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The development of optical elements has seen tremendous advances over the last few decades for a variety of applications, including displays, cameras, and microscopes. Various optical elements have been developed, ranging from refractive elements to diffractive elements. In recent years, metasurfaces have been in the spotlight to develop next-generation optical elements beyond existing refractive or diffractive optics. A metasurface is a two-dimensional metamaterial composed of subwavelength artificial structures and has been studied for the development of optical elements with the major advantage that the properties of light can be freely adjusted by a thin flat structure. Optical lenses using metasurfaces can be hundreds of times thinner than conventional lenses, while at the same time, provide excellent focusing performance. This suggests that they can be applied to mobile and high-performance imaging applications in the future. Here, we discuss developments of optical elements from refractive or diffractive optics to metasurface optics, including basic principles and properties, current issues, and future perspectives.

We propose a double-layer metasurface system that can dynamically transform holographic images. Three different holographic images can be reconstructed by the lateral displacement of the two metasurfaces.

One of the most important research topic in optics and photonics is the design of metasurfaces to substitute conventional optical elements that demonstrate unprecedented merits in terms of performance and form factor. In this context, full-space control of metasurfaces that makes it possible to manipulate scattered light in transmission and reflection spaces simultaneously, is proposed as the next-generation scheme in optics, with a potential for applications such as 360° holographic images and novel optical systems. However, previously designed metasurfaces lacked functionality because the desired operation occurs under preconditioned light; therefore, they are difficult to use in real applications. Here, we present a design method that enables polarization-dependent full-space control, in which two independent and arbitrary phase profiles can be addressed to each space. Upon introducing a phase gradient value to realize the critical angle condition, conversion of transmissive into reflective operation is realized. Then, rectangular nanopillars are utilized to facilitate polarization beam splitting with the desired phase. Three samples were fabricated and measured based on the proposed scheme.

Metasurfaces have received enormous attention thanks to their unique ability to modulate electromagnetic properties of light in various frequency regimes. Recently, exploiting its fabrication ease and modulation strength, unprecedented and unique controlling of light that surpasses conventional optical devices has been suggested and studied a lot. Here, in this paper, we discuss some parts of this trend including holography, imaging application, dispersion control, and multiplexing, mostly operating for optical frequency regime. Finally, we will outlook the future of the devices with recent applications of these metasurfaces.

Since Leith and Upatnieks demonstrated the first optical hologram in 1964, hologram technology has attracted a great deal of interest in a wide range of optical fields owing to its potential use in future optical applications such as holographic imaging and optical data storage. Although there have been considerable efforts to develop holographic technologies using conventional optics, critical issues still hinder future development. Recently, metasurfaces composed of artificially fabricated subwavelength structures have been considered as novel holographic devices that show an unprecedented ability to control electromagnetic waves. In this review, we outline the recent progress in metasurface holography. A general introduction to several types of metasurface holography categorized based on their physics and application is provided. Then, our personal perspective on the future of this field is discussed.

We experimentally demonstrate that dielectric metasurface can generate multi-channel vortex beams possessing different orbital angular momentums with arbitrarily engineered spin-orbit interactions. We propose a design principle of the proposed meta-atom that can modulate and switch spatial complex-amplitude information. Experimental results show that the proposed metasurface can generate multi-channel vortex beam arrays without interval noises, and it can make each vortex beam channel possess different spin-orbit conversion when the incident polarization is changed. These results provide a new opportunity to implement a novel vortex beam modulator, which can be applied for future development of quantum optics and optical communications.

Here, we present the metasurface design to split the incident light into transmission and reflection spaces according to its polarization states, and at the same time, the distinct phase profiles are imparted to each space. For implementation of this scheme, the linearly birefringent meta-atom is utilized for distinct phases at different polarization states. Interleaving methods is also utilized for switching the transmission-type into reflection-type. Three samples are fabricated for experimental demonstration of proposed scheme, each of them is operating in linear, circular, and elliptical polarization pair. We expect the miniaturization of conventional system might be achieved using this scheme.

Recently, metasurfaces composed of artificially fabricated subwavelength structures have shown remarkable potential for the manipulation of light with unprecedented functionality. Here, we first demonstrate a metasurface application to realize a compact near-eye display system for augmented reality with a wide field of view. A key component is a see-through metalens with an anisotropic response, a high numerical aperture with a large aperture, and broadband characteristics. By virtue of these high-performance features, the metalens can overcome the existing bottleneck imposed by the narrow field of view and bulkiness of current systems, which hinders their usability and further development. Experimental demonstrations with a nanoimprinted large-area see-through metalens are reported, showing full-color imaging with a wide field of view and feasibility of mass production. This work on novel metasurface applications shows great potential for the development of optical display systems for future consumer electronics and computer vision applications., Here, the authors demonstrate a metasurface application to realize a compact near-eye display system for augmented reality with a wide field of view, full-color imaging, high resolution and a sufficiently large eyebox.

