Recent advances in metasurfaces and optical nanostructures have enabled complex control of incident light with optically thin devices. However, it has thus far been unclear whether it is possible to achieve complete linear control of coherent light transmission, i.e., independent control of polarization, amplitude, and phase for both input polarization states, with just a single, thin nanostructure array. Here we prove that it is possible and propose a universal metasurface, a bilayer array of high-index elliptic cylinders, that possesses a complete degree of optical freedom with fully designable chirality and anisotropy. We mathematically show the completeness of achievable light control with corresponding Jones matrices, experimentally demonstrate new types of three-dimensional holographic schemes that were formerly impossible, and present a systematic way of realizing any input-state-sensitive vector linear optical device. Our results unlock previously inaccessible degrees of freedom in light transmission control.
Metasurfaces are two-dimensional optical structures enabling complete control of the amplitude, phase, and polarization of light. Unlike plasmonic metasurfaces, planar silicon structures facilitate high transmission, low losses and compatibility with existing semiconductor technologies. Here, we report an experimental demonstration of high-efficiency polarization- sensitive dielectric metasurfaces with full 2pi phase control in transmission mode at telecommunication wavelengths. Such silicon metasurfaces are poised to enable a versatile optical platform the realization of all-optical circuitry…
The electromagnetic properties of an extremely thin metallic checkerboard drastically change from resonant reflection (transmission) to resonant transmission (reflection) when the local electrical conductivity at the interconnection points of the checkerboard is switched. To date, such critical transitions of metasurfaces have been applied only when they have 4-fold rotational symmetry, and their application to polarization control, which requires anisotropy, has been unexplored. To overcome this applicability limitation and open up new pathways for dynamic deep-subwavelength polarization cont…
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 metasurfaces 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 na…
For transmissive applications of electromagnetic metasurfaces, an array of subwavelength Huygens' metaatoms are typically used to eliminate reflection and achieve a high transmission power efficiency together with a wide transmission phase coverage. We show that the underlying principle of low reflection and full control over transmission is asymmetric scattering into the specular reflection and transmission directions that results from a superposition of symmetric and anti-symmetric scattering components, with Huygens' meta-atoms being one example configuration. Available for oblique illumina…
Observation of Janus Chirality for Coherent Thermal Emission from Metasurfaces
Shandong Normal University（山东师范大学）；National University of Science and Technology MISIS（莫斯科国立科技大学MISIS）；Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography（舒布尼科夫晶体学研究所）；Australian National University（澳大利亚国立大学）；The University of Hong Kong（香港大学）
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.
We propose a tunable coherent perfect absorber based on ultrathin nonlinear metasurfaces. The nonlinear metasurface is made of plasmonic nanoantennas coupled to an epsilon-near-zero material with a large optical nonlinearity. The coherent perfect absorption is achieved by controlling the relative phases of the input beams. We show that the optical response of the nonlinear metasurface can be tuned from a complete to a partial absorption by changing the intensity of the pump beam. The proposed nonlinear metasurface can be used to design optically tunable thermal emitters, modulators, and sensor…
A single-order transmission diffraction grating based on dispersion engineered all-dielectric metasurfaces is proposed and its wavelength discriminating properties have been theoretically described and confirmed using numerical simulations. The metasurface is designed using a 2D array of all-dielectric resonators, which emulates a Huygens source configuration to achieve a perfect match to free-space in broad bandwidth. Using a holey dielectric nanodisk structure as the unit cell, the resonant wavelength is tapered across the metasurface to engineer the wavelength dependent spatial phase gradie…
We show that, a metasurface composed of subwavelength metallic slit array embedded in an asymmetric environment can exhibit either extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) or extraordinary optical diffraction (EOD). By employing an analytical model expansion method and the diffraction order chart in k-vector space, we found that the resonance decaying pathway of the local slit cavity mode can be tuned to either 0th or -1st diffraction order by changing the parallel wavevector, which gives rise to enhanced 0th transmission (EOT) of the structure for small incident angles, and enhanced -1st diff…
Metasurfaces are promising two-dimensional metamaterials that are engineered to provide unique properties or functionalities absent in naturally occurring homogeneous surfaces. Here, we report a type of metasurface for tailored reconstruction of surface plasmon waves from light. The design is generic in a way that one can selectively generate different surface plasmon waves through simple variation of the wavelength or the polarization state of incident light. The ultra-thin metasurface demonstrated in this paper provides a versatile interface between the conventional free-space optics and a t…
Coherent Virtual Absorption in Dielectric Metasurfaces
Fowler School of Engineering, Chapman University（查普曼大学福勒工程学院）；Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University（查普曼大学施密德科学与技术学院）；Institute for Quantum Studies, Chapman University（查普曼大学量子研究学院）
The aim of this letter is to {present analytical method to} quantitatively address the influence of a focusing illumination on the transmission /reflection properties of a {metasurface illuminated by a finite-size beam}. In fact, most theoretical and numerical studies are performed by considering an infinite periodic structure illuminated by a plane wave. In practice, one deals with a finite-size illumination and structure. Combination of the angular spectrum expansion with a monomodal modal method is performed to determine the beam size needed to acquire efficient properties of a Metasurface …
We consider the problem of light transmission from a high refractive index medium into a low index environment. While total internal reflection severely limits such transmission in systems with smooth interfaces, diffractive metasurfaces may help out-couple light that enters an interface at blazing angles. We demonstrate that the profile of the structured interface can be numerically optimized to target a particular emission pattern. Our study suggests that while metasurfaces can help to out-couple light from a range of incident directions, there exists a universal limit for total transmission…
Plasmonic metasurfaces are investigated that consist of a sub wavelength line pattern in an ultrathin (~ 10 nm) silver film, designed for extraordinarily suppressed transmission (EOST) in the visible spectral range. Measurements with a near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) demonstrate that far field irradiation creates resonant excitations of antenna like (bright) modes that are localized on the metal ridges. In contrast, bound (dark) surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) launched from an NSOM tip propagate well across the metasurface, preferentially perpendicular to the grating lines.
