Achromatic Full Stokes Polarimetry Metasurface for Full-Color Polarization Imaging in the Visible Range.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science
• Imaging Technology

Background:

• Metasurfaces offer compact, real-time polarimetry but are limited by narrow bandwidths, hindering polychromatic applications.
• Spectral information loss in traditional metasurface polarimeters restricts their use in complex visual environments.
• Developing broadband achromatic polarimeters is crucial for advanced imaging applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate full-color polarization imaging using an achromatic polarimeter.
• To overcome the spectral limitations of existing metasurface-based polarimeters.
• To achieve high-performance, broadband polarization imaging for practical applications.

Main Methods:

• Designed an achromatic polarimeter comprising four polarization-dependent metalenses.
• Employed an intelligent design scheme for arbitrary phase compensation and multiobjective matching.
• Utilized a limited database for efficient design optimization.

Main Results:

• Achieved broadband achromaticity from 450 to 650 nm (relative bandwidth ~0.364) for full Stokes imaging.
• Demonstrated low experimental reconstruction errors (7.5% at 450 nm, 5.9% at 550 nm, 3.8% at 650 nm).
• Exceeded state-of-the-art performance by three times in terms of achromatic bandwidth and crosstalk.

Conclusions:

• The developed achromatic polarimeter enables practical full-color, full-polarization imaging.
• The intelligent design scheme effectively addresses phase compensation and matching challenges.
• This advancement significantly enhances polarization imaging capabilities for diverse applications.