Phase Modulation for Quadruplex Channels of Arbitrary Orthogonal Polarization States via Bilayer Metasurfaces

Optical metasurfaces are widely studied due to their unprecedented wavefront modulation capabilities for multiple polarization channels. Current studies predominantly focus on complete polarization conversion. Recent progress indicates that the phases of quadruplex polarization channels can be independently modulated under incomplete polarization conversion conditions. However, these four-channel phase modulation operations are limited to circular or linear polarization states and neglect amplitude modulation. Here, a strategy is proposed to achieve four-channel phase modulation and flexible energy distribution of arbitrary orthogonal polarization states under incomplete polarization conversion conditions. Wavefront modulations for quadruplex channels of arbitrary orthogonal polarization states (circular, linear, elliptical, and first-order cylindrically vectorial), such as orbital angular momentum manipulation, Bessel beam generation, deflection, and holography, are numerically demonstrated based on this strategy. Furthermore, the energy distribution of the quadruplex polarization channels is achieved by varying the polarization conversion efficiency. These operations are implemented through all-dielectric free-standing bilayer metasurfaces. The proposed design strategy extends the application of metasurfaces in multichannel optical field modulation.