Rapid Polarization-Controlled Depth Sensing and Imaging with an Electrically Tunable Metalens.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40454960.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c01831.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
We demonstrate an electrically tunable metalens that combines hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) meta-atoms with a liquid crystal (LC) layer for rapid polarization-controlled depth sensing and imaging. Two independent focusing profiles for left-circularly polarized (LCP) light and right-circularly polarized (RCP) light are encoded via propagation and geometric phases in a single metasurface. Adjusting the LC voltage and the incident polarization among the LCP, RCP, and their superposition enables millisecond-scale reconfiguration. Under pure circular polarization, the metalens yields a single high-fidelity focal spot or an image. Linearly polarized light produces two rotating images, whose relative orientation encodes object depth. Experiments match theory and confirm a full π rotation of the image during focal scanning. The device offers a compact, real-time platform for imaging and depth sensing in microscopy, holography, and adaptive optics.