Federico Capasso - Flat Optics based on Metasurfaces

Professor Federico Capasso, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Leuchs-Russell Auditorium, A.1.500, Staudtstr. 2
Location details

Abstract:

Subwavelength structured surfaces known as metasurfaces are leading to a fundamental reassessment of optical design with the emergence of optical components that circumvent the limitations of standard ones and with entirely new functionalities such as the ability to shape wavefronts in unprecedented ways by means of flat optics.1-6 I will present advances on structured light: spin-to-total angular momentum converters (J-plates), which create complex helical beams with potential for applications in quantum optics and other fields, followed by resent research on polarization optics, broad band achromatic planar lenses and wavelength-controlled focusing and orbital
angular momentum generation.

1. N. Yu and F. Capasso Nature Materials 13, 139 (2014) |
2. N. Yu et al. Science 334, 333 (2011) |
3. M. Khorasaninejad et al. Science 352, 1190 (2016)
4. M. Khorasaninejad and F. Capasso Science 358, 1146 (2017) | 5. R. C. Devlin et al. Science 358, 896 (2017) | 6. Wei-Ting Chen et al. Nature Nanotechnology
Nature Nanotechnology (2018) doi:10.1038/s41565-017-0034-6

Biography:

Federico Capasso is the Robert Wallace Professor of Applied Physics at Harvard University, which he joined in 2003 after 27 years at Bell Labs where his career advanced from postdoctoral fellow to Vice President for Physical Research. He pioneered bandgap engineering of heterostructure semiconductor materials and devices, leading him to the invention of the quantum cascade laser and flat optics based on metasurfaces, including the generalized laws of refraction and reflection and high performance metalenses. He developed MEMS based on the Casimir force and measured for the first time the repulsive Casmir force. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and a recipient of numerous awards including the Balzan Prize, The King Faisal Prize and the Enrico Fermi Prize.

MEETING THE SPEAKER
The lectures will follow a colloquium format for a broad audience and will be followed by a reception to provide an opportunity for meeting the speaker.