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  • Review Article
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Flat optics with dispersion-engineered metasurfaces

Nature Reviews Materials volume 5, pages 604–620 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Control over the dispersion of the refractive index is essential to the performance of most modern optical systems. These range from laboratory microscopes to optical fibres and even consumer products, such as photography cameras. Conventional methods of engineering optical dispersion are based on altering material composition, but this process is time-consuming and difficult, and the resulting optical performance is often limited to a certain bandwidth. Recent advances in nanofabrication have led to high-quality metasurfaces with the potential to perform at a level comparable to their state-of-the-art refractive counterparts. In this Review, we introduce the underlying physical principles of metasurface optical elements (with a focus on metalenses) and, drawing on various works in the literature, discuss how their constituent nanostructures can be designed with a highly customizable effective index of refraction that incorporates both phase and dispersion engineering. These metasurfaces can serve as an essential component for achromatic optics with unprecedented levels of performance across a broad bandwidth or provide highly customized, engineered chromatic behaviour in instruments such as miniature aberration-corrected spectrometers. We identify some key areas in which these achromatic or dispersion-engineered metasurface optical elements could be useful and highlight some future challenges, as well as promising ways to overcome them.

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Fig. 1: Chromatic metalenses across the electromagnetic spectrum.
Fig. 2: Flow chart for designing a metasurface.
Fig. 3: Topology optimization and local approximation for designing large metalenses.
Fig. 4: Metalenses designed by topology optimization.
Fig. 5: Broadband achromatic metalenses.
Fig. 6: Dispersion-engineered metasurfaces and metalenses.
Fig. 7: Applications of metalenses with designed chromatic dispersion.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA, grant no. HR00111810001). The authors thank Zhujun Shi for helpful discussion on topology optimization.

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  1. Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Wei Ting Chen, Alexander Y. Zhu & Federico Capasso

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W.T.C. researched data for the article. W.T.C., A.Y.Z. and F.C. contributed to the discussion of content and wrote the article.

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Related links

A new centre of excellence for transformative meta-optical systems: https://www.arc.gov.au/2020-arc-centre-excellence-transformative-meta-optical-systems

DARPA extreme-optics programme: https://www.darpa.mil/program/extreme-optics-and-imaging

Leica Inc. developed an instrument for precise alignment of lenses: https://www.osa.org/en-us/meetings/webinar/older/values_of_microscope_objectives/

LightTrans: https://www.lighttrans.com/virtuallab-fusion-product-sheets/metalens-and-metasurface-holograms.html

Lux Research forecasted market opportunity in metamaterials: https://www.luxresearchinc.com/press-releases/lux-research-forecasts-10.7-billion-market-opportunity-in-metamaterial-devices

OSA incubator meeting of flat optics: https://www.osa.org/en-us/meetings/incubator_meetings/2020/flatopticsinc/

PlanOpSim: https://www.planopsim.com/

Samsung research award: https://www.sait.samsung.co.kr/saithome/about/collabo_apply.do

Sony research award: https://www.sony.com/research-award-program#FocusedResearchAward

Synopsys: https://www.synopsys.com/optical-solutions/rsoft/rsoft-product-applications/metalens_design_simulation_rsoft_codev.html

The World Economic Forum and Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tiny-lenses-will-enable-design-of-miniature-optical-devices/

Zemax has teamed up with Lumerical: https://apps.lumerical.com/zemax-interoperability-metalens.html

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Chen, W.T., Zhu, A.Y. & Capasso, F. Flat optics with dispersion-engineered metasurfaces. Nat Rev Mater 5, 604–620 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-020-0203-3

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