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Menon, Rajesh

Publications and source records attributed to Menon, Rajesh.

8 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Broadband imaging with one planar diffractive lens

We demonstrate imaging over the visible band using a single planar diffractive lens. This is enabled via multi-level diffractive optics that is designed to focus over a broad wavelength range, which we refer to as an achromatic diffractive lens (ADL). We designed, fabricated and characterized two ADLs with numerical apertures of 0.05 and 0.18. Diffraction-limited focusing is demonstrated for the NA = 0.05 lens with measured focusing efficiency of over 40% across the entire visible spectrum (450 nm to 750 nm). We characterized the lenses with a monochromatic and a color CMOS sensor, and demonstrated video imaging under natural sunlight and other broadband illumination conditions. We use rigorous electromagnetic simulations to emphasize that ADLs can achieve high NA (0.9) and large operating bandwidth (300 nm in the visible spectrum), a combination of metrics that have so far eluded other flat-lens technologies such as metalenses. Here, these planar diffractive lenses can be cost-effectively manufactured over large areas and thereby, can enable the wide adoption of flat, low-cost lenses for a variety of imaging applications.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2016

Novel photon management for thin-film photovoltaics

The objective of this project is to enable commercially viable thin-film photovoltaics whose efficiencies are increased by over 10% using a novel optical spectral-separation technique. A thin planar diffractive optic is proposed that efficiently separates the solar spectrum and assigns these bands to optimal thin-film sub-cells. An integrated device that is comprised of the optical element, an array of sub-cells and associated packaging is proposed.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Increasing the density of passive photonic-integrated circuits via nanophotonic cloaking

Photonic-integrated devices need to be adequately spaced apart to prevent signal cross-talk. This fundamentally limits their packing density. Here we report the use of nanophotonic cloaking to render neighbouring devices invisible to one another, which allows them to be placed closer together than is otherwise feasible. Specifically, we experimentally demonstrated waveguides that are spaced by a distance of ~λ 0 /2 and designed waveguides with centre-to-centre spacing as small as 600 nm (<λ 0 /2.5). Our experiments show a transmission efficiency >–2 dB and an extinction ratio >15 dB over a bandwidth larger than 60 nm. This performance can be improved with better design algorithms and industry-standard lithography. The nanophotonic cloak relies on multiple guided-mode resonances, which render such devices very robust to fabrication errors. Our devices are broadly complimentary-metal-oxide-semiconductor compatible, have a minimum pitch of 200 nm and can be fabricated with a single lithography step. In conclusion, the nanophotonic cloaks can be generally applied to all passive integrated photonics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Reverse-absorbance-modulation-optical lithography for optical nanopatterning at low light levels

Absorbance-Modulation-Optical Lithography (AMOL) has been previously demonstrated to be able to confine light to deep sub-wavelength dimensions and thereby, enable patterning of features beyond the diffraction limit. In AMOL, a thin photochromic layer that converts between two states via light exposure is placed on top of the photoresist layer. The long wavelength photons render the photochromic layer opaque, while the short-wavelength photons render it transparent. By simultaneously illuminating a ring-shaped spot at the long wavelength and a round spot at the short wavelength, the photochromic layer transmits only a highly confined beam at the short wavelength, which then exposes the underlying photoresist. Many photochromic molecules suffer from a giant mismatch in quantum yields for the opposing reactions such that the reaction initiated by the absorption of the short-wavelength photon is orders of magnitude more efficient than that initiated by the absorption of the long-wavelength photon. As a result, large intensities in the ring-shaped spot are required for deep sub-wavelength nanopatterning. In this article, we overcome this problem by using the long-wavelength photons to expose the photoresist, and the short-wavelength photons to confine the “exposing” beam. Thereby, we demonstrate the patterning of features as thin as λ/4.7 (137 nm for λ = 647 nm) using extremely low intensities (4-30 W/m{sup 2}, which is 34 times lower than that required in conventional AMOL). We further apply a rigorous model to explain our experiments and discuss the scope of the reverse-AMOL process.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

A comprehensive simulation model of the performance of photochromic films in absorbance-modulation-optical-lithography

Optical lithography is the most prevalent method of fabricating micro-and nano-scale structures in the semiconductor industry due to the fact that patterning using photons is fast, accurate and provides high throughput. However, the resolution of this technique is inherently limited by the physical phenomenon of diffraction. Absorbance-Modulation-Optical Lithography (AMOL), a recently developed technique has been successfully demonstrated to be able to circumvent this diffraction limit. AMOL employs a dual-wavelength exposure system in conjunction with spectrally selective reversible photo-transitions in thin films of photochromic molecules to achieve patterning of features with sizes beyond the far-field diffraction limit. We have developed a finite-element-method based full-electromagnetic-wave solution model that simulates the photo-chemical processes that occur within the thin film of the photochromic molecules under illumination by the exposure and confining wavelengths in AMOL. This model allows us to understand how the material characteristics influence the confinement to sub-diffraction dimensions, of the transmitted point spread function (PSF) of the exposure wavelength inside the recording medium. The model reported here provides the most comprehensive analysis of the AMOL process to-date, and the results show that the most important factors that govern the process, are the polarization of the two beams, the ratio of the intensities of the two wavelengths, the relative absorption coefficients and the concentration of the photochromic species, the thickness of the photochromic layer and the quantum yields of the photoreactions at the two wavelengths. The aim of this work is to elucidate the requirements of AMOL in successfully circumventing the far-field diffraction limit.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Chromatic-aberration-corrected diffractive lenses for ultra-broadband focusing

We exploit the inherent dispersion in diffractive optics to demonstrate planar chromatic-aberration-corrected lenses. Specifically, we designed, fabricated and characterized cylindrical diffractive lenses that efficiently focus the entire visible band (450 nm to 700 nm) onto a single line. These devices are essentially pixelated, multi-level microstructures. Experiments confirm an average optical efficiency of 25% for a three-wavelength apochromatic lens whose chromatic focus shift is only 1.3 μm and 25 μm in the lateral and axial directions, respectively. Super-achromatic performance over the continuous visible band is also demonstrated with averaged lateral and axial focus shifts of only 1.65 μm and 73.6 μm, respectively. These lenses are easy to fabricate using single-step grayscale lithography and can be inexpensively replicated. Furthermore, these devices are thin (<3 μm), error tolerant, has low aspect ratio (<1:1) and offer polarization-insensitive focusing, all significant advantages compared to alternatives that rely on metasurfaces. Lastly, our design methodology offers high design flexibility in numerical aperture and focal length, and is readily extended to 2D.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