VCSELs with On-Facet Metasurfaces for Polarization State Generation and Detection

Polarization plays a critical role in optical systems that range from optical communications to imaging, lithography, metrology, and data storage. Thus, in systems that need to generate a certain polarization state, a light source (e.g., laser) is combined with polarization control elements such as polarizers, polarizing beam splitters, and waveplates. Similarly, in systems requiring polarization state detection, such elements are combined with photodetectors. There is currently a trend toward miniaturized optical systems. This motivates the question of how to achieve what may be argued as an ultimate level of miniaturization: a single chip that can both generate light with a prescribed polarization state and detect the polarization state of light impinging upon it. This paper demonstrates this via vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) with on-facet metasurfaces. Two classes of devices are demonstrated. The first class uses high-index dielectric metasurfaces (amorphous silicon nanofins), whereas the second class uses plasmonic metasurfaces (aluminum bilayer gratings). Each can operate as a laser (to generate) and as a photodetector (to detect) circularly or linearly polarized light