Rotational varifocal moiré metalens made of single-crystal silicon meta-atoms for visible wavelengths

Metasurface lenses (metalenses) offer an ultrathin and simple optical system with dynamic functions that include focal length tuning. In this study, a rotational varifocal (i.e., moiré) metalens based on octagonal single-crystal silicon pillars was designed and fabricated to realize a high transmittance, whole 2π phase coverage, and polarization insensitivity for visible wavelengths. The moiré metalens consists of a pair of cascaded metasurface-based phase lattices and the focal length can be adjusted from negative to positive by mutual rotation. The fabricated moiré metalens demonstrated a focal length that can be tuned from −36 mm to −2 mm and from 2 to 12 mm by mutual rotation from −90° to 90°, and the experimental measurements agreed well with theoretical values at the design wavelength of 633 nm. Imaging was demonstrated at three distinct wavelengths of 633, 532, and 440 nm.

High Efficient Metadevices for Terahertz Beam Shaping

Metasurfaces supply a planar approach for flexible wavefront manipulation, thus facilitating the integration and minimization of optical elements, especially in the terahertz (THz) range. High efficient THz metadevices are highly pursued at present. Here, we propose a bilayer design to improve the efficiency of metadevice. Two silicon pillar arrays with distinguishing geometries are integrated on single silicon substrate. On one side, elliptical silicon pillars, with geometry optimized for the target frequency, are spatially orientated to realize the desired Pancharatnam-Berry phase. On the other side, uniform circular silicon pillars are set to suppress the reflection. With this design, versatile metadevices such as lens, lens array, polarization fork grating, Bessel vortex generator, and Airy beam generator are demonstrated. Maximum efficiency up to 95% for the target frequency and excellent design flexibility are verified. It provides a practical strategy for the generation of compact and high-efficiency THz metadevices, which suit for high-performance THz imaging and communication apparatuses.