On-chip Phase and Polarization Engineering of GaN-based blue/UV VCSELs via Metasurfaces

Project Information

MetaVCSEL

Grant agreement ID: 101027383

DOI

10.3030/101027383

Project terminated on 26 May 2023

EC signature date 29 April 2021

Start date 28 April 2022

End date 31 May 2024

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 203 852,16

EU contribution

€ 203 852,16

Coordinated by

CHALMERS TEKNISKA HOGSKOLA AB
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MetaVCSEL (On-chip Phase and Polarization Engineering of GaN-based blue/UV VCSELs via Metasurfaces)

Reporting period: 2022-04-28 to 2024-04-27

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Gallium nitride (GaN) based vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) have attracted a wide range of interests and research efforts both from the academy and industry due to their important potential as short wavelength laser source. In this context, significant progress has been made in the past decades. However, compared with the remarkable achievements in GaN based material growth, device design and fabrication, the study on the beam shaping of GaN VCSELs falls behind, which results in the poor beam quality and unstable polarization property. To solve this problem, the overall objectives of the MetaVCSEL project include the design and fabrication of optical metasurfaces that are suitable for blue and UV applications, the development of an on-chip approach to manipulate the beam profiles of the GaN VCSELs through the integration of metasurface. The results of the MetaVCSEL have demonstrated the promising capabilities of GaN based metasurfaces and diamond based metasurfaces to control the phase and polarization states of light in blue and UV regions, respectively, which can be used for integration with GaN based VCSELs.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The MetaVCSEL project has designed and fabricated GaN based metasurfaces and diamond based metasurfaces, which can be used to control the phase and polarization states of both the visible light and UV light. The work performed during the report period is summarized as below:
1) Numerical simulation and design of GaN based metasurface for the phase control of blue light.
2) Numerical simulation and design of diamond based metasurface for the phase control of blue light.
3) Numerical simulation and design of diamond based metasurface for the polarization control of both blue and UV light.
4) Experimental fabrication of GaN based metasurfaces.
5) Experimental fabrication of diamond based metasurfaces.
6) Optical characterization of metasurfaces

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The MetaVCSEL project enables a feasible and ultracompact solution to control the phase profiles and polarization states of the GaN VCSELs. The expected results of the project can promote the advance of high beam quality lasers with small divergence angle and vector lasers in the blue/UV regime, which would find a wide range of applications, such as in retinal scanning displays, visible light communications, chemical sensing, and sterilization of viruses and bacteria.

the developed diamond based metalens in the DUV region