Metasurfaces composed of subwavelength nanostructures enable unprecedented control over light’s phase, amplitude, and polarization. Recent advancements have achieved a phase modulation range of 0 to 2π with a resolution better than λ/50 (λ = wavelength), enabling ultra-compact lenses with numerical apertures (NA) up to 0.95. These lenses exhibit diffraction-limited focusing at wavelengths ranging from 400 nm to 10 µm, making them versatile for applications from microscopy to infrared imaging.
The integration of active materials such as phase-change alloys (e.g., Ge2Sb2Te5) allows for reconfigurable metasurfaces with switching speeds <100 ns and cyclability >10^6 times. By dynamically altering the refractive index from n ≈ 3 to n ≈ -1, these metasurfaces can achieve beam steering angles up to ±60° with an efficiency >80%. This capability is transformative for LiDAR and free-space optical communication systems.
Nonlinear metasurfaces leveraging second-harmonic generation (SHG) have demonstrated conversion efficiencies >50% at pump intensities <1 GW/cm^2. This is achieved using resonant nanostructures made from lithium niobate (χ^(2) ≈ 30 pm/V), enabling compact frequency doublers for quantum light sources operating at telecom wavelengths (1550 nm).
Machine learning-assisted inverse design has optimized metasurface geometries for multifunctional operation, such as simultaneous beam splitting and polarization control. Algorithms trained on datasets of >10^5 unit cells have identified designs achieving <1% crosstalk between functionalities at wavelengths spanning visible to near-infrared.
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