Chip-Integrated Metasurface Full-Stokes Polarimetric Imaging Sensor

TL;DR

This paper introduces a compact, chip-integrated metasurface sensor capable of single-shot full-Stokes polarimetric imaging with high accuracy, dual-color operation, and a wide field of view, promising advancements in various high-tech fields.

Contribution

The development of a metasurface-based full-Stokes polarimetric imaging sensor integrated onto a CMOS sensor, enabling compact, fast, and accurate polarization imaging.

Findings

Single-shot full-Stokes imaging achieved.

Broadband dielectric-metal hybrid chiral metasurfaces used.

Dual-color operation with high measurement accuracy.

Abstract

Polarimetric imaging has a wide range of applications for uncovering features invisible to human eyes and conventional imaging sensors. Compact, fast, cost-effective and accurate full-Stokes polarimetric imaging sensors are highly desirable in many applications, which, however, remain elusive due to fundamental material limitations. Here we present a Metasurface-based Full-Stokes Polarimetric Imaging sensor (MetaPolarIm) realized by integrating an ultrathin (~600 nm) metasurface polarization filter array (MPFA) onto a visible imaging sensor with CMOS compatible fabrication processes. The MPFA is featured with broadband dielectric-metal hybrid chiral metasurfaces and double-layer nanograting polarizers. This chip-integrated polarimetric imaging sensor enables single-shot full-Stokes imaging (speed limited by the CMOS imager) with the most compact form factor, record high measurement accuracy, dual-color operation (green and red) and a full angle of view up to 40 degrees. MetaPolarIm holds great promise to enable transformative applications in autonomous vision, industry inspection, space exploration, medical imaging and diagnosis.