Tuning the infrared resonance of thermal emission from metasurfaces working in near-infrared.

We simulated numerically and demonstrated experimentally that the thermal emittance of a metasurface consisting of an array of rectangular metallic meta-atoms patterned on a layered periodic dielectric structure grown on top of a metallic layer can be tuned by changing several parameters. The resonance frequency, designed to be in the near-infrared spectral region, can be tuned by modifying the number of dielectric periods, and the polarization and incidence angle of the incoming radiation. In addition, the absorbance/emittance value at the resonant wavelength can be tuned by modifying the orientation of meta-atoms with respect to the illumination direction.

Silicon Metalens Fabrication from Electron Beam to UV-Nanoimprint Lithography.

This study presents the design and manufacture of metasurface lenses optimized for focusing light with 1.55 µm wavelength. The lenses are fabricated on silicon substrates using electron beam lithography, ultraviolet-nanoimprint lithography and cryogenic deep reactive-ion etching techniques. The designed metasurface makes use of the geometrical phase principle and consists of rectangular pillars with target dimensions of height h = 1200 nm, width w = 230 nm, length l = 354 nm and periodicity p = 835 nm. The simulated efficiency of the lens is 60%, while the master lenses obtained by using electron beam lithography are found to have an efficiency of 45%. The lenses subsequently fabricated via nanoimprint are characterized by an efficiency of 6%; the low efficiency is mainly attributed to the rounding of the rectangular nanostructures during the pattern transfer processes from the resist to silicon due to the presence of a thicker residual layer.

Low-loss ultrasound transmission through glass assisted by resonance.

We have investigated transmission of ultrasound signals from a speaker in air through a 400 µm thick borosilicate glass plate, similar to those found in consumer electronics products such as mobile phones and tablets. In order to enhance transmission, we took advantage of resonances in the glass plate and a cavity, which is placed between the glass and the microphone. The results show that it is possible to achieve transmission of a signal with bandwidth of approximately 5 kHz with less than -10 dB attenuation, and only -2 dB attenuation at the resonance peak frequency. With more optimized assembly the attenuation can be further reduced. Finite element simulations and analytical considerations show that there are two main resonance peaks, attributed to the glass resonance and cavity resonance, respectively. The geometry can be tuned to exploit the synergy of these two resonances in order to tailor the peak frequency, the bandwidth and to optimize transmission.