Subwavelength resolution imaging requires high numerical aperture (NA) lenses, which are bulky and expensive. Metasurfaces allow the miniaturization of conventional refractive optics into planar structures. We show that high-aspect-ratio titanium dioxide metasurfaces can be fabricated and designed as metalenses with NA = 0.8. Diffraction-limited focusing is demonstrated at wavelengths of 405, 532, and 660 nm with corresponding efficiencies of 86, 73, and 66%. The metalenses can resolve nanoscale features separated by subwavelength distances and provide magnification as high as 170×, with image qualities comparable to a state-of-the-art commercial objective. Our results firmly establish that metalenses can have widespread applications in laser-based microscopy, imaging, and spectroscopy.

Metalenses at visible wavelengths: Diffraction-limited focusing and subwavelength resolution imaging.

The resonant modes of plasmonic nanoparticle structures made of gold or silver endow them with an ability to manipulate light at the nanoscale. However, owing to the high light losses caused by metals at optical wavelengths, only a small fraction of plasmonics applications have been realized. Kuznetsov et al. review how high-index dielectric nanoparticles can offer a substitute for these metals, providing a highly flexible and low-loss route to the manipulation of light at the nanoscale.

Science , this issue p. [10.1126/science.aag2472][1]

 [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aag2472

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/354/6314/aag2472.full.pdf

Optically resonant dielectric nanostructures

Metasurfaces are planar structures that locally modify the polarization, phase and amplitude of light in reflection or transmission, thus enabling lithographically patterned flat optical components with functionalities controlled by design. Transmissive metasurfaces are especially important, as most optical systems used in practice operate in transmission. Several types of transmissive metasurface have been realized, but with either low transmission efficiencies or limited control over polarization and phase. Here, we show a metasurface platform based on high-contrast dielectric elliptical nanoposts that provides complete control of polarization and phase with subwavelength spatial resolution and an experimentally measured efficiency ranging from 72% to 97%, depending on the exact design. Such complete control enables the realization of most free-space transmissive optical elements such as lenses, phase plates, wave plates, polarizers, beamsplitters, as well as polarization-switchable phase holograms and arbitrary vector beam generators using the same metamaterial platform.

/pdf/dielectric-metasurfaces-for-complete-control-of-phase-and-3pa0oy7av0.pdf

Dielectric metasurfaces for complete control of phase and polarization with subwavelength spatial resolution and high transmission

Gradient metasurfaces are two-dimensional optical elements capable of manipulating light by imparting local, space-variant phase changes on an incident electromagnetic wave. These surfaces have thus far been constructed from nanometallic optical antennas, and high diffraction efficiencies have been limited to operation in reflection mode. We describe the experimental realization and operation of dielectric gradient metasurface optical elements capable of also achieving high efficiencies in transmission mode in the visible spectrum. Ultrathin gratings, lenses, and axicons have been realized by patterning a 100-nanometer-thick Si layer into a dense arrangement of Si nanobeam antennas. The use of semiconductors can broaden the general applicability of gradient metasurfaces, as they offer facile integration with electronics and can be realized by mature semiconductor fabrication technologies.

Dielectric gradient metasurface optical elements.

Metamaterials are composed of periodic subwavelength metal/dielectric structures that resonantly couple to the electric and/or magnetic components of the incident electromagnetic fields, exhibiting properties that are not found in nature. This class of micro- and nano-structured artificial media have attracted great interest during the past 15 years and yielded ground-breaking electromagnetic and photonic phenomena. However, the high losses and strong dispersion associated with the resonant responses and the use of metallic structures, as well as the difficulty in fabricating the micro- and nanoscale 3D structures, have hindered practical applications of metamaterials. Planar metamaterials with subwavelength thickness, or metasurfaces, consisting of single-layer or few-layer stacks of planar structures, can be readily fabricated using lithography and nanoprinting methods, and the ultrathin thickness in the wave propagation direction can greatly suppress the undesirable losses. Metasurfaces enable a spatially varying optical response (e.g. scattering amplitude, phase, and polarization), mold optical wavefronts into shapes that can be designed at will, and facilitate the integration of functional materials to accomplish active control and greatly enhanced nonlinear response. This paper reviews recent progress in the physics of metasurfaces operating at wavelengths ranging from microwave to visible. We provide an overview of key metasurface concepts such as anomalous reflection and refraction, and introduce metasurfaces based on the Pancharatnam-Berry phase and Huygens' metasurfaces, as well as their use in wavefront shaping and beam forming applications, followed by a discussion of polarization conversion in few-layer metasurfaces and their related properties. An overview of dielectric metasurfaces reveals their ability to realize unique functionalities coupled with Mie resonances and their low ohmic losses. We also describe metasurfaces for wave guidance and radiation control, as well as active and nonlinear metasurfaces. Finally, we conclude by providing our opinions of opportunities and challenges in this rapidly developing research field.

A review of metasurfaces: physics and applications.

