Mid-infrared polarization-controlled broadband achromatic metadevice.

Ou, Kai; Yu, Feilong; Li, Guanhai; Wang, Wenjuan; Miroshnichenko, Andrey E; Huang, Lujun; Wang, Peng; Li, Tianxin et al. · Sci Adv · 2020

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Metasurfaces provide a compact, flexible, and efficient platform to manipulate the electromagnetic waves. However, chromatic aberration imposes severe restrictions on their applications in broadband polarization control. Here, we propose a broadband achromatic methodology to implement polarization-controlled multifunctional metadevices in mid-wavelength infrared with birefringent meta-atoms. We demonstrate the generation of polarization-controlled and achromatically on-axis focused optical vortex beams with diffraction-limited focal spots and switchable topological charge (<i>L</i> <sup>∥</sup> = 0 and <i>L</i> <sup>⊥</sup> = 2). Besides, we further implement broadband achromatic polarization beamsplitter with high polarization isolation (extinction ratio up to 21). The adoption of all-silicon configuration not only facilitates the integration with CMOS technology but also endows the polarization multiplexing meta-atoms with broad phase dispersion coverage, ensuring the large size and high performance of the metadevices. Compared with the state-of-the-art chromatic aberration-restricted polarization-controlled metadevices, our work represents a substantial advance and a step toward practical applications.