Electrically-controlled digital metasurface device for light projection displays

TL;DR

This paper introduces an electrically reconfigurable digital metasurface device for light projection displays, enabling dynamic wavefront shaping and holographic pattern switching with high contrast.

Contribution

It presents a novel digital metasurface device that allows programmable, high-contrast light modulation and dynamic holography, advancing optical metasurface applications.

Findings

High-contrast intensity modulation achieved

Dynamic wavefront shaping demonstrated

Arbitrary holographic pattern switching enabled

Abstract

Light projection displays play an increasingly important role in our modern life. Core projection systems including liquid crystal displays and digital micromirror devices can impose spatial light modulation and actively shape light waves. Recently, the advent of metasurfaces has revolutionized design concepts in nanophotonics, enabling a new family of optical elements with exceptional degrees of freedom. Here, we demonstrate a light projection display technology based on optical metasurfaces, called digital metasurface device (DMSD). Each metasurface pixel in a DMSD is electrically reconfigurable with well-controlled programmability and addressability. The DMSD can not only continuously modulate the intensity of light with high contrast, but also shape the wavefront of light generated by each metasurface pixel and dynamically switch between arbitrary holographic patterns. Our approach will pave an avenue towards the development of customized light projection devices. It will also drive the field of dynamic optical metasurfaces with fresh momentum and inspiring concepts.