Simple and universal method in designs of high-efficiency diffractive optical elements for spectrum separation and beam concentration

Diffractive optical elements（DOEs） with spectrum separation and beam concentration（SSBC） functions have important applications in solar cell systems. With the SSBC DOEs, the sunlight radiation is divided into several wave bands so as to be effectively absorbed by photovoltaic materials with different band gaps. A new method is proposed for designing high-efficiency SSBC DOEs, which is physically simple, numerically fast, and universally applicable. The SSBC DOEs are designed by the new design method, and their performances are analyzed by the Fresnel diffraction integral method.The new design method takes two advantages over the previous design method. Firstly, the optical focusing efficiency is heightened by up to 10%. Secondly, focal positions of all the designed wavelengths can be designated arbitrarily and independently. It is believed that the designed SSBC DOEs should have practical applications to solar cell systems.

Design of Diffractive Optical Elements Used for Beam Shaping in the Fresnel Domain

In the Fresnel transform domain, an effective improvement to the conventional iterative algorithm for designing the diffractive optical elements (DOEs) used for spatial beam shaping has been proposed. The algorithm can successfully achieve to design DOEs for beam shaping. Compared with conventional algorithm, this algorithm can provide faster convergence, more powerful ability to overcome local minimum problem and better shaping quality. By computer simulation, the result has shown that the DOEs designed by this algorithm has snch advantages as high uniformity at the main lobe, low profile error and steep edge.

Subwavelength Diffractive Optical Elements

1 Introduction 1.1 Advantages of DOE 1)High diffraction efficiency; 2)Dispersive; 3)More selectivity of designing parameters; 4)More selectivity of primary materials; 5)Can make components miniature,forming array and integration. 1.2 1.3 megapixel triplet plastic mobile

Diffractive optical elements 75 years on:from micro-optics to metasurfaces

Diffractive optical elements(DOEs)are intricately designed devices with the purpose of manipulating light fields by precisely modifying their wavefronts.The concept of DOEs has its origins dating back to 1948 when D.Gabor first introduced holography.Subsequently,researchers introduced binary optical elements(BOEs),including computer-generated holograms(CGHs),as a distinct category within the realm of DOEs.This was the first revolution in optical devices.The next major breakthrough in light field manipulation occurred during the early 21st century,marked by the advent of metamaterials and metasurfaces.Metasurfaces are particularly appealing due to their ultra-thin,ultra-compact properties and their capacity to exert precise control over virtually every aspect of light fields,including amplitude,phase,polarization,wavelength/frequency,angular momentum,etc.The advancement of light field manipulation with micro/nano-structures has also enabled various applications in fields such as information acquisition,transmission,storage,processing,and display.In this review,we cover the fundamental science,cutting-edge technologies,and wide-ranging applications associated with micro/nano-scale optical devices for regulating light fields.We also delve into the prevailing challenges in the pursuit of developing viable technology for real-world applications.Furthermore,we offer insights into potential future research trends and directions within the realm of light field manipulation.

A single diffractive optical element implementing spectrum-splitting and beam-concentration functions simultaneously with high diffraction efficiency

In this paper,a novel method is proposed and employed to design a single diffractive optical element（DOE） for implementing spectrum-splitting and beam-concentration（SSBC） functions simultaneously.We develop an optimization algorithm,through which the SSBC DOE can be optimized within an arbitrary thickness range according to the limitations of modern photolithography technology.Theoretical simulation results reveal that the designed SSBC DOE has a high optical focusing efficiency.It is expected that the designed SSBC DOE should have practical applications in high-efficiency solar cell systems.

Realizing high photovoltaic efficiency with parallel multijunction solar cells based on spectrum-splitting and-concentrating diffractive optical element

Based on the facts that multijunction solar cells can increase the efficiency and concentration can reduce the cost dramatically, a special design of parallel multijunction solar cells was presented. The design employed a diffractive optical element （DOE） to split and concentrate the sunlight. A rainbow region and a zero-order diffraction region were generated on the output plane where solar cells with corresponding band gaps were placed. An analytical expression of the light intensity distribution on the output plane of the special DOE was deduced, and the limiting photovoltaic efficiency of such parallel multijunction solar ceils was obtained based on Shockley-Queisser＇s theory. An efficiency exceeding the Shockley--Queisser limit （33%） can be expected using multijunction solar cells consisting of separately fabricated subcells. The results provide an important alternative approach to realize high photovoltaic efficiency without the need for expensive epitaxial technology widely used in tandem solar cells, thus stimulating the research and application of high efficiency and low cost solar cells.

