Steering and filtering white light with resonant waveguide gratings

Abstract

A novel thin-film single-layer structure based on resonant waveguide gratings (RWGs) allows to engineer selective color filtering and steering of white light. The unit cell of the structure consists of two adjacent finite-length and cross-talking RWGs, where the former acts as in-coupler and the latter acts as out-coupler. The structure is made by only one nano-imprint lithography replication and one thin film layer deposition, making it fully compatible with up-scalable fabrication processes. We characterize a fabricated optical security element designed to work with the flash and the camera of a smartphone in off-axis light steering configuration, where the pattern is revealed only by placing the smartphone in the proper position. Widespread applications are foreseen in a variety of fields, such as multifocal or monochromatic lenses, solar cells, biosensors, security devices and seethrough optical combiners for near-eye displays.