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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Surface Mapping of Earth-like Exoplanets using Single Point Light Curves
Published on: May 10, 2020
Metasurface-enabled astronomical polarimetry
Lisa W Li1, Phillip H H Oakley2, Rebecca N Schindhelm2
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
None:
In the past decade or so, metasurface optical components have received considerable scientific and industrial interest. The miniaturization afforded by metasurfaces could benefit astronomy in particular, which is an often-cited potential application area for