Spectrum-Splitting Diffractive Optical Element of High Concentration Factor and High Optical Efficiency for Three-Junction Photovoltaics

A spectrum-splitting and beam-concentrating （SSBC） diffractive optical element （DOE） for three-junction pho- tovoltaics （PV） system is designed and fabricated by five-circ/e micro-fabrication. The incident solar light is efficiently split into three sub-spectrum ranges and strongly concentrated on the focal plane, which can be di- rectly utilized by suitable spectrum-matching solar cells. The system concentration factor reaches 12x. Moreover, the designed wavelengths （450nm, 550nm and 65Onto） are spatially distributed on the focal plane, in good agree- ment with the theoretical results. The average optical effic/ency of all the cells over the three designed wavelengths is 60.07%. The SSBC DOE with a high concentration factor and a high optical efficiency provides a cost-effective approach to achieve higher PV conversion efficieneies.

Design optimization of highly efficient spectrum-splitting and beam-concentrating diffractive optical element for lateral multijunction solar cells

Two improved algorithms are proposed to extend a diffractive optical element （DOE） to work under the broad spec- trum of sunlight. An optimum design has been found for the DOE, with a weighted average optical efficiency of about 6.8% better than that of the previous design. The optimization of designing high optical efficiency DOEs will pave the way for future designs of high-efficiency, low-cost lateral multijunction solar cells based on such a DOE.

A multi-photon(7×7)-focus 3D laser printer based on a 3D-printed diffractive optical element and a 3D-printed multi-lens array

One of the challenges in the field of multi-photon 3D laser printing lies in further increasing the print speed in terms of voxels/s.Here,we present a setup based on a 7×7 focus array(rather than 3×3 in our previous work)and using a focus velocity of about 1 m/s(rather than 0.5 m/s in our previous work)at the diffraction limit(40×/NA1.4 microscope objective lens).Combined,this advance leads to a ten times increased print speed of about 108 voxels/s.We demonstrate polymer printing of a chiral metamaterial containing more than 1.7×10^(12) voxels as well as millions of printed microparticles for potential pharmaceutical applications.The critical high-quality micro-optical components of the setup,namely a diffractive optical element generating the 7×7 beamlets and a 7×7 lens array,are manufactured by using a commercial two-photon grayscale 3D laser printer.

Design of refractive/diffractive hybrid optical elements for beam shaping with large diffraction pattern

Diffractive optics is an important technique for beam shaping with high light efficiency and strong diffraction pattern flexibility. Since the diffraction angle is limited by the unit size of the diffractive optical element （DOE）, the size of the required diffraction pattern is always rather small. In this Letter, refractive/diffractive hybrid optical elements （RDHOEs） consisting of a DOE and a lens are used to realize beam shaping for a large diffraction pattern. The lens, as the component of the RDHOEs, can not only be concave but also convex, and the double sampling Fresnel diffraction algorithm is developed for the design of these two types of RDHOEs. The simulation and experimental results provide solid evidence to demonstrate the proposed method with the pure phase spatial light modulator.

Zone plate design for generating annular-focused beams

Annular-focused beams have attracted attention because of their novel properties and applications in optical trapping, high resolution microscopy, and laser-induced periodic surface structuring. Generation of this beam is very important and necessary. In this article, a novel design of zone plate for forming the annular-focused beams is proposed. The design principle is introduced, and the characteristics of zone plate are analyzed by numerical simulation. The result shows that the zone plate can form a monochromatic ring-shaped intensity distribution in the focal plane. And the design method is also generally suitable for designing the other optical elements to generate the annular-focused beams.

RECENT PROGRESS IN MULTIFOCAL MULTIPHOTON MICROSCOPY

Multifocal multiphoton microscopy(MMM)has recently become an important tool in biomedicine for performing three-dimensional fastfluorescence imaging.Using various beamsplitting techniques,MMM splits the near-infrared laser beam into multiple beamlets and produces a multifocal array on the sample for parallel multiphoton excitation and then recordsfluorescence signal from all foci simultaneously with an area array detector,which significantly improves the imaging speed of multiphoton microscopy and allows for high efficiency in use of the excitation light.In this paper,we discuss the features of several MMM setups using different beamsplitting devices,including a Nipkow spinning disk,a microlens array,a set of beamsplitting mirrors,or a diffractive optical element(DOE).In particular,we present our recent work on the development of an MMM using a spatial light modulator(SLM).

Diffractive Optical Elements for Dynamic Optical Coupling

Diffractive optical elements such as the complementary Dammann gratings are incorporated for dynamic optical fiber splitting and combining. Experimental results of 1×8 dynamic optical couplings are presented.

