Light Shaping using Modulated Optical Leaky wave Nano-Antennas

In this study, to form light in an arbitrary manner, new optical leaky wave antennas are proposed to operate at the standard optical telecommunication wavelength of 1550 nm. The proposed antennas are designed based on hybrid plasmonic structures in which pattern synthesis is provided by modulation of the thickness of the silicon layer. The modulation of thickness changes the light velocity in the structure leading to different leakage rates through the antenna. Comparing the structure proposed in this paper with previously reported optical leaky wave antennas, the proposed design has the potential for integration with other devices and also provides any desired radiation pattern in wide bandwidth of operation. The proposed antennas can have applications in Light Detection and Ranging System LIDARS, optical wireless communication, and the solar cell efficiency improvement.