Broadband, High-Reflectivity Dielectric Mirrors at Wafer Scale: Combining Photonic Crystal and Metasurface Architectures for Advanced Lightsails
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2023
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| _version_ | 1866929676158500864 |
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| author | Chang, Jin Ji, Wenye Yao, Xiong van Run, Arnold J. Gröblacher, Simon |
| author_facet | Chang, Jin Ji, Wenye Yao, Xiong van Run, Arnold J. Gröblacher, Simon |
| contents | Highly ambitious initiatives aspire to propel a miniature spacecraft to a neighboring star within a human generation, leveraging the radiation pressure of lasers for propulsion. One of the main challenges to achieving this enormous feat is to build a meter-scale, ultra-low mass lightsail with broadband reflectivity. In this work, we present the design and fabrication of such a lightsail composed of two distinct dielectric layers and patterned with a photonic crystal structure covering a 4" wafer. We overcome the crucial challenge of achieving broad band reflection of >70% spanning over the full Doppler-shifted laser wavelength range during spacecraft acceleration, in combination with low total mass in the range of a few grams when scaled to meter size. Furthermore, we find new paths to reliably fabricate these sub-wavelength structures over macroscopic areas and then systematically characterize their optical performance, confirming their suitability for future lightsail applications. Our innovative device design and precise nanofabrication approaches represent a significant leap toward interstellar exploration. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_04471 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Broadband, High-Reflectivity Dielectric Mirrors at Wafer Scale: Combining Photonic Crystal and Metasurface Architectures for Advanced Lightsails Chang, Jin Ji, Wenye Yao, Xiong van Run, Arnold J. Gröblacher, Simon Optics Applied Physics Highly ambitious initiatives aspire to propel a miniature spacecraft to a neighboring star within a human generation, leveraging the radiation pressure of lasers for propulsion. One of the main challenges to achieving this enormous feat is to build a meter-scale, ultra-low mass lightsail with broadband reflectivity. In this work, we present the design and fabrication of such a lightsail composed of two distinct dielectric layers and patterned with a photonic crystal structure covering a 4" wafer. We overcome the crucial challenge of achieving broad band reflection of >70% spanning over the full Doppler-shifted laser wavelength range during spacecraft acceleration, in combination with low total mass in the range of a few grams when scaled to meter size. Furthermore, we find new paths to reliably fabricate these sub-wavelength structures over macroscopic areas and then systematically characterize their optical performance, confirming their suitability for future lightsail applications. Our innovative device design and precise nanofabrication approaches represent a significant leap toward interstellar exploration. |
| title | Broadband, High-Reflectivity Dielectric Mirrors at Wafer Scale: Combining Photonic Crystal and Metasurface Architectures for Advanced Lightsails |
| topic | Optics Applied Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.04471 |