Controllable planar optical focusing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9482796-B2
Application number	US-201514610862-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2015
Priority date	Feb 4, 2014
Publication date	Nov 1, 2016
Grant date	Nov 1, 2016

Abstract

An optical device has a first metasurface disposed over a substrate. A high-contrast pattern of the first metasurface is operable for modifying, over a first phase profile, a phase front of an incident light beam. A second metasurface, is disposed over a plane parallel to the first metasurface with a second high-contrast pattern and operable for shaping, over a second phase profile, the modified phase front of the incident light beam into a converging spherical phase front. A spacer layer, in which the modified phase front of the incident light beam diffracts, is disposed in a controllably changeable separation between the first and second metasurfaces. Controllably changing the separation between the first and the second metasurfaces by a first distance correspondingly changes the position of the focus point of the converging spherical phase front by a second distance significantly greater than the first distance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optical device, comprising:
a substrate;
a first metasurface disposed over the substrate, the first metasurface comprising a first high-contrast pattern operable for modifying, over a first phase profile, a phase front of a collimated narrow-band light beam incident to the first metasurface;
a second metasurface disposed over a plane parallel to the first metasurface, the second metasurface comprising a second high-contrast pattern operable for shaping, over a second phase profile, the phase front of the modified phase front of the incident light beam into a converging spherical phase front; and
a spacer layer in which the modified phase front of the incident light beam diffracts, the spacer layer disposed in a controllable separation between the first metasurface and the second surface, the separation relating to a position of a focus point of the converging spherical phase front beyond the second metasurface, in relation to the first metasurface in a direction of propagation of the incident light beam, wherein controllably changing the separation between the first metasurface and the second metasurface by a first distance correspondingly changes the position of the focus point of the converging spherical phase front by a second distance, wherein the second distance exceeds the first distance to a significant degree.

2. The optical device as described in claim 1 wherein the controllably changing the separation between the first metasurface and the second metasurface comprises one or more of a piezoelectrically actuated operation, an electrostatically actuated operation, an operation actuated by a modulation signal, or an actuation related to a micro-electromechanical system.

3. The optical device as described in claim 1 wherein the controllably changing the separation between the first metasurface and the second metasurface comprises tunably adjusting the first distance responsive to a modulation signal.

4. The optical device as described in claim 1 wherein the significant degree comprises a multiple of up to three orders of magnitude relative to the change in the separation.

5. The optical device as described in claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises silicon.

6. The optical device as described in claim 1 , further comprising at least a first membrane disposed over the substrate wherein the first metasurface is disposed on the first membrane and optionally, a second membrane wherein the second metasurface is disposed on the second membrane.

7. The optical device as described in claim 6 , wherein one or more of the first membrane or the second membrane comprises a free standing thin film material.

8. The optical device as described in claim 6 wherein one or more of the first membrane or the second membrane comprises at least one of silicon nitride or silicon dioxide.

9. The optical device as described in claim 1 wherein the narrow band light beam comprises monochromatic light.

10. The optical device as described in claim 1 wherein the narrow band comprises a portion of an infrared, visible or ultraviolet spectral region over which the optical device is operable.

11. The optical device as described in claim 1 wherein one or more of the first metasurface or the second metasurface comprises a periodic or quasi-periodic array of elements, each of which comprises a dimension smaller than a shortest wavelength of the narrow band.

12. The optical device as described in claim 11 wherein a refractive property of one or more of the first metasurface or the second metasurface relates to a parameter associated with the periodic or quasi-periodic arrays of each.

13. The optical device as recited in claim 12 wherein the parameter associated with the periodic or quasi-periodic array comprises one or more of:
at least one of a size or a shape of a lattice feature of the periodic or quasi-periodic array; or
at least one of a size or a shape of one or more of a plurality of unit elements, which comprise the lattice.

14. A method for fabricating an optical device, the method comprising:
disposing a first metasurface over a substrate, the first metasurface comprising a first high-contrast pattern operable for modifying, over a first phase profile, a phase front of a collimated narrow-band or monochromatic light beam incident to the first metasurface;
disposing a spacer layer over the first metasurface; and
disposing a second metasurface over the spacer layer on a plane parallel to the first metasurface, the second metasurface comprising a second high-contrast pattern operable for shaping, over a second phase profile, the modified phase front into a converging spherical phase front, wherein the modified phase front of the incident light beam diffracts as it propagates through the spacer layer, which is disposed in a controllable separation between the first metasurface and the second surface, the controllable separation relating to a position of the focus point of the converging spherical phase front beyond the second metasurface, relative to the first metasurface in a direction of propagation of the incident light beam, wherein controllably changing the controllable separation between the first metasurface and the second metasurface by a first distance correspondingly changes the position of the focus point of the converging spherical phase front by a second distance, wherein the second distance exceeds the first distance to a significant degree.

15. The method as described in claim 14 wherein one or more of the disposing the first metasurface or the disposing the second metasurface comprises disposing a periodic or quasi-periodic array of elements, each of which comprises a dimension smaller than a wavelength corresponding to a wavelength of the monochromatic light or of the smallest wavelength of the narrow band,
wherein an optical operating range of the optical device relates to a parameter characterizing one or more of the first metasurface or the second metasurface, and
wherein the parameter of the one or more of the first metasurface or the second metasurface relates to one or more of:
at least one of a size or a shape of a lattice associated with the one or more of the lens component or the mirror component; or
at least one of a size or a shape of each of a plurality of unit elements, which comprise the lattice.

16. The method as recited in claim 14 , further comprising:
disposing at least a first membrane over the substrate, wherein the disposing the first metasurface comprises disposing the first metasurface on the at least first membrane; and
optionally, disposing a second membrane on the spacer component over the plane parallel to the first metasurface, wherein the disposing the second metasurface comprises disposing the second metasurface on the second membrane.

17. The optical device as described in claim 16 , wherein one or more of the first membrane or the second membrane comprises a free standing thin film material.

18. The optical device as described in claim 6 wherein one or more of the first membrane or the second membrane comprises at least one of silicon nitride or silicon dioxide.

19. An optical system, comprising:
a first lens-like component operable for focusing a beam of light incident to the optical system to a first focal point beyond a surface of the first convex-lens-like component relative to a direction of propagation of the incident light beam; and
at least a second convex-lens-like component operable for gathering at least a portion of the focused incident light beam from beyo

Assignees

• California Inst Of Techn

Inventors

• Arbabi Amir
• Faraon Andrei

Classifications

• Y10T29/49844

  Through resilient media · CPC title

• G02B1/002

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

• G02B5/1828 Primary

  having means for producing variable diffraction (controlling the direction of light by means of one or more diffracting elements G02B26/0808; acousto-optical elements G02F1/11, G02F1/33; electro- or magneto-optical diffraction G02F1/292, G02F1/2955) · CPC title

• G03B3/00

  Focusing arrangements of general interest for cameras, projectors or printers · CPC title

• G02B5/1847

  Manufacturing methods · CPC title