Metasurface Optics

Metasurface optics have drawn significant interest over the last several years due to their unique ability to precisely control various properties of incident light. Metasurfaces are arrays of subwavelength nanostructures spatially distributed across a thin substrate. The nanostructures can be periodic, and can have relatively arbitrary geometry within the constraints of nanofabrication processes. The material properties, as well as the exact shape and pattern of the structures determine the optical effects on incident wavefronts. By appropriately designing specific nanostructures, metasurfaces have been demonstrated that can manipulate phase, amplitude, and polarization. We are currently exploring various metasurface applications in the Millar-Blanchaer lab, including focal plane and pupil plane coronagraphs. See this paper by Skyler Palatnick, one of my students: Prospects for metasurfaces in exoplanet direct imaging systems: from principles to design

A gallery of different acrhomatic metasurface vortex designs from: Palatnick et al. 2023