(DURIP) MUELLER MATRIX ELLIPSOMETER FOR METASURFACE CHARACTERIZATION
Abstract
Ongoing DOD research at the Center for Metamaterials at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) centers on the fabrication of metamaterials and metasurfaces for a wide range of applications at visible to millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies. The design and fabrication of the next-generation IR/mmW sensing and beam-steering systems will be enabled by such dynamic metasurfaces components’ with tailored polarization properties. We have recently discovered that reciprocal metasurfaces which are composed of nanostructured arrays separated by a dielectric spacer layer offer exceptional sensing capabilities. Numerical simulations suggest that such surfaces, in combination with conformal coatings of metalinsulator materials, allow the fabrication of devices for active beam-steering and thermal emission control. The critical issue in the fabrication and optimization of the metasurfaces is the accurate knowledge of their complete polarization-optical response. Thus, we propose to add a fast, complete Mueller matrix ellipsometer to our existing characterization facilities. Specifically, we propose a J.A. Woollam RC2 with Vertical Auto Angle Base allowing reflection and transmission measurements of the complete Mueller matrix in the spectral range from 210 – 2500 nm with automated sample rotation, sample camera, and beam focusing (beam diameter = 120 ?m). The Optics Center at UNCC provides access to complete in-house facilities for design, fabrication, and characterization of metamaterials and metasurfaces. To date, Center for Metamaterials supported 42 PhD students, with 6 PhD students presently supported by DODrelated research projects. These students are enrolled in degree programs in Optics, EE, and Physics at UNCC. The equipment requested will have ongoing use in the training of graduate students in the fabrication and processing of nano-structured IR-sensing and beam steering devices, and the resulting understanding of the polarization optical properties of the fabricated metasurfaces will close the loop between design and fabrication and enable crucial design choices to increase the performance of the sensors under development.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 20, 2023
- Source ID
- FA95502210480
Entities
People
- Tino Hofmann
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte