ≥λ0/Δ n,

where λ0 is the incident light's wavelength in air, and
Δn is the difference in refractive index between the silicon structures and the low refractive index material.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a pitch of the subwavelength nanostructures is determined by:
pitch ≤λ0/nhigh,

where λ0 is the incident light's wavelength in air, and
nhigh is the refractive index of a high index material.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric metasurface lens is further to focus the incident light such that an amount of light towards a maximum is diffracted into the photodetector.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate has a high refractive index, and either low or no absorption of light at wavelengths of the incident light.

17. An optical communications system, comprising:
a light signal source to send a high-speed optical signal;
an optical fiber coupled to the light signal source;
an optical coupler coupled to the optical fiber, to receive the high-speed optical signal and couple it to an optoelectronic apparatus, wherein the optoelectronic apparatus is to receive the high-speed optical signal and output an electrical signal, wherein the optoelectronic apparatus includes:
a substrate with a first side and a second side opposite the first side;
a photodetector disposed on the first side of the substrate, to convert the high-speed optical signal into the electrical signal; and
a dielectric metasurface lens etched into the second side of the substrate, the dielectric metasurface lens to collect incident light and focus it through the substrate onto the photodetector, wherein a surface of the dielectric metasurface lens comprises a plurality of repeated concentric belts, to provide for a change in phase at different radial distances along the dielectric metasurface lens in each of the repeated concentric belts, wherein a width of one of the plurality of repeated concentric belts is defined by a function of a thickness of the substrate, wherein the width of the one of the plurality of repeated concentric belts decreases for each repeated concentric belt of the plurality of repeated concentric belts corresponding to a distance between a center of the dielectric metasurface lens and the one of the plurality of repeated concentric belts, wherein the one of the plurality of repeated concentric belts comprises:
a first structure that includes a first silicon (Si);
a second structure adjacent to the first structure, wherein the second structure includes a second Si with multiple holes cut into the second Si;
a third structure adjacent to the second structure, wherein the third structure includes a third Si with multiple holes comprising first silicon oxide (SiO2) cut into the third Si;
a fourth structure adjacent to the third structure, wherein the fourth structure includes a shape that is inverse relative to the third structure, and further includes a second SiO2 with multiple holes comprising a fourth Si cut into the second SiO2;
a fifth structure adjacent to the fourth structure, wherein the fifth structure includes a shape that is inverse to the second structure and further includes a third SiO2 with multiple holes cut into the third SiO2; and
a sixth structure adjacent to the fifth structure, wherein the sixth structure includes a fourth SiO2.

18. The optical communications system of claim 17 , further comprising an electrical circuit, communicatively coupled to the optoelectronic apparatus, to receive the electrical signal.

19. The optical communications system of claim 18 , wherein high refractive index nanostructures are made of silicon, and a surrounding low refractive index material is one of air or silicon dioxide.

20. The optical communications syste

Assignees

• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Heck John
• Frish Harel
• West Paul R

Classifications

• H10F71/00

  Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass (patterning processes to connect thin photovoltaic cells in integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, having photovoltaic cells H10F19/33; manufacture or treatment of encapsulations or containers for integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, having photovoltaic cells H10F19/80; manufacture or treatment of integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one element in which radiation controls the flow of current H10F39/00) · CPC title

• H10F77/413 Primary

  directly associated or integrated with the devices, e.g. back reflectors (directly associated or integrated with photovoltaic cells H10F77/42) · CPC title

• G02B1/002 Primary

  made of materials engineered to provide properties not available in nature, e.g. metamaterials · CPC title

• G02B6/4204

  the coupling comprising intermediate optical elements, e.g. lenses, holograms (encapsulated active devices H01S5/02208) · CPC title

• G02B6/4206

  Optical features (G02B6/4207, G02B6/421 take precedence) · CPC title