Polarization-selective optical nanostructures for optical MEMS integration

Optical nanostructures have the potential to provide useful new functionalities, using materials and fabrication methods that are compatible with standard silicon-based processes. For example, it has been shown that a nanoscale grating coated with a metal layer produces polarization-selective reflectivity (Paeder, 2011 and Paeder et al., 2009), based on the combined effects of form birefringence and a resonant cavity (Tyan et al., 1997). In this work, we adapt this design approach to develop two devices optimized to operate around 1.55 μm wavelength: a polarizing beam splitter, and a polarization-selective reflector. Such devices are of particular interest as they may provide optical properties such as polarization selectivity or enhanced reflectivity using nanostructures compatible with optical micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).