Plasmonic metasurfaces have recently attracted much attention due to their ability to abruptly change the phase of light, allowing subwavelength optical elements for polarization and wavefront control. However, most previously demonstrated metasurface designs suffer from low coupling efficiency and are based on metallic resonators, leading to ohmic loss. Here, we present an alternative approach to plasmonic metasurfaces by replacing the metallic resonators with high-refractive-index silicon cut-wires in combination with a silver ground plane. We experimentally demonstrate that this meta-reflectarray can be used to realize linear polarization conversion with more than 98% conversion efficiency over a 200 nm bandwidth in the short-wavelength infrared band. We also demonstrate optical vortex beam generation using a meta-reflectarray with an azimuthally varied phase profile. The vortex beam generation is shown to have high efficiency over a wavelength range from 1500 to 1600 nm. The use of dielectric resonato...

Dielectric Meta-Reflectarray for Broadband Linear Polarization Conversion and Optical Vortex Generation

Strong nonlinear light–matter interaction is highly sought-after for a variety of applications including lasing and all-optical light modulation. Recently, resonant plasmonic structures have been considered promising candidates for enhancing nonlinear optical processes due to their ability to greatly enhance the optical near-field; however, their small mode volumes prevent the inherently large nonlinear susceptibility of the metal from being efficiently exploited. Here, we present an alternative approach that utilizes a Fano-resonant silicon metasurface. The metasurface results in strong near-field enhancement within the volume of the silicon resonator while minimizing two photon absorption. We measure a third harmonic generation enhancement factor of 1.5 × 105 with respect to an unpatterned silicon film and an absolute conversion efficiency of 1.2 × 10–6 with a peak pump intensity of 3.2 GW cm–2. The enhanced nonlinearity, combined with a sharp linear transmittance spectrum, results in transmission modul...

Nonlinear Fano-Resonant Dielectric Metasurfaces.

Circularly polarized light is utilized in various optical techniques and devices. However, using conventional optical systems to generate, analyse and detect circularly polarized light involves multiple optical elements, making it challenging to realize miniature and integrated devices. While a number of ultracompact optical elements for manipulating circularly polarized light have recently been demonstrated, the development of an efficient and highly selective circularly polarized light photodetector remains challenging. Here we report on an ultracompact circularly polarized light detector that combines large engineered chirality, realized using chiral plasmonic metamaterials, with hot electron injection. We demonstrate the detector's ability to distinguish between left and right hand circularly polarized light without the use of additional optical elements. Implementation of this photodetector could lead to enhanced security in fibre and free-space communication, as well as emission, imaging and sensing applications for circularly polarized light using a highly integrated photonic platform.

/pdf/circularly-polarized-light-detection-with-hot-electrons-in-36e9b9l1ot.pdf

Circularly polarized light detection with hot electrons in chiral plasmonic metamaterials.

Recently, there has been much interest in the extraction of hot electrons generated from surface plasmon decay, as this process can be used to achieve additional bandwidth for both photodetectors and photovoltaics. Hot electrons are typically injected into semiconductors over a Schottky barrier between the metal and semiconductor, enabling generation of photocurrent with below bandgap photon illumination. As a two-dimensional semiconductor single and few layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has been demonstrated to exhibit internal photogain and therefore becomes an attractive hot electron acceptor. Here, we investigate hot electron-based photodetection in a device consisting of bilayer MoS2 integrated with a plasmonic antenna array. We demonstrate sub-bandgap photocurrent originating from the injection of hot electrons into MoS2 as well as photoamplification that yields a photogain of 105. The large photogain results in a photoresponsivity of 5.2 A/W at 1070 nm, which is far above similar silicon-based hot ...

Hot Electron-Based Near-Infrared Photodetection Using Bilayer MoS2.

Tunable metasurfaces open new doors for achieving dynamic wavefront manipulation in an ultracompact footprint. Dielectric metasurfaces are particularly attractive for this application due to their low-loss modes. However, their volumetric modes make them difficult to dynamically tune compared to plasmonic variants with strong field confinement. We overcome this challenge by combining dielectric resonators with an epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) mode in a thin film. By tuning the coupling between modes in the resonators and the ENZ thin film, active control over the transmittance amplitude is achieved. Operating at the wavelength of the Huygens mode, we demonstrate transmittance modulation with an on-state transmittance of 70% and a modulation depth of 31%. In addition, we create a tunable diffraction grating and demonstrate its potential use in beam steering applications. This approach provides a new avenue for high-speed and low-power modulation of dielectric metasurfaces.

Wenyi Wang

Papers

Dielectric Meta-Reflectarray for Broadband Linear Polarization Conversion and Optical Vortex Generation

Nonlinear Fano-Resonant Dielectric Metasurfaces.

Circularly polarized light detection with hot electrons in chiral plasmonic metamaterials.

Hot Electron-Based Near-Infrared Photodetection Using Bilayer MoS2.

Dynamic transmission control based on all-dielectric Huygens metasurfaces