Prototype of a metasurface scale for an optical rotation angle sensor

Abstract

The use of metasurfaces as scales of optical rotation angle sensors (encoders) makes it possible to reduce their overall dimensions by several orders of magnitude. The paper briefly discusses one of the possible options for implementing a rotation angle sensor with a scale from a metasurface. As a scale it is proposed to use a metasurface – a dielectric onedimensional subwavelength array designed to operate in the infrared spectral range (at a wavelength of 1.5 microns). By the finite element method, a prototype of an optical angular scale from a metasurface has been developed by computer modeling. The results of an experimental study of a prototype of an optical angular scale from a metasurface are presented. The metasurface was made of tantalum oxide and deposited on a quartz glass substrate. For the convenience of the study, the size of the scales was set to 400 × 400 microns, but if necessary, it can be reduced by more than an order of magnitude. The dependences of the transmission spectra of the prototype scale on its rotation angle are experimentally investigated.