Large field-of-view and multi-color imaging with GaP quadratic metalenses

TL;DR

This paper presents a single-layer GaP metalens system capable of full-color, wide-angle imaging with 100-degree FOV, addressing chromatic and aberration issues for potential consumer electronics use.

Contribution

It introduces a novel single-layer metalens design that achieves large FOV and broadband imaging, overcoming limitations of stacking approaches.

Findings

Achieved 100-degree FOV in full-color imaging.

Produced high-quality images with accurate color reproduction.

Demonstrated compatibility with real-time unpolarized light imaging.

Abstract

Metalenses, in order to compete with conventional bulk optics in commercial imaging systems, often require large field of view (FOV) and broadband operation simultaneously. However, strong chromatic and coma aberrations present in common metalens designs have so far limited their widespread use. Stacking of metalenses as one of the possible solutions increases the overall complexity of the optical system and hinders the main benefit of reduced thickness and light weight. To tackle both issues, here we propose a single-layer imaging system utilizing a recently developed class of metalenses providing large field of view. Using it, we demonstrate full-color imaging with a FOV of 100 degrees. This approach, empowered by computational imaging techniques, produce high quality images, both in terms of color reproduction and sharpness. Suitable for real-time unpolarized light operation with the standard color filters present in prevalent camera systems, our results might enable a pathway for consumer electronics applications of this emerging technology.