Inverse design of functional photonic patches by adjoint optimization coupled to the generalized Mie theory

TL;DR

This paper introduces a rigorous inverse design method for photonic patches using adjoint optimization combined with generalized Mie theory, enabling efficient creation of nanostructures with tailored optical functions.

Contribution

It couples adjoint optimization with 2D-GMT for the first time to design finite-size dielectric nanocylinder arrays with specific scattering properties.

Findings

Optimized aperiodic Vogel spiral patches outperform periodic ones in achromatic focusing.

The method reduces computational costs compared to traditional numerical optimization.

Designed structures effectively enhance local density of states at multiple wavelengths.

Abstract

We propose a rigorous approach for the inverse design of functional photonic structures by coupling the adjoint optimization method and the two-dimensional generalized Mie theory (2D-GMT) for the multiple scattering problem of finite-size arrays of dielectric nanocylinders optimized to display desired functions. We refer to these functional scattering structures as "photonic patches". We briefly introduce the formalism of 2D-GMT and the critical steps necessary to implement the adjoint optimization algorithm to photonic patches with designed radiation properties. In particular, we showcase several examples of periodic and aperiodic photonic patches with optimal nanocylinder radii and arrangements for radiation shaping, wavefront focusing in the Fresnel zone, and for the enhancement of the local density of states (LDOS) at multiple wavelengths over micron-size areas. Moreover, we systematically compare the performances of periodic and aperiodic patches with different sizes and find that optimized aperiodic Vogel spiral geometries feature significant advantages in achromatic focusing compared to their periodic counterparts. Our results show that adjoint optimization coupled to 2D-GMT is a robust methodology for the inverse design of compact photonic devices that operate in the multiple scattering regime with optimal desired functionalities. Without the need of spatial meshing, our approach provides efficient solutions at strongly reduced computational burden compared to standard numerical optimization techniques and suggests compact device geometries for on-chip photonics and metamaterials technologies.