Development of metasurface for optoelectronic applications

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Nanophotonics has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, and will have transformational impact on the society and economy in the near future. The global nanophotonic market is growing at a rate of more than 43%, and is expected to increase from $7.72 billion in 2016 to $66.03 billion by 2022 [1]. This exciting growth and opportunity come with new challenges. Conventional optical devices are inherently nonplanar, large and bulky, and cannot be implemented using planar fabrication technology. These inherent limitations of traditional optics restrict its usefulness in many applications. Metasurface is a new optical design concept that can overcome these limitations. Metasurface consists of planar subwavelength elements, and provides unprecedented control on molding the flow of light and its properties. A tunable and efficient metasurface with wide range of phase tunability will revolutionize many emerging technologies including LIDAR for autonomous vehicles, adaptive optics and holography. Despite worldwide intense research effort, such a metasurface is yet to be reported. The program of research outlined in this application aims to design and experimentally demonstrate such a metasurface, and explore its applications for various practical applications. Success of this program will be a paradigm shift for nanophotonics, and open up many opportunities for commercial applications while also advancing our knowledge of light-matter interaction at subwavelength scale. Currently there is an intense global competition to develop optical metasurfaces with performance suitable for practical needs. Although Canada has a rich tradition of nanophotonic research, it is seriously lagging behind in this competition. There is an urgent need for ramping up the research and technology development effort in Canada in this rapidly advancing field. The proposed research will help establish Canada as a leader in this emerging branch of nanophotonics research. It will also provide an ideal training ground for students who will gain hands-on experience in photonic design, nanofabrication and characterization of optical devices, and become valuable members of the Canadian photonic industry workforce.