Birefringent waveplate and method for forming a waveplate having a birefringent metasurface

1. A waveplate comprising:

a substrate forming an optic;

the substrate including an integral portion forming a plurality of angled columnar features on an exposed surface thereof, the plurality of angled columnar features forming a metasurface that extends partially into a thickness of the substrate;

each of the angled columnar features having a tapering wall that forms a non-uniform cross-sectional area over a length thereof;

the plurality of angled columnar features further being aligned parallel with a directional plane formed non-parallel to a reference plane, the reference plane being normal to a surface of the substrate, and such that the tapering wall of each said angled columnar feature is non-symmetrical along a first longitudinal axis of the substrate, and symmetrical along a second axis extending orthogonal to the first longitudinal axis; and

the metasurface forming a birefringent metasurface.

2. The waveplate of claim 1 , wherein the waveplate comprises a quarter waveplate.

3. The waveplate of claim 2 , wherein:

the metasurface forms a retardation layer;

a two axis index difference is defined by Δn; and

a thickness “L” of the retardation layer is defined by:

L =λ/(4Δ n ).

4. The waveplate of claim 1 , wherein the waveplate is comprised of fused silica glass.

5. The waveplate of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of angled columnar features each extend at an angle θ of between 60° and 75° relative to the reference plane.

6. The waveplate of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of angled columnar features each extend at an angle θ of between about 50° and 60° relative to the reference plane.

7. The waveplate of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of angled columnar features each extend at an angle θ of about 40° relative to the reference plane.

8. The waveplate of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of angled columnar features each have a length of at least 2λ, where λ is a wavelength of an optical signal passing through the waveplate.

9. The waveplate of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of angled columnar features each have a length of from 2λ to 4λ, where λ is a wavelength of an optical signal passing through the waveplate.

10. The waveplate of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of angled columnar features each have a length of about 1 μm.

11. The waveplate of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of angled columnar features each have a length of about 1.5λ, where λ is a wavelength of an optical signal passing through the waveplate.

12. The waveplate of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of angled columnar features comprise a plurality of angled columnar projections forming an integral portion of the substrate.

13. The waveplate of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of angled columnar features comprise a plurality of angled columnar recesses forming an integral portion of the substrate.

14. A waveplate for receiving an optical signal, the waveplate comprising:

a substrate forming an optic;

the substrate including an integral portion forming a metasurface formed on an exposed surface thereof, and extending partially into a thickness of the substrate, the metasurface including a plurality of angled columnar features formed using a portion of the substrate, the angled columnar features being in a generally uniform grid-like pattern and each having a length of between 1.5λ and 4λ, where λ is a wavelength of the optical signal passing through the waveplate;

each of the angled columnar features having a tapering wall that forms a non-uniform cross-sectional area over a length thereof;

the plurality of angled columnar features further being aligned parallel with a directional plane defined by an angle θ, where θ is between 40° and 75° relative to a reference plane, the reference plane being normal to a surface of the substrate;

the tapering wall of each said angled columnar feature further being non-symmetrical along a first longitudinal axis of the substrate, and symmetrical along a second axis extending orthogonal to the first longitudinal axis; and

the metasurface forming a birefringent metasurface.

15. The waveplate of claim 14 , wherein the angled columnar features comprise at least one of angled columnar projections or angled columnar recesses, which form an integral portion of the substrate.

16. A method for forming a birefringent waveplate, the method comprising:

providing a substrate;

creating a mask on an outer surface of the substrate; and

using a material removal process, together with the mask, to remove select material portions from the substrate to form a plurality of angled columnar features which collectively extend partially into a thickness of the substrate, and collectively form a birefringent metasurface using a portion of the substrate, each of the angled columnar features further having a tapering wall that forms a non-uniform cross-sectional area over a length thereof, and further using the material removal process to form each said angled columnar feature such that each said tapering wall is non-symmetrical along a first longitudinal axis of the substrate, and symmetrical along a second axis extending orthogonal to the first longitudinal axis; and

the birefringent metasurface forming an integral portion of the substrate.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein removing select material portions from the substrate to form the angled columnar features comprises removing select material portions to form a plurality of angled columnar projections which are integral with the substrate.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein removing select material portions from the substrate to form the angled columnar features comprises removing select material portions to form a plurality of columnar angled recesses within a portion of the substrate.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein removing the select material portions further comprises creating each said one of the plurality of angled columnar features with a length of between 1.5λ and 4λ, where λ is a wavelength of an optical signal passing through the waveplate.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein using a material removal process comprises using one of a reactive ion etching (RIE) process or a reactive ion beam etching (RIBE) process.

21. The method of claim 16 , wherein creating a mask comprises depositing nano-particles on the outer surface of the substrate to impart to the mask a wavelength shorter than a wavelength λ of an optical signal passing through the waveplate.

22. The method of claim 16 , wherein creating a mask comprises forming a mask layer of material on the outer surface of the substrate and creating nano-voids in the mask layer of material.