Large-scale achromatic flat lens by light frequency-domain coherence optimization.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Miniaturization of imaging devices is crucial, with flat lenses like metalenses and diffractive lenses showing promise.
• Achieving large-scale achromatic flat lenses with high performance remains a significant technical challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel framework for designing achromatic multi-level diffractive lenses.
• To enable the fabrication of large-scale flat lenses suitable for non-ideal conditions and broad spectral applications.

Main Methods:

• A new design framework based on light coherence optimization was developed.
• Achromatic polymer lenses with diameters ranging from 1 to 10 mm were designed and fabricated.
• Optical characterization was performed to validate the theoretical framework and assess lens performance.

Main Results:

• Successful design and fabrication of centimeter-scale achromatic multi-level diffractive lenses.
• Demonstrated super broad bandwidth performance in optical wavelengths (400-1100 nm).
• Validated theoretical framework through optical characterizations.

Conclusions:

• The developed framework enables practical, large-scale achromatic diffractive lenses.
• These flat lenses offer significant advantages over conventional refractive lenses in white-light imaging.
• Presents a new strategy for developing practical planar optical devices.