Program Results

Introduction to the event

We report the following progress in this annual report. (1) We design and simulate a mode-size converter based on metasurface-on-silicon-photonics platform. The mode can be expanded by more than 1000 times. This converter couples light from a waveguide to the free space, creating a millimeter-scale collimated beam. (2) We develop near-infrared metalenses that can be fabricated by photolithography. Our fabrication of metalenses is more mass producible because it does not require costly electron beam lithography. We achieved a focusing efficiency of 61% experimentally. (3) We develop metalenses operating at THz frequencies. These metalenses are fabricated with photolithography and plasma deep etching. (4) We develop key components for LIDAR, including optical phased arrays and photodetectors. We use III-V integrated photonics that can potentially enable miniature, highly integrated, and mass-producible LIDARs.  Our optical phased array has shown a measured divergence angle of 1.43° and a field-of-view of more than 17.1°.