Metaoptics Design: From Single Surfaces to Co-Optimized Systems

Metasurfaces have come a long way from a small lab demo to now being used in smartphones and other consumer electronics. The design and manufacturing methods for metaoptics are growing more advanced in parallel with the market adoption.

While metasurfaces excel at controlling optical wavefronts and polarization with minimal size, designers must consider the diffractive effects such as zeroth order and spectral shifts.

In this webinar, Penninck will show how to design metaoptical systems from single meta-atoms to systems of multiple metasurfaces. The wave effects of subwavelength structure on imaging and other system performance are modeled by multiscale simulations. Simultaneously, process design kits (PDKs) allow for a direct manufacturer-compatible metalens design. These developments mean that leveraging the strengths of flat and compact metaoptics is now broadly accessible.

About the presenter
Lieven Penninck, Ph.D., is an expert on optical modeling methods focusing on meta-surfaces and nanophotonics. In 2019, he founded PlanOpSim to develop and offer numerical simulation software for the design of metasurfaces, metalenses, and planar optics.

Aside from software development, PlanOpSim also provides optical design services to the photonics and optics industry. He holds a doctorate in photonics engineering from Ghent University for his work on the development of simulation methods for OLED and liquid crystal devices.

Outside of academia, he worked on LCD display research and development, along with simulation and measurement of OLEDs and solar cells in various roles.