Parity-Time (PT) symmetric optical structures exhibit several unique and interesting characteristics with the most popular being exceptional points. While the emerging concept of PT-symmetry has been extensively investigated in bulky photonic designs, its exotic functionalities in nanophotonic non-Hermitian plasmonic systems still remain relatively unexplored. Towards this goal, in this work we analyze the unusual properties of a plasmonic Huygens metasurface composed of an array of active metal-dielectric core-shell nanoparticles. By calculating the reflection and transmission coefficients of…
Optical metasurfaces have developed as a breakthrough concept for advanced wave-front engineering enabled by subwavelength resonant nanostructures. However, reflection and/or absorption losses as well as low polarisation-conversion efficiencies pose a fundamental obstacle for achieving high transmission efficiencies that are required for practical applications. Here we demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, highly efficient all-dielectric metasurfaces for near-infrared frequencies using arrays of silicon nanodisks as meta-atoms. We employ the main features of Huygens' sources, namel…
Nonreciprocity is important for optical information processing, full-duplex communications, and protection of sensitive laser equipment from unwanted reflections. However, it is very challenging to obtain strong nonreciprocal response in optical frequencies, especially when nanoscale configurations are considered. In this work, we solve this problem by demonstrating a compact bifacial plasmonic metasurface that acts as a new ultrathin nonreciprocal transmission filter at near-infrared frequencies. The proposed nanostructure is simple to be practically implemented, since it is composed of two s…
We present universal theoretical limits on the operation and performance of non-magnetic passive ultrathin metasurfaces. In particular, we prove that their local transmission, reflection, and polarization conversion coefficients are confined to limited regions of the complex plane. As a result, full control over the phase of the light transmitted through such metasurfaces cannot be achieved if the polarization of the light is not to be affected at the same time. We also establish fundamental limits on the maximum polarization conversion efficiency of these metasurfaces, and show that they cann…
To enhance transmission efficiency of Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phase metasurfaces, multilayer split-ring resonators were proposed to develop encoding sequences. As per the generalized Snell law, the deflection angle of the PB phase encoding metasurfaces depends on the metasurface period size. Therefore, it is impossible to design an infinitesimal metasurface unit.Consequently, the continuous transmission scattering angle cannot be obtained. In digital signal processing, this study introduces the Fourier convolution principle on encoding metasurface sequences to freely control the transmitted sc…
Recent advances in holography, wireless sensing and light fidelity technologies have resulted in the need for antennas that can support highly efficient beam directivity for a broad angular range. Transmitarrays have been shown to be promising candidates for the determination of such structures. Here, we present a comprehensive methodology for the design of subwavelength all-dielectric flat metasurfaces with high transmission and deflection range. The metasurfaces are CMOS compatible and can be fabricated using conventional processing of silicon-on-insulator technology. The optimized structure…
We experimentally study the effect of near field coupling on the transmission of light in terahertz metasurfaces, possessing slightly distinctive SRR resonances. Our results show that the interplay between the strengths of electric and magnetic dipoles, modulates the amplitude of resulting electromagnetically induced transmission, probed under different types of asymmetries in the coupled system. We employ a two-particle model to theoretically study the influence of the near field coupling between bright and quasi-dark modes on the transmission properties of the coupled system and we find an e…
Full-Field Metasurface Characterization with Polarization Sensitive Coherent Modulation Imaging
State Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University（浙江大学光电科学与工程学院极端光子学与仪器全国重点实验室）；Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong（香港大学电子电气工程系）；College of Optical and Electronic Engineering, China Jiliang University（中国计量大学光电工程学院）；ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center（浙大杭州全球科创中心）
The existing metasurfaces with ultrathin volume for asymmetric transmission were often constructed by metal with low efficiency in optical frequency, and could not realize the optical asymmetric transmission and focusing simultaneously. Although the acoustic asymmetric focusing in asymmetric focusing lens (AFL) was realized, the obtained focal point was accompanied by large sidelobe. To solve those problems, an AFL with dual-layer metasurfaces designed by using dielectric materials can realize optical asymmetric transmission and focusing simultaneously in this paper. Furtherly, through optimiz…