Metasurfaces composed of subwavelength nanostructures have shown unprecedented abilities to control electromagnetic waves, and have been expected to be applied for the next generation imaging devices. In this keynote talk, general introduction of optical metasurfaces will be introduced with their physical instruments and applications. Then, we will discuss recent advances on metasurface applications for holography and augmented reality. In particular, full complex-amplitude modulated holograms and ultra-wide augmented reality imaging will be mainly discussed with our theoretical and experimental demonstrations. Our perspectives for the future of this area will also be discussed.

An augmented reality (AR) near-eye display using Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phase lenses is proposed. PB phase lenses provide different optical effects depending on the polarization state of the incident light. By exploiting this characteristic, it is possible to manufacture an AR combiner with a small form factor and a large numerical aperture value. The AR combiner adopted in the proposed system operates as a convex lens for right-handed circularly polarized light and operates as transparent glass for left-handed circularly polarized light. By merging this combiner with a transparent screen, such as diffuser-holographic optical elements (DHOEs), it is possible to make an AR near-eye display with a small form factor and a wide field of view. In addition, the proposed AR system compensates the chromatic aberration that occurs in PB phase lens by adopting three-layered DHOEs. The operating principle of the proposed system is covered, and its feasibility is verified with experiments and analysis.

Metasurfaces are planar optical devices consisting of artificially fabricated photonic meta-atoms with unique optical responses, and have been extensively studied for thier extraordinary abilities to modulate electromagnetic waves. The field of metasurfaces have focused on the wavefront shaping, and many approaches have been proposed to implement novel optical devices with various versatility. In particular, metasurfaces have been shown to be able to implement high-quality holographic reconstructions of light with both spatial amplitude and phase information at the subwavelength-scale resolution, expected to be applied for the next generation imaging technology such as three-dimensional holographic imaging and optical data storage. In addition, metasurface lenses, called metalenses, have such powerful features as flatness, high numerical aperture, and multi-functions that do not appear in convensional optical lenses. Based on these meta-optics, recent advances in metasurfaces have led to the development of new optical applications using these meta-optics, and several studies have begun to be reported recently. In this talk, several optical metasurface platforms for manipulation of electromagnetic waves will be presented. We will outline the physical mechanisms and concepts of the optical metasurfaces. A variety of metasurfaces providing amplitude, phase and polarization modulations will be introduced and discussed about their features. Then, we will discuss their recent states for optical applications such as holography, microscope, and augmented reality. Especially, our recent works that show their feasiblity in augmented reality imaging with ultrawide field of view not shown in convensional optics. Finally, our perspectives in this area will be discussed.

We propose a scheme for directional beam switching from line-envelope tilted nanoslit array surrounded by gratings. The line-envelope nanoslit array composed of double arrays of tilted nanoslits can be utilized for directional launching of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). On the left and right side of the nanoslit array, metallic gratings are asymmetrically carved in order to design the diffracted lights from the gratings in different beaming angles according to the incident polarization states. Both numerical and experimental results verify that the beaming angles from the proposed structure follow the diffraction theory of surface gratings, and the extinction ratio between two beams can be switched by tuning of the incident polarization. We expect that the proposed beam switching mechanism can be applied to the basic platform of tunable SPP-based radiation or nanoantenna manufacturing.

Various optical imaging devices have been significantly developed as commercial products including digital cameras, smartphone displays, and three-dimensional microscopes in the electronic industry until now. Such a rapid development makes many people expect more advanced devices which may be not only multifunctional but also smaller and lighter. However, we cannot achieve it only by scaling down conventional optic systems due to the limits of inherent volume needed in classical optic parts. Nanophotonics can be a potential candidate to overcome the intrinsic problem. In particular, plasmonic and metasurface nanostructures have been briskly studied in recent years because they are able to control input lights within a few hundred nanometers of a thin layer. Here we introduce some representative cases of them for optical imaging. We firstly propose a cavity-aperture, which is comprised of a cavity and a metal nanoaperture, to change the color and intensity of the light transmitted through a single pixel. Because a cavity organizes various lights having different wavelengths and a nanoaperture spatially selects one of them without a serious distortion of a light field distribution, we can extract a light with a specific wavelength and amplitude using the cavity-aperture. Some metasurface nanostructures are also suggested for a broadband polarimeter, circular polarizer, directional switching, and holographic imaging. They are useful in dramatically miniaturizing optical devices due to their thin and compact sizes. We expect these plasmonic and metasurface nanostructures have a potential for advanced portable imaging systems.

