Properties of silicon integrated photonic lenses: bandwidth, chromatic aberration, and polarization dependence

Abstract. We analyze the properties of silicon integrated photonic lenses based on scattering optical elements. The devices have been inverse-designed by combining genetic algorithms and the multiple scattering theory. These lenses are able to focus an infrared plane wave front on a position freely determined during the design stage. The nanofabricated silicon integrated lenses have proved effective over a large range of wavelengths, measured to be of the order of 100 nm. The lenses show chromatic aberration, with a displacement of the position of the focus measured to be higher than 1.5 μm when the wavelength varies from 1500 to 1600 nm. Moreover, we analyze the polarization of the focused beam thanks to a polarization-sensitive scanning near-field optical microscope. The measurements show that the lenses focus on a definite point only for the design’s polarization. The properties of these lenses enable them to assume the function of a nanofocusing device in silicon-on-insulator integrated optics.

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