Metasurface-based Fourier lens fed by compact plasmonic optical antennas for wide-angle beam steering

A Fourier lens can perform the Fourier transform of an incident wavefront at the focal plane. This paper reports a metasurface-based Fourier lens fed by compact plasmonic optical antennas for wide-angle beam steering. The metasurface, composed of six elements with different configurations covering the 2π phase range, features a large field-of-view (FOV) of ±50°. A novel plasmonic optical antenna for broadside radiation is then designed as the feed source of the metasurface. The proposed antenna has ultra-compact size of 0.77λ × 1.4λ, and achieves a high directivity of 9.6 dB and radiation efficiency of over 80% at the wavelength of 1550 nm. Full-wave simulations are carried out to evaluate the performances of the designed metasurface-assisted beam steering device. The results show that this device can achieve a maximum directivity of 21.5 dB at broadside radiation. Compared to conventional Yagi-Uda antenna feed, a directivity enhancement of about 2.7 dB can be obtained, exhibiting a great superiority of the proposed feed antenna. In addition, a large beam steering range of ±50° can be achieved with an acceptable gain drop of 2.83 dB. With the advantages of wide beam steering range, good radiation characteristics, small footprint, and ease of integration, the proposed metasurface-assisted beam steering device would be a promising candidate for integrated photonic applications, including wireless optical communications, light detection and ranging, and augmented reality.