All-Glass 100 mm Diameter Visible Metalens for Imaging the Cosmos

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Metasurfaces, composed of subwavelength nanostructures, offer novel optical functionalities.
• Previous large-area metasurface fabrication was limited by scaling challenges, restricting them to millimeter sizes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a scalable fabrication method for large-area metasurfaces.
• To create a 100 mm diameter metasurface lens (metalens) for visible light applications.
• To assess the commercial feasibility and robustness of large metasurfaces.

Main Methods:

• Utilized deep-ultraviolet (DUV) projection lithography to overcome exposure area limitations.
• Fabricated an all-glass 100 mm diameter metalens with 18.7 billion nanostructures.
• Investigated the impact of fabrication errors on imaging performance.

Main Results:

• Achieved a fast f-number (f/1.5, NA = 0.32) metalens operating in the visible spectrum.
• Demonstrated successful astronomical imaging of celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, nebulae).
• Validated the metalens' robustness under extreme thermal variations, suitable for space applications.

Conclusions:

• Large-area metasurfaces are commercially feasible through advanced lithography techniques.
• The developed metalens technology is robust and suitable for demanding applications, including space exploration.
• This work overcomes previous size limitations in metasurface fabrication.