Infrared color-sorting metasurfaces

The process of sorting light based on colors (photon energy) is a prerequisite in broadband optical systems, typically achieved in the form of guiding incoming signals through a sequence of spectral filters. The assembly of filters often leads to lengthy optical trains and consequently, large system footprints. In this work, we address this issue by proposing a flat color-sorting device comprising a diffraction grating and a dielectric Huygens' metasurface. Upon the incidence of a broadband beam, the grating disperses wavelengths to a continuous range of angles in accordance with the law of diffraction. The following metasurface with multiple paired Huygens' resonances corrects the dispersion and binds wavelengths to the corresponding waveband with a designated output angle. We demonstrate the sorting efficacy by designing a device with a color-sorting metasurface with two discrete dispersion-compensated outputs (10.8 ± 0.3 μm and 11.9 ± 0.3 μm), based on the proposed approach. The optimized metasurface possesses an overall transmittance exceeding 57% and reduces lateral dispersion by 90% at the output. The proposed color-sorting mechanism provides a solution that benefits the designing of metasurfaces for miniature multi-band systems.