We study the transmission and reflection of a plane electromagnetic wave through a two dimensional array of rf-SQUIDs. The basic equations describing the amplitudes of the magnetic field and current in the split-ring resonators are developed. These yield in the linear approximation the reflection and transmission coefficients. The polarization of the reflected wave is independent of the frequency of the incident wave and of its polarization; it is defined only by the orientation of the split-ring. The reflection and transmission coefficients have a strong resonance that is determined by the pa…
Known coherent metasurfaces control interference of waves of a given frequency with other coherent waves at the same frequency, either illuminating from a different direction or created as intermodulation products. In this paper, we introduce a class of metasurfaces that are modulated in time coherently with the illuminating radiation. Importantly, such modulation opens a possibility to control reflection, absorption, and transmission at multiple frequencies, including illuminations by two or more incoherent waves. In particular, we study dynamic resistive layers and show how to use them to de…
While nanoscale color generations have been studied for years, the high performance transmission structural color, simultaneously equipped with large gamut, high resolution, and optical multiplexing abilities, still remains as a hanging issue. Here, a silicon metasurface embedded Fabry-Pérot cavity is demonstrated to address this problem. By changing the planar geometries of metasurface units, the cavities provide transmission colors with 194% sRGB gamut coverage and 141111 DPI resolution, along with more than 300% enhanced angular tolerance. Such high density allows two-dimensional color mixi…
Inhomogeneous metasurfaces have shown possibilities for unprecedented control of wave propagation and scattering. While it is conventional to shine a single incident plane wave from one side of these metastructures, illuminating by several waves simultaneously from both sides may enhance possibilities to control scattered waves, which results in additional functionalities and novel applications. Here, we unveil how using coherent plane-wave illumination of a properly designed inhomogeneous metasurface sheet it is possible to realize controllable retroreflection. We call these metasurfaces as "…
We designed and simulated freestanding dielectric optical metasurfaces based on arrays of etched nanoholes in a silicon membrane. We showed $2π$ phase control and high forward transmission at mid-infrared wavelengths by tuning the dimensions of the holes. We also identified the mechanisms responsible for high forward scattering efficiency and showed that these conditions are connected with the well-known Kerker conditions already proposed for isolated scatterers. A beam deflector was designed and optimized through sequential particle swarm and gradient descent optimization to maximize transmis…
Transmission of a normally incident plane wave through a metasurface with bicontrollable subwavelength scattering elements was simulated using a commercial software. Some pixels comprising the $H-shaped scattering elements were made of a magnetostatically controllable material whereas the remaining pixels were made of a thermally controllable material, the metasurface designed to operate in the terahertz spectral regime. The co-polarized transmission coefficients were found to exhibit stopbands that shift when either a magnetostatic field is applied or the temperature is increased or both. Dep…
A coupled dielectric-metal metasurface (CDMM) consisting of amorphous silicon (a-$\textit{Si}$) rings and subwavelength holes in $\textit{Au}$ layer separated by a $\textit{SiO}_{2}$ layer is presented. The design parameters of the CDMM is numerically optimized to have a polarization independent peak transmittance of 0.55 at 1540 nm with a Full Width at Half Maximum ($FWHM$) of 10 nm. The filter also has a 100 nm quite zone with $\sim 10^{-2}$ transmittance. A radiating two-oscillator model reveals the fundamental resonances in the filter which interfere to produce the electromagnetically indu…
We propose and experimentally demonstrate that a metasurface consisting of Pancharatnam-Berry phase optical elements can enable the full control of optical spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion. Our approach relies on the critical interference between the transmission and reflection upon the metasurfaceto create actively tunable and controllable conversion with a high output via coherent control of the two incident beams. The introduced control methodology is general and could be an important step toward the development of functional optical devices for practical applications.
