Fast Topology Optimization for Near-Field Focusing All-Dielectric Metasurfaces Using the Discrete Dipole Approximation

Using an efficient implementation of the discrete dipole approximation and topology optimization, we design all-dielectric metasurfaces capable of focusing light into intense deep subwavelength hotspots. The light focusing of these metasurfaces far outweighs conventional lenses and can provide dramatic enhancements of processes that depend superlinearly on light intensity, such as light-powered membrane distillation and photocatalysis. Our approach can easily be generalized to optimize metasurfaces for other functionalities, such as nonlinear optics or photothermal conversion.