Sub-wavelength grating lenses with a twist

Abstract

Dielectric high-contrast sub-wavelength grating (SWG) structures have received much attention in recent years, offering a new paradigm for the integration of optical systems. Their nanoscale resonant properties can result in a complex and unintuitive far-field behavior that, if carefully crafted, allows the full control of the optical phase front from a thin sub-wavelength planar layer. To date, experimental demonstrations of these new devices have only been realized with polarized light in a reflective mode, greatly limiting their use for practical systems. In this letter, we demonstrate a highly efficient, sub-wavelength thick, transmissive grating lens configuration using symmetrical resonant posts to achieve polarization-independent operation. Our transmissive SWG lenses are easily fabricated using low-cost scalable semiconductor process technology. To illustrate their performance, we demonstrate the generation of high-order orbital angular momentum beams and their use in an optical mode-isolator application that achieves a suppression ratio of over 25 dB. © 1989-2012 IEEE.