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Mid-Wave Infrared Polarization Combiner Based on Reflective Metasurface
Lulu Yang1,2,3, Xin Wang1,2,3, Xuhui Li1,2,3
1School of Optics and Photonics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
Micromachines
|January 28, 2026
Summary
A novel metasurface polarization beam combiner (PBC) efficiently combines infrared laser beams. This silicon pillar device offers a promising alternative to traditional optics, achieving high efficiency and minimal wavefront distortion.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Metamaterials
- Infrared Technology
Background:
- Polarization beam combining (PBC) enhances laser brightness but is limited in mid- to long-wave infrared by material properties.
- Conventional bulk PBCs like Brewster plates and birefringent prisms face material limitations in specific infrared ranges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and demonstrate a novel reflection metasurface for polarization beam combining in the mid- and long-wave infrared.
- To overcome the limitations of traditional bulk optics for infrared PBC applications.
Main Methods:
- Designed and fabricated a metasurface using rectangular silicon pillars to manipulate phase for orthogonal polarizations.
- Investigated metasurface performance at 4.6 μm with incident beams at angles of -13.3° and 13.3°.
- Evaluated beam combining efficiency and beam quality (M²).
Main Results:
- Achieved an overall beam combining efficiency of 88.9% for two 4.6 μm beams with orthogonal polarizations.
- Measured combined beam quality factors (M²) of 1.21 (fast axis) and 1.14 (slow axis).
- Demonstrated negligible wavefront distortion in both simulations and experiments.
Conclusions:
- The proposed metasurface is an efficient polarization beam combiner for mid- and long-wave infrared applications.
- It offers a promising alternative to conventional bulk optics, providing high efficiency and excellent beam quality.
- The metasurface design enables precise phase control for orthogonal polarizations, overcoming material limitations.
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