Arbitrary polarization-switchable metasurfaces
An optical component comprises a metasurface comprising nanoscale elements. The metasurface is configured to receive incident light and to generate optical outputs. The geometries and/or orientations of the nanoscale elements provide a first optical output upon receiving a polarized incident light with a first polarization, and provide a second optical output upon receiving a polarized incident light with a second polarization that is different from the first polarization.
1. An optical component, comprising:
a metasurface comprising nanoscale elements configured to receive incident light and to generate optical outputs,
wherein geometries or orientations of the nanoscale elements provide a first optical output upon receiving a polarized incident light with a first polarization, and provide a second optical output upon receiving a polarized incident light with a second polarization that is different from the first polarization,
wherein the first polarization is a linear polarization or a circular polarization,
wherein the Jones vector of the first polarization is defined by:
λ
→
+
=
[
λ
1
+
λ
2
+
]
and the Jones vector of the second polarization is defined by:
λ
→
-
=
[
λ
1
-
λ
2
-
]
,
wherein the phase shift on the first polarization is defined by ϕ + (x,y) and the phase shift on the second polarization is defined by ϕ − (x,y),
wherein the superscript * denotes the complex conjugate, and
wherein the Jones matrix at each point (x,y) of the metasurface which defines the output when multiplied by the Jones vector of the polarized incident light is defined by:
J
(
x
,
y
)
=
[
e
i
ϕ
+
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
1
+
)
⋆
e
i
ϕ
-
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
1
-
)
⋆
e
i
ϕ
+
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
2
+
)
⋆
e
i
ϕ
-
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
2
-
)
⋆
]
[
λ
1
+
λ
1
-
λ
2
+
λ
2
-
]
-
1
.
2. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the first polarization and the second polarization are orthogonal to each other.
3. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the second polarization is an elliptical polarization.
4. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the nanoscale elements comprise linearly birefringent wave plate elements.
5. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the nanoscale elements comprise linearly birefringent wave plate elements comprising plasmonic antennas, liquid crystals, or dielectric pillars.
6. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein orientation of the nanoscale elements at (x,y) is defined by the angle of the orthogonal linear eigenpolarizations of the Jones matrix J(x,y).
7. The optical component of claim 1 , wherein the second polarization is a linear polarization or a circular polarization.
8. An optical device, comprising:
a metasurface comprising nanoscale elements, geometries or orientations of the nanoscale elements encoding a plurality of hologram phase profiles corresponding to a plurality of polarizations;
wherein upon illuminated by an incident light with a first polarization of the plurality of polarizations, the metasurface projects a first image based on a first hologram phase profile of the plurality of hologram phase profiles, and wherein upon illuminated by an incident light with a second polarization of the plurality of polarizations, the metasurface projects a second image based on a second hologram phase profile of the plurality of hologram phase profiles,
wherein the first polarization is a linear polarization or a circular polarization,
wherein the Jones vector of the first polarization is defined by:
λ
→
+
=
[
λ
1
+
λ
2
+
]
and the Jones vector of the second polarization is defined by:
λ
→
-
=
[
λ
1
-
λ
2
-
]
,
wherein the phase shift on the first polarization is defined by ϕ + (x,y) and the phase shift on the second polarization is defined by ϕ − (x,y),
wherein the superscript * denotes the complex conjugate, and
wherein the Jones matrix at each point (x,y) of the metasurface which defines the output when multiplied by the Jones vector of the polarized incident light is defined by:
J
(
x
,
y
)
=
[
e
i
ϕ
+
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
1
+
)
⋆
e
i
ϕ
-
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
1
-
)
⋆
e
i
ϕ
+
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
2
+
)
⋆
e
i
ϕ
-
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
2
-
)
⋆
]
[
λ
1
+
λ
1
-
λ
2
+
λ
2
-
]
-
1
.
9. The optical device of claim 8 , wherein the metasurface is a chiral hologram projector.
10. The optical device of claim 8 , further comprising:
a quarter-wave plate for adjusting a chirality of an incoming polarized light.
11. The optical device of claim 8 , wherein the second polarization is an elliptical polarization.
12. The optical device of claim 8 , wherein the first polarization and the second polarization are orthogonal to each other.
13. An optical device, comprising:
a metasurface comprising nanoscale elements, wherein geometries or orientations of the nanoscale elements are arranged such that the metasurface deflects incident light in different directions depending on polarization states of the incident light,
wherein the polarization states of the incident light comprise linear polarization or circular polarization states,
wherein the incident light comprises a first polarization of light and a second polarization of light,
wherein the Jones vector of the first polarization of light is defined by:
λ
→
+
=
[
λ
1
+
λ
2
+
]
and the Jones vector of the second polarization of light is defined by:
λ
→
-
=
[
λ
1
-
λ
2
-
]
,
wherein the phase shift on the first polarization of light is defined by ϕ + (x,y) and the phase shift on the second polarization of light is defined by ϕ − (x,y),
wherein the superscript * denotes the complex conjugate, and
wherein the Jones matrix at each point (x,y) of the metasurface which defines the output when multiplied by the Jones vector of the polarized incident light is defined by:
J
(
x
,
y
)
=
[
e
i
ϕ
+
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
1
+
)
⋆
e
i
ϕ
-
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
1
-
)
⋆
e
i
ϕ
+
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
2
+
)
⋆
e
i
ϕ
-
(
x
,
y
)
(
λ
2
-
)
⋆
]
[
λ
1
+
λ
1
-
λ
2
+
λ
2
-
]
-
1
.
14. The optical device of claim 13 , wherein the second polarization of light is an elliptical polarization that corresponds to Stokes vectors matching vertices of an icosahedron.
15. The optical device of claim 14 , wherein the vertices of an icosahedron are inscribed in a Poincare sphere.
16. The optical device of claim 13 , wherein the metasurface is a polarization beam splitter.
17. The optical device of claim 13 , wherein the optical device is a polarimeter.
18. The optical device of claim 13 , wherein the polarization states of the incident light are orthogonal to each other.