We conceptualized three-array scalable metasurfaces comprising only three thin strip grids and numerically demonstrated their characteristics in the mid-infrared spectral regime for switchable polarization manipulation and related asymmetric diodelike transmission (AT). A few or all of the grids were taken to be made of VO$_2$, a phase-change material. For each proposed metasurface, two effective structures and, therefore, two different functionalities exist, corresponding to the metallic and insulating phases of VO$_2$. The achieved scenarios of functionality switching that depend on the VO$_…
Black phosphorus (BP), a relative new plasmonic two-dimensional (2D) material, offers unique photonic and electronic properties. In this work, we propose a new tunable and broadband ultrathin coherent perfect absorber (CPA) device operating in the terahertz (THz) frequency range. It is based on a bifacial metasurface made of BP patch periodic arrays separated by a thin dielectric layer. Broadband CPA bandwidth is realized due to the ultrathin thickness of the proposed device and the extraordinary properties of BP. In addition, a substantial modulation between CPA and complete transparency is a…
Perfect all-angle asymmetric transmission via normal susceptibilities: exact spatial derivative by local meta-atoms and nonlocal metasurfaces
Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology（安德鲁和埃尔纳·维特比电气与计算机工程学院，以色列理工学院）；Photonics Initiative of the Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York（纽约市立大学高级科学研究中心光子学计划）
We introduce the concept of metasurface spatial processor, whose transmission is remotely and coherently controlled by the superposition of an incident wave and a control wave through the metasurface. The conceptual operation of this device is analogous to both that of a transistor and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, while offering much more diversity in terms of electromagnetic transformations. We demonstrate two metasurfaces, that perform the operation of electromagnetic switching and amplification.
Most applications of metasurfaces require excitation and control of both electric and magnetic surface currents. For such purpose, the metasurface must have a finite thickness to handle magnetic surface currents. For metasurface sheets of negligible thickness that offer only electric response, coherent illumination can compensate the need to create discontinuities of the tangential electric field component using magnetic surface currents. Most of known coherent metasurfaces are space-uniform and can control only plane-wave absorption and specular reflection. However, it is also known that peri…
A simple but efficient approach for the synthesis of transmission-type wideband polarization converters is presented. The proposed configuration comprises multilayer metasurfaces including resonant particles which are progressively rotated layer by layer. The progressive rotation of the particles allows for a polarization conversion over a large frequency band. The polarizing structure is efficiently designed and optimized through a transmission line model approach handling the cascade of anisotropic impedance layers and dielectrics. An optimized 8-layers design based on gradually rotated dipo…
Plasmonic metasurfaces based on the extraordinary optical transmission effect (EOT) can be designed to efficiently transmit specific spectral bands from the visible to the far-infrared regimes, offering numerous applications in im-portant technological fields such as compact multispectral imaging, biological and chemical sensing, or color displays. However, due to their subwavelength nature, EOT metasurfaces are nowadays fabricated with nano- and micro-lithographic techniques, requiring many processing steps and carried out in expensive cleanroom environments. In this work, we propose and expe…
This work presents an experimental study of giant and pure optical activity in a periodic structure consisting of twisted crosses and complementary crosses patterned on the sides of a copper coated dielectric board. Additionally, a multilayer system is proposed and numerically studied to broaden the transmission bandwidth. Our results show that a dual band behavior can be obtained due to coupling effects between the layers whilst maintaining the dispersionless giant optical activity and negligible circular dichroism. We theoretically study the effect of the separation between layers and its in…
Lithium niobate is a multi-functional material, which has been regarded as one of the most promising platform for the multi-purpose optical components and photonic circuits. Targeting at the miniature optical components and systems, lithium niobate microstructures with feature sizes of several to hundreds of micrometers have been demonstrated, such as waveguides, photonic crystals, micro-cavities, and modulators, et al. In this paper, we presented subwavelength nanograting metasurfaces fabricated in a crystalline lithium niobate film, which hold the possibilities towards further shrinking the …
We develop a method to control the group delay of electromagnetic waves continuously using a doubly resonant metasurface. The method is based on the dependences of i) the group velocity in a medium featuring two resonance lines on the resonance linewidths and ii) the resonance linewidth of a metasurface composed of split-ring resonators on an incidence angle of electromagnetic wave. To verify this method for group-delay control, we design a terahertz metasurface composed of two split-ring resonators with different resonance frequencies and numerically analyze the transmission characteristic of…
We present an asymmetric bifacial graphene metasurface to realize tunable and broadband coherent perfect absorption (CPA) at terahertz (THz) frequencies. The proposed design is composed of two dissimilar graphene square patch metasurfaces stacked over an ultrathin dielectric substrate. Nonlinear CPA performance without resorting to optical nonlinearities and amplification are demonstrated based on wave interference phenomena taking place along and inside this subwavelength structure. Broadband asymmetric reflection from opposite directions is obtained in the case of single wave illumination. T…