Correction of dispersion distortion of femtosecond pulses by using the non-planar surface of diffractive optical elements

Peculiarities of propagation of femtosecond pulses through a focusing diffractive optical element (DOE) are considered. It is shown that the time delay between the pulse and phase wavefronts can be decreased by fabricating the DOE on the optimal curvilinear surface.

Laser beam characteristic for laser resonators with diffraction optical elements

The matrix eigenvalue method is used to analyze a laser resonator composed of diffraction optical elements. The results show that this type of resonator can separate fundamental mode and high order modes effectively. The output beams can be designed for different requests.

End-to-end optimization of a diffractive optical element and aberration correction for integral imaging

In the integral imaging light field display, the introduction of a diffractive optical element (DOE) can solve the problem of limited depth of field of the traditional lens. However, the strong aberration of the DOE significantly reduces the final display quality. Thus, herein, an end-to-end joint optimization method for optimizing DOE and aberration correction is proposed. The DOE model is established using thickness as the variable, and a deep learning network is built to preprocess the composite image loaded on the display panel. The simulation results show that the peak signal to noise ratio value of the optimized image increases by 8 dB, which confirms that the end-to-end joint optimization method can effectively reduce the aberration problem.

Development of space-based diffractive telescopes

Membrane diffractive optical elements formed by fabricating microstructures on the substrates have two important characteristics,ultra-light mass(surface mass density<0.1 kg/m2)and loose surface shape tolerances(surface accuracy requirements are on the order of magnitude of centimeter).Large-aperture telescopes using a membrane diffractive optical element as the primary lens have super large aperture,light weight,and low cost at launch.In this paper,the research and development on space-based diffractive telescopes are classified and summarized.First,the imaging theory and the configuration of diffractive-optics telescopes are discussed.Then,the developments in diffractive telescopes are introduced.Finally,the development prospects for this technology used as a high-resolution space reconnaissance system in the future are summarized,and the critical and relevant work that China should carry out is put forward.

DOE effect on BER performance in MSK space uplink chaotic optical communication

With the increasing demand for space optical communication security, space chaotic optical communication has attracted a great amount of attention. Compared with traditional space optical communication, a chaotic optical communication system has a higher bit error rate(BER) for its complex system design. In order to decrease the BER of space chaotic optical communication systems, we introduce two diffractive optical elements(DOEs)at a transmitting terminal(Tx). That is because the commonly used reflective optical antenna at Tx blocks the central part of the transmission beam, which leads to a great amount of power consumption. Introducing the DOEs into the optical subsystem at Tx can reshape the transmission beam from a Gaussian distribution to a hollow Gaussian distribution so that the block of the secondary mirror in the reflective optical antenna can be avoided. In terms of the DOE influence on communication quality, we give a BER model based on a minimumshift-key(MSK) space uplink chaotic optical communication system to describe the DOE function. Based on the model, we further investigate the effect of the DOEs through analyzing the BER relationship versus basic system parameters based on the BER model. Both different mismatch conditions of chaotic systems and different atmospheric turbulence conditions are considered. These results will be helpful for the scheme design of space uplink chaotic optical communication systems.

Ferroelectric liquid crystals for fast switchable circular Dammann grating [Invited]

Diffractive optical elements attract a considerable amount of attention, mainly due to their potential applications in imaging coding, optical sensing, etc. Application of ferroelectric liquid crystals(FLCs) with photoalignment technology in diffractive optical elements results in a high efficiency and a fast response time. In this study we demonstrate a circular Dammann grating(CDG) with a diffraction efficiency of 84.5%. The achieved response time of 64 μs is approximately two orders of magnitude faster than the existing response time of nematic liquid crystal devices. By applying a low electric field(V = 6 V) to the FLC CDG, it is switched between the eight-order diffractive state and the transmissive diffraction-free state.

Holography with high-power CW coherent terahertz source: optical components, imaging, and applications

This paper presents the results of 15 years of studies in the field of terahertz holography at the Novosibirsk free electron laser.They cover two areas:research on obtaining holographic images in the terahertz range and the use of diffractive optical elements to form high-power terahertz radiation fields with specified characteristics(intensity,phase,and polarization),using well-studied and widely applied in the optical range methods of optical(analog),digital,and computer-generated holography.All experiments were performed with the application of high-power coherent monochromatic frequency-tunable radiation from the Novosibirsk free electron laser.The features of hologram registration in the terahertz range are described.Methods,technologies,and optical materials for terahertz holographic elements are discussed.A wide range of promising applications of high-power terahertz fields with a given spatial structure is considered.The results of the study of terahertz holograms recorded as digital holograms,as well as radiation-resistive optical elements realized as computer-synthesized holograms,are presented.