Multiwavelength polarization insensitive lenses based on dielectric metasurfaces with meta-molecules

TL;DR

This paper introduces a design method for multiwavelength dielectric metasurface lenses that are polarization insensitive and minimize chromatic aberrations, enabling efficient operation at multiple wavelengths for advanced optical applications.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel design approach using meta-molecules in metasurfaces to achieve multiwavelength, polarization-insensitive lenses with high efficiency and aperture.

Findings

Achieved up to 72% transmission efficiency at 915 nm and 1550 nm

Demonstrated numerical aperture as high as 0.46

Operated effectively at multiple wavelengths with minimized chromatic aberration

Abstract

Metasurfaces are nano-structured devices composed of arrays of subwavelength scatterers (or meta-atoms) that manipulate the wavefront, polarization, or intensity of light. Like other diffractive optical devices, metasurfaces suffer from significant chromatic aberrations that limit their bandwidth. Here, we present a method for designing multiwavelength metasurfaces using unit cells with multiple meta-atoms, or meta-molecules. Transmissive lenses with efficiencies as high as 72% and numerical apertures as high as 0.46 simultaneously operating at 915 nm and 1550 nm are demonstrated. With proper scaling, these devices can be used in applications where operation at distinct known wavelengths is required, like various fluorescence microscopy techniques.