Discriminating Between Coherent and Incoherent Light with Metasurfaces

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that metallic metasurfaces can distinguish between coherent and incoherent light, enabling new applications in imaging and detection by providing a novel method for coherence discrimination.

Contribution

The study reveals a unique response of metallic metasurfaces to light coherence, introducing a new optical mechanism not present in conventional systems.

Findings

Metasurfaces respond differently to coherent and incoherent light.

The effect enables robust speckle-free coherence discrimination.

Potential applications in imaging, detection, and communication.

Abstract

Metasurfaces represent a powerful paradigm of optical engineering that enables one to control the flow of light across material interfaces. We report on a discovery that metallic metasurfaces of a certain type respond differently to spatially coherent and incoherent light, enabling robust speckle-free discrimination between different degrees of coherence. The effect has no direct analogue in conventional optics and may find applications in compact metadevices enhancing imaging, vision, detection, communication and metrology.