Reconfigurable flat optics

本研究的目的是开发一类新的可重构平面光学元件，它能够动态地将光波前塑造成任意形状，具有亚波长分辨率和快速速度。它侧重于技术上重要的中红外光谱范围(波长2-30？Ým)，它具有独特的定位，可以解决安全、健康和环境方面的许多重要问题。该方法是使用石墨烯等有源介质（石墨烯在中红外具有可调谐的光学导电性）来改变等离子体天线的共振，从而导致散射光的幅度和相位发生大而可控的变化。平面光学元件将由可调谐等离子体天线阵列组装而成。这项研究的智力价值在于它解决了光调制的基本问题：如何在给定某种物质扰动的情况下获得光的振幅和相位的可观且可调谐的变化。该计划的广泛影响在于教育、推广和中红外技术的应用。该计划通过实验室培训和研究为各级学生提供独特的设备设计，建模，制造和表征的教育机会。该项目还将促进科学家和艺术家之间的合作，以制作更容易为公众所接受的科学发现的艺术插图。在该项目中开发的设备原型将在各种应用中具有很大的前景，例如中红外光测距和检测，自由空间通信，安全筛查和生物医学成像。

The objective of this research is to develop a new class of reconfigurable flat optical components that are able to dynamically mold optical wavefronts into arbitrary shapes with subwavelength resolution and fast speed. It focuses on the technologically important mid-infrared spectral range (wavelength 2-30?Ým), which is uniquely positioned to solve a number of important issues in security, health, and environment. The approach is to use active medium such as graphene, which has tunable optical conductivity in the mid-infrared, to shift the resonance of plasmonic antennas, leading to large and controllable changes to the amplitude and phase of the scattered light. Flat optical components will be created by assembling arrays of tunable plasmonic antennas.The intellectual merit of this research is that it addresses the fundamental problem of optical modulation: how to obtain considerable and tunable changes to the amplitude and phase of light, given a certain material perturbation. The broader impacts of this program lie in education, outreach, and implication for mid-infrared technology. The program provides unique educational opportunities in device design, modeling, fabrication and characterization for students of all levels through lab training and research. The program will also promote a collaborative effort between scientists and artists in producing artistic illustrations of scientific discoveries that are more accessible to the general public. The device prototypes developed in this program will have great promise for a variety of applications, such as mid-infrared light ranging and detection, free-space communication, security screening, and biomedical imaging.