Large-aperture infrared metalens camera

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11815665-B2
Application number	US-202218024982-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2022
Priority date	Oct 25, 2021
Publication date	Nov 14, 2023
Grant date	Nov 14, 2023

Abstract

The disclosure discloses a large-aperture infrared metalens camera, which belongs to the technical field of infrared imaging and micro-nano photonics, including a large-aperture metalens, an infrared focal plane array detector, a metalens mechanical assembly and a housing. The large-aperture metalens has an aperture greater than 50 mm and a thickness less than 2 mm, and the distance between the large-aperture metalens and the infrared focal plane array detector is greater than 30 mm. The disclosure adopts strict electromagnetic field values, diffraction design algorithm and large-area semiconductor process manufacturing method to increase the aperture of metalens to 50 mm or more, and considerably improves the focal length and magnification of the camera while ensuring that the F-number of the metalens meets the requirements of signal-to-noise ratio of image. The problems of short focal length, small magnification, and insufficient imaging range of conventional metalens cameras are overcome.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A large-aperture infrared metalens camera, comprising: a large-aperture metalens, an infrared focal plane array detector, a metalens mechanical assembly and a housing;
wherein the large-aperture metalens is disposed on the metalens mechanical assembly, and the metalens mechanical assembly is assembled on the housing, the housing is provided with a telescopic member that is movable axially along a mirror surface of the large-aperture metalens;
the metalens mechanical assembly is configured to fix the large-aperture metalens;
the telescopic member is configured to move the large-aperture metalens axially along the mirror surface thereof, so that a distance between the large-aperture metalens and the infrared focal plane array detector is greater than 30 mm;
the large-aperture metalens is configured to bend a light of thermal radiation of a target object and converge the light onto a surface of the infrared focal plane array detector, and the large-aperture metalens has an aperture greater than 50 mm and a thickness less than 2 mm;
the infrared focal plane array detector is configured to eliminate stray light and light outside a wavelength band of detection, so as to realize detection and imaging.

2. The large-aperture infrared metalens camera according to claim 1 , wherein the large-aperture metalens comprises a metasurface microstructure array, a microstructure array film coating, a substrate and a substrate film coating;
the microstructure array film coating is coated on a surface of the metasurface microstructure array, and a surface shape thereof is the same as a shape of the metasurface microstructure array, which is configured to increase transmittance for an incident light;
the substrate film coating is coated on a surface of the substrate so as to increase transmittance for the incident light;
the metasurface microstructure array is located on a rear surface of the substrate, wherein the rear surface of the substrate is a surface where a light arrives later along an incident-light direction.

3. The large-aperture infrared metalens camera according to claim 2 , wherein the metasurface microstructure array comprises a plurality of columnar structural units arranged according to an ordered lattice periodicity, wherein heights of the columnar structural units are all the same, and fall within an order of detected wavelength; diameters of the columnar structural units fall within an order of subwavelength;
a periodicity of an array composed of the columnar structural units is less than 10 microns, and a diameter of the array composed of the columnar structural units is equal to the aperture of the large-aperture metalens.

4. The large-aperture infrared metalens camera according to claim 3 , wherein a material of the columnar structural units comprises silicon or germanium; a material of the microstructure array film coating comprises zinc sulfide or germanium; a material of the substrate comprises intrinsic double-thrown silicon, zinc sulfide or barium fluoride; and a material of the substrate film coating comprises zinc sulfide or germanium.

5. The large-aperture infrared metalens camera according to claim 4 , wherein the aperture and an F-number of the large-aperture metalens are determined according to following formulae:

C
=

1

(

L

D
×
F

-
1

)

×
P

>

C
d

SNR
=

K
×

P

4
⁢

F
2

>

SNR
d

wherein C is a pixel density of the target object in a detection image, L is a distance between the target object and the large-aperture infrared metalens camera, D is the aperture of the large-aperture metalens, F is the F-number of the large-aperture metalens, P is a pixel spacing of the infrared focal plane array detector, C d is a required minimum pixel density of the target object in the detection image; SNR is a signal-to-noise ratio of detection of the large-aperture infrared metalens camera, K is a parameter related to a radiation degree of the target object, detection surroundings, a lens transmittance, and a detector responsivity, and SNR d is a required minimum signal-to-noise ratio of the large-aperture infrared metalens camera.

6. The large-aperture infrared metalens camera according to claim 5 , wherein the metasurface microstructure array is designed by following methods:
optimally designing and obtaining a surface phase distribution of the large-aperture metalens by using a diffraction design algorithm or a ray tracing algorithm according to the aperture and the F-number of the large-aperture metalens;
obtaining a relationship between a phase and a transmittance of the columnar structural units and a size of the columnar structural units;
determining the size of each of the columnar structural units at each position in the metasurface microstructure array according to the surface phase distribution of the large-aperture metalens and the relationship between the phase and the transmittance of the columnar structural units and the size of the columnar structural units, and using the diffraction design algorithm or the ray tracing algorithm again for feedback optimization; wherein an infrared transmittance of the columnar structural units is greater than a required value of the infrared transmittance.

7. The large-aperture infrared metalens camera according to claim 6 , wherein the metasurface microstructure array is manufactured by using a semiconductor technology, comprising but not limited to stepping photolithography, step-scanning photolithography, nanoimprinting, laser direct writing, metal lift-off or ICP etching;
the microstructure array film coating and the substrate film coating are manufactured by an optical coating process, comprising but not limited to electron beam evaporation coating;
the substrate is processed through optical polishing.

8. The large-aperture infrared metalens camera according to claim 1 , wherein the infrared focal plane array detector comprises a detector window and an infrared focal plane array, and the detector window and the infrared focal plane array are sequentially arranged along an incident-light direction;
the detector window is configured to filter out the stray light and the light outside the wavelength band of detection;
the infrared focal plane array is configured to detect and image the converged light.

9. The large-aperture infrared metalens camera according to claim 1 , wherein the metalens mechanical assembly comprises

Assignees

• Univ Huazhong Science Tech

Inventors

• Yi Fei
• Hou Mingming
• Chen Yan
• Li Linhan

Classifications

• G02B13/008 Primary

  designed for infrared light · CPC title

• G02B1/002

  made of materials engineered to provide properties not available in nature, e.g. metamaterials · CPC title

• H04N23/20 Primary

  for generating image signals from infrared radiation only · CPC title

• H04N23/55 Primary

  Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof · CPC title

• H04N5/33

  Transforming infrared radiation (cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from infrared radiation H04N23/20; circuitry of SSIS for transforming infrared radiation into image signals H04N25/20) · CPC title