Non-periodic sub-wavelength gratings fabricated by helium ion beam lithography

Sub-wavelength dielectric gratings (SWGs) have promised applications in free-space optical filtering and sensing with their broad spectral range and high reflectivity. Recently our group discovered a remarkable property of high-index-contrast gratings: a carefully designed non-periodic SWG pattern allows full control of the phase front of the propagated light while maintaining a high reflectivity [1]. This new feature opens up possibility of creating miniature optical elements that can be fabricated in thin planar dielectrics with low cost and high volume for integrated photonics and other commercial optics applications. We used that property to fabricate an amorphous silicon focusing mirror [1], and a silicon binary tilting mirror that mimics a blazed diffraction grating [2], using electron beam lithography (EBL). However, the device experimental results were not ideal comparing to the design targets largely due to the strong proximity effect that limits the patterning of carefully chosen, non-periodic gratings for local phase tuning.