We demonstrate a multiwavelength achromatic metalens based on binary phase profile with pixelated structure. The proposed metalens has the focal length of 199 μm and the numerical aperture of 0.51 for three target visible wavelengths.

We present recent advances on metasurface-originated applications. Two metasurfaces for full complex-amplitude hologram and full-space phase control and in particular, metalens for augmented reality with wide viewing angle are discussed.

We propose a see-through metalens for augmented reality near-eye display. Experimental and theoretical results show that the metalens with a dual function operates as a transmissive eyepiece to dramatically increase viewing angle.

Metasurfaces, consisting of subwavelength nanostructures, have been considered a future holographic device that demonstrates unprecedented ability to control electromagnetic waves. In this invited talk, a general introduction to metasurface holography will be presented along with physical instruments and applications. In addition, complete complex-amplitude modulation holograms will be discussed in their theoretical and experimental demonstrations. Then we will discuss our vision of the future of this field including optical metasurfaces and meta-holograms.

Since the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) has received a great deal of attention because of its capability of guiding light within the subwavelength scale, finding methods for arbitrary SPP field generation has been a significant issue in the area of integrated optics. To achieve such a goal, it will be necessary to generate a plasmonic complex field. In this paper, we propose a novel method for generating a plasmonic complex field propagating with arbitrary curvatures by using double-lined distributed nanoslits. As a unit cell, two facing nanoslits are used for tuning both the amplitude and the phase of excited SPPs as a function of their tilted angles. For verification of the proposed design rule, the authors experimentally demonstrate some plasmonic caustic curves and Airy plasmons.

Reconstruction of light profiles with amplitude and phase information, called holography, is an attractive optical technology with various significant applications such as three-dimensional imaging and optical data storage. Subwavelength spatial control of both amplitude and phase of light is an essential requirement for an ideal hologram. However, traditional holographic devices suffer from their restricted capabilities of incomplete modulation in both amplitude and phase of visible light; this results in sacrifice of optical information and undesirable occurrences of critical noises in holographic images. Herein, we have proposed a novel metasurface that is capable of completely controlling both the amplitude and phase profiles of visible light independently with subwavelength spatial resolution. The full, continuous, and broadband control of both amplitude and phase was achieved using X-shaped meta-atoms based on the expanded concept of the Pancharatnam-Berry phase. The first experimental demonstrations of the complete complex-amplitude holograms with subwavelength definition at visible wavelengths were achieved, and excellent performances with a remarkable signal-to-noise ratio as compared to those of traditional phase-only holograms were obtained. Extraordinary control capability with versatile advantages of our metasurface paves a way to an ideal holography, which is expected to be a significant advancement in the field of optical holography and metasurfaces.

A novel metasurface providing arbitrarily designed spin-orbit interactions of light has been proposed. Our theoretical and experimental demonstrations show the great potential of the phenomenon for various applications including optical communications and quantum optical process.

Taking the advantage of propagation phase with geometric phase, we designed a novel reflection-type metasurface enabling independent phase control of two polarization states. This method achieves phase control with the high efficiency up to 95%.

We present a novel complex amplitude modulation method for linear polarization from incident circular polarization. We achieved high efficiency up to 98 % with fulfilling continuous and independent modulation of amplitude and phase.

We demonstrate a multiwavelength achromatic meta-lens for red, green, and blue light based on multi-focal phase profile. The anisotropic rectangular nano-structure with silicon nitride is utilized for the meta-lens based on Pancharatnam-Berry phase technique. The proposed meta-lens has the focal length of 200 μ m at the maximum intensity and the numerical aperture of 0.67.

We present a bilayer metasurface which has alignment-free characteristics. By adjusting the structural parameters, independent phase control is achieved in transmitted and reflected cross-polarized circular polarized light. In addition, the proposed metasurface shows high efficiency up to 50 % at the wavelength of 1550 nm by using all-dielectric materials as building blocks of the device.

Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) is in the spotlight as an ingredient of metasurface to achieve active feature. Here, we propose a novel method for active switching of polarization via the metasruface composed of GST nanorods.

The modulation of near-field signals has recently attracted considerable interest because of demands for the development of nano-scale optical devices that are capable of overcoming the diffraction limit of light. In this paper, we propose a new type of tuneable plasmonic lens that permits the foci of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) signals to be continuously steered by adjusting the input polarization state. The proposed structure consists of multi-lined nanoslit arrays, in which each array is tilted at a different angle to provide polarization sensitivity and the nanoslit size is adjusted to balance the relative amplitudes of the excited SPPs from each line. The nanoslits of each line are designed to focus SPPs at different positions; hence, the SPP focal length can be tuned by modifying the incident polarization state. Unlike in previously reported studies, our method enables plasmonic foci to be continuously varied with a smooth change in the incident linear polarization state. The proposed structures provide a novel degree of freedom in the multiplexing of near fields. Such characteristics are expected to enable the realization of active SPP modulation that can be applied in near-field imaging, optical tweezing systems, and integrated nano-devices.

A plasmonic resonator is proposed whose electromagnetic energy density can be tuned by the polarization state of the incident light. Counter-propagating surface plasmon polaritons, which are excited by polarization-sensitive subwavelength apertures, give tunability. Stored energy density in the resonator varies from the minimum to the maximum when the orientation angle of the incoming electric field rotates by 90 degrees. After optimizing a rectangular cavity and periodic gratings, the on/off ratio is calculated as 430 and measured as 1.55. Based on our scheme, interferometric control is executed simply by rotation of a polarizer. The proposed plasmonic resonator can be utilized in all-optically controlled active plasmonic devices, coherent network elements, particle trapping systems, and polarimeters. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America

A tunable plasmonic vortex lens (PVL) that can adjust the size of vortex by changing optical polarization is proposed. The tunable PVL provides a novel degree of freedom in managing surface plasmon polariton fields.

We propose and investigate a metallic Fresnel zone plate (FZP/MFZP) implemented on a silver-coated optical fiber facet for super-variable focusing of light, the focal point of which can be drastically relocated by varying the wavelength of the incident light. We numerically show that when its nominal focal length is set to 20 μm at 550 nm, its effective focal length can be tuned by ~13.7 μm for 300-nm change in the visible wavelength range. This tuning sensitivity is over 20 times higher than that of a conventional silica-based spherical lens. Even with such high tuning sensitivity with respect to the incident wavelength change, the effective beam radius at the focal point is preserved nearly unchanged, irrespective of the incident wavelength. Then, we fabricate the proposed device, exploiting electron- and focused-ion-beam processes, and experimentally verify its super-variable focusing functionality at typical red, green, and blue wavelengths in the visible wavelength range, which is in good agreement with the numerical prediction. Moreover, we propose a novel MFZP structure that primarily exploits the surface-plasmon-polariton-mediated, extra-ordinary transmission effect. For this we make all the openings of an MFZP, which are determined by the fundamental FZP design formula, be partitioned by multi-rings of all-sub-wavelength annular slits, so that the transmission of azimuthally polarized light is inherently prohibited, thereby leading to super-variable and selective focusing of radially polarized light. We design and fabricate a proof-of-principle structure implemented on a gold-coated fused-silica substrate, and verify its novel characteristics both numerically and experimentally, which are mutually in good agreement. We stress that both the MFZP structures proposed here will be very useful for micro-machining, optical trapping, and biomedical sensing, in particular, which invariably seek compact, high-precision, and flexible focusing schemes.

A novel method to launch finite power Airy beams based on a metasurface is presented. By tailoring the amplitude and phase of the transmitted fields from a metallic C-aperture array, launching Airy beams is achieved in free space. The amplitude and phase of the Airy beam profile can be mapped and tailored by tuning only the tilt angles of the aperture. This structure has multifrequency characteristics, which facilitates Airy beam steering because the trajectory of Airy beams is dependent on the wavelength. In addition, the design method can generate Airy beams which have a very compact main lobe (≈2 µm). Computational and experimental results show that proposed metasurface can overcome some limitations of the traditional methods to generate Airy beams. The results can be used for potential applications in integrated optics, beam shaping, biosensing, and next-generation holography.

Methods for multiplexing surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) have been attracting much attention due to their potentials for plasmonic integrated systems, plasmonic holography, and optical tweezing. Here, using closely-distanced distributed nanoslits, we propose a method for generating polarization-multiplexed SPP phase profiles which can be applied for implementing general SPP phase distributions. Two independent types of SPP phase generation mechanisms - polarization-independent and polarization-reversible ones - are combined to generate fully arbitrary phase profiles for each optical handedness. As a simple verification of the proposed scheme, we experimentally demonstrate that the location of plasmonic focus can be arbitrary designed, and switched by the change of optical handedness. (C)2015 Optical Society of America