1. Building a Metalens

Choose a Unit Cell

You will now see the BUILD module as shown in the image below. In "UNIT CELL LIBRARY" section, select the unit cell "". This is the unit cell data we will be using in this tutorial. Once you select, it will show details about the unit cell on the right side of the screen.

  • Descriptions of some parameters

    • Inc. Med. Ref. Index: incident medium's refractive index.

    • Trans. Med. Ref. Index: transmitted medium's refractive index.

    • Polarization: polarization of incident light. For example, 'E//x' means the electric field is parallel to the x-axis.

Click the information icon () next to parameters to see details.

You can also add your own unit cell data to the unit cell library in SMD PRO. See details at How to Add User-Defined Unit Cell to Unit Cell Library .

BUILD module.

Set Lens Characteristics

Under "LENS CHARACTERISTICS", enter values as shown in the image below and make sure all units are correct (default is µm). 'Lens Size' refers to the side length of a square-shaped lens (we will use a circular aperture later in the simulation). The coordinate of the focal point is given by (x = xf, y = yf, z = -f), where f: focal length, and (0, 0, -f) refers to the center at the focal plane, where the optical axis lies. To see details about the coordinate system SMD PRO uses, click the information icon () next to 'Orientation' in the area of unit cell details.

Lens size and focal point coordinates.

In SMD PRO, coordinate origin (x = 0, y = 0, z = 0) is at the center of the lens surface.

Some lens design examples are provided in Lens Design Examples

Set Unit Cell Arrangement Conditions

We will use sweep to build our metalens. Under "UNIT CELL ARRANGEMENT", click the check box "Build with Parameter Sweep" and enter values as shown in the below image.

  • Transmittance Min.: SMD PRO will build the metalens with unit cells that have a transmittance equal to or greater than this value (0 - 1 scale).

  • Phase Error Max.: This refers to the maximum allowed difference between the selected unit cell's phase delay and the ideal phase delay at that position on the lens surface.

Sweep parameters.

Build the Metalens

Now, click BUILD METALENS to start building the lens! Once the progress completes and the lens is built successfully, GDS/OASIS files and other results will be exported to the directory your_SMDPRO_project_folder/results/build .

  • Results from BUILD module

    • Extra phase figures (.png)

    • GDS/OASIS files (.gds or .oas)

    • (.txt) (optional)

Notice that the SIMULATE button in the left sidebar is now activated. Click either that button or CONTINUE TO SIMULATE on the bottom right.

BUILD module: build complete.

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