Dynamic metasurface lens based on MEMS Technology

TL;DR

This paper presents a monolithic MEMS-integrated metasurface lens capable of dynamic beam steering and aberration correction in the mid-infrared spectrum, enabling advanced flat optical devices.

Contribution

It introduces a novel MEMS-metasurface hybrid lens with active control for beam steering and aberration correction, advancing flat optical device technology.

Findings

The device achieves ±9° tip-tilt control for beam steering.

The integrated system maintains optical performance during actuation.

Potential applications include miniaturized microscopes, LIDAR, and projection systems.

Abstract

In the recent years, metasurfaces, being flat and lightweight, have been designed to replace bulky optical components with various functions. We demonstrate a monolithic Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) integrated with a metasurface-based flat lens that focuses light in the mid-infrared spectrum. A two-dimensional scanning MEMS platform controls the angle of the lens along the two orthogonal axes (tip-tilt) by +-9 degrees, thus enabling dynamic beam steering. The device can compensate for off-axis incident light and thus correct for aberrations such as coma. We show that for low angular displacements, the integrated lens-on-MEMS system does not affect the mechanical performance of the MEMS actuators and preserves the focused beam profile as well as the measured full width at half maximum. We envision a new class of flat optical devices with active control provided by the combination of metasurfaces and MEMS for a wide range of applications, such as miniaturized MEMS-based microscope systems, LIDAR scanners, and projection systems.