Optical generation of a spatially variant two-dimensional lattice structure by using a phase only spatial light modulator

TL;DR

This paper presents a simple, scalable optical method to generate spatially variant 2D lattice structures using phase-only spatial light modulators, enabling independent control of lattice orientation and period for advanced photonic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, digitally reconfigurable approach for fabricating spatially variant 2D lattices via optical interference lithography with independent control over lattice parameters.

Findings

Successfully fabricated a square lattice guiding a Gaussian beam through a 90° bend.

Method allows independent variation of lattice orientation and period.

The approach is scalable and adaptable to different lattice types.

Abstract

We propose a simple and straightforward method to generate a spatially variant lattice structures by optical interference lithography method. Using this method, it is possible to independently vary the orientation and period of the two-dimensional lattice. The method consists of two steps which are: numerical synthesis of corresponding phase mask by employing a two-dimensional integrated gradient calculations and experimental implementation of synthesized phase mask by making use of a phase only spatial light modulator in an optical 4f Fourier filtering setup. As a working example, we provide the experimental fabrication of a spatially variant square lattice structure which has the possibility to guide a Gaussian beam through a 90{\deg} bend by photonic crystal self-collimation phenomena. The method is digitally reconfigurable, is completely scalable and could be extended to other kind of lattices as well.