Metasurface-based imaging system, design method, and detector

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12306424-B2
Application number	US-202318856800-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2023
Priority date	Apr 15, 2022
Publication date	May 20, 2025
Grant date	May 20, 2025

Abstract

A metasurface-based imaging system, a design method, and a detector. In an optical axis direction, the metasurface-based imaging system sequentially comprises: a quadratic-phase-based metasurface structure, consisting of a sub-wavelength unit structure array ( 1 ) and a substrate ( 2 ), the metasurface structure being a monolayer structure and used for implementing preset phase distribution; and a wavevector filter ( 3 ), each position of which is equivalent to one aperture stop, the wavevector filter having a filtering function and having different wavevector modulation effects under different incident angles. The metasurface-based imaging system has the advantages of being ultra-light, ultra-thin, and high in imaging quality, and can achieve large-area, ultra-thin, and large field-of-view imaging detection.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A metasurface-based imaging system, wherein the imaging system comprises
a quadratic-phase-based monolayer metasurface structure and a wavevector filter sequentially arranged in an optical axis direction, wherein
the quadratic-phase-based monolayer metasurface structure can achieve ±89° field-of-view imaging; the wavevector filter has a critical angle θ t for a design wavelength of the imaging system; when an incident angle to the wavevector filter is greater than the critical angle θ t , an incident wave cannot pass through the wavevector filter, and each position of the wavevector filter is equivalent to an aperture stop.

2. The metasurface-based imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the imaging system satisfies conditions of 0.25ƒ≤D≤5ƒ, and 0.4ƒ≤TTL≤2ƒ, where ƒ is a focal length of the imaging system, D is the aperture stop diameter of the imaging system, and TTL is the optical total track length of the imaging system.

3. The metasurface-based imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the quadratic-phase-based monolayer metasurface structure comprises a unit structure array and a substrate, with the wavevector filter integrated onto a side of the substrate opposite the unit structure array.

4. The metasurface-based imaging system according to claim 3 , wherein the unit structure array is composed of unit structures, and the unit structure is a sub-wavelength pillar with a horizontal section that is circular or a regular polygon; a period is p, and 0.1λ<p<λ; a width is w, and 0.05p<w<p; and a height is h, and 0.2λ<h<3λ, wherein when the horizontal section is circular, the width w is a diameter, and when the horizontal section is the regular polygon, the width w is a side length; λ is the design wavelength of the imaging system; a material of the unit structure is silicon, titanium dioxide, or silicon nitride, and the unit structures are arranged in regular hexagon, square, or regular octagon on the substrate; and the substrate is made of sapphire or silicon dioxide.

5. The metasurface-based imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the wavevector filter is realized by a structure functioning as a narrowband filter, a shortpass filter, or a band-stop filter.

6. The metasurface-based imaging system according to claim 5 , wherein the wavevector filter is an optical filter, an F-P cavity metasurface, or a metasurface with a filtering function.

7. A design method for a metasurface-based imaging system, applied to the metasurface-based imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the method comprises:
Step 1, determining a design wavelength λ of the imaging system, and an aperture stop diameter D, and a focal length ƒ of the imaging system, and obtaining a phase distribution φ(r) of a quadratic-phase-based metasurface structure according to a quadratic-phase distribution formula φ(r)=−k 0 r 2 /2ƒ, wherein r is a distance from different positions of the metasurface structure to a center of the metasurface structure, and k 0 =2π/λ is a wavevector of an incident light in free space; and proceeding to Step 2;
Step 2, selecting a material of the metasurface structure based on the phase distribution φ(r) and the design wavelength of the imaging system, and using optical design software to design a geometric parameter and an arrangement of the unit structure of a corresponding metasurface structure; and proceeding to Step 3;
Step 3, making each position of the wavevector filter equivalent to an aperture stop; determining a value of a critical angle θ t of the wavevector filter, wherein the value of θ t determines an the diameter of the equivalent aperture stop, comprising:
step 1), pre-setting an initial value θ t0 of the critical angle, conducting imaging simulation, and comparing with an imaging system without a wavevector filter, wherein when a modulus of an optical transfer function of the imaging system designed with the critical angle θ t0 reaches 0.25, a corresponding spatial frequency increases, a selected detector can detect the corresponding spatial frequency at its cutoff frequency, and then the value of the critical angle θ t is θ t0 ; and proceeding to Step 4, otherwise, proceeding to step 2); and
step 2), fine-tuning θ t0 and repeating step 1); and
Step 4, designing the wavevector filter based on the value of the critical angle θ t .

8. The design method of the metasurface-based imaging system according to claim 7 , wherein a material of the metasurface structure comprises a material of the unit structure and a material of the substrate; and the material of the unit structure and the material of the substrate exhibit low loss for light waves at the design wavelength λ.

9. The design method of the metasurface-based imaging system according to claim 7 , wherein the Step 4 of designing the wavevector filter based on the value of the critical angle θ t comprises selecting any one of a narrowband filter, shortpass filter, or band-stop filter with the critical angle θ t .

10. A detector, wherein the detector comprises the imaging system according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Inst Optics & Electronics Cas

Inventors

• Luo Xiangang
• Zhang Fei
• Pu Mingbo
• Xie Ting
• Ma Xiaoliang

Classifications

• G02B1/002

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

• B82Y20/00 Primary

  Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals · CPC title

• G02B5/206 Primary

  comprising particles embedded in a solid matrix · CPC title

• G02B27/0012

  Optical design, e.g. procedures, algorithms, optimisation routines · CPC title

• G02B27/00 Primary

  Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00 · CPC title