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Flat dielectric grating reflectors with focusing abilities

Nature Photonics volume 4, pages466–470(2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Sub-wavelength dielectric gratings have emerged recently as a promising alternative to distributed Bragg reflection dielectric stacks for broadband, high-reflectivity filtering applications. Such a grating structure composed of a single dielectric layer with the appropriate patterning can sometimes perform as well as 30 or 40 dielectric distributed Bragg reflection layers, while providing new functionalities such as polarization control and near-field amplification. In this Letter, we introduce an interesting property of grating mirrors that cannot be realized by their distributed Bragg reflection counterpart: we show that a non-periodic patterning of the grating surface can give full control over the phase front of reflected light while maintaining a high reflectivity. This new feature of dielectric gratings allows the creation of miniature planar focusing elements that could have a substantial impact on a number of applications that depend on low-cost, compact optical components, from laser cavities to CD/DVD read/write heads.

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Figure 1: Magnitude-squared and phase of the reflection coefficient from a one-dimensional silicon grating.
Figure 2: Numerical simulation of a 50-µm-aperture focusing reflector with NA = 0.45, featuring an 8π differential phase shift from centre to edge.
Figure 3: Optical microscope picture of a fabricated spherical SWG mirror.
Figure 4: Experimental results.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, 1501 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, 94304–1123, California, USA

    David Fattal, Jingjing Li, Zhen Peng, Marco Fiorentino & Raymond G. Beausoleil

Authors
  1. David Fattal
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  2. Jingjing Li
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  3. Zhen Peng
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  4. Marco Fiorentino
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  5. Raymond G. Beausoleil
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Contributions

D.F. and J.L. developed the initial wavefront control concept and reflector design, and provided the results of the numerical simulations. Z.P. carried out the device fabrication, and M.F. conducted the optical testing. R.G.B. supervised and coordinated the project. All authors contributed to the data analysis. D.F., J.L. and R.G.B. prepared the manuscript with input from M.F. and Z.P.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Fattal.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Fattal, D., Li, J., Peng, Z. et al. Flat dielectric grating reflectors with focusing abilities. Nature Photon 4, 466–470 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2010.116

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