Metasurface doublet-integrated bidirectional grating antenna enabling enhanced wavelength-tuned beam steering

Abstract

We propose and demonstrate an optical phased-array-based bidirectional grating antenna (BDGA) in silicon nitride waveguides. The BDGA is integrated with a miniaturized all-dielectric metasurface doublet (MD) formed on a glass substrate. The BDGA device, which takes advantage of alternately feeding light to its ports in opposite directions, is presumed to effectively provide a doubled wavelength-tuned steering efficiency compared to its unidirectional counterpart. The MD, which is based on vertically cascaded convex and concave metalenses comprising circular hydrogenated amorphous silicon nanopillars, is meticulously placed atop the BDGA chip to accept and deflect a beam emanating from the emission area, thereby boosting the beam-steering performance. The manufactured BDGA could achieve an enhanced beam-steering efficiency of 0.148 deg/nm as well as a stable spectral emission response in the wavelength range of 1530–1600 nm. By deploying a fabricated MD atop the silicon photonic BDGA chip, the steering efficiency was confirmed to be boosted by a factor of ∼ 3.1 , reaching 0.461 deg/nm, as intended.