Abstract

Inverse design (ID) is based on a black box optimization problem. Here intuition normally is a bad thing, guiding the design process into wrong paths making the black box rather look gray. A pure inverse designed device includes very few input parameters set by the designer. In other words, the more the designer rely on the optimization process to solved his problem rather than himself, the better the result. Scattering Optical Elements (SOE) is a new family of optical devices designed using the ID approach. SOEs can be described as second generation DOE devices where the concept of multiple scattering is included. By optimizing the positions and/or size of an array of dielectric scattering elements the image of the scattered light can be controlled with very high accuracy. This seminar will walk you through the basics of the implemented ID tool, including the Multiple Scattering Theory, used to solve Maxwell’s equations for two-dimensional dielectric material distributions, and the Genetic Algorithm, where the evolution, seen through the eyes of Darwin, is used as an optimization process. It will be shown how this ID tool can be applied for automatic design of a library of different photonic devices such as lenses[1-2], wavelength de-multiplexer[3-4] or optical sources⁵.

[1] L. Sanchis et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 4460 (2004) [2] A. Håkansson et al., IEEE J . Sel. Areas Comm. 23, 1365 (2005) [3] A. Håkansson et al., Opt. Comm. 13, 5440 (2005) [4] A. Håkansson et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 87, 193506 (2005) [5] A. Håkansson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 153902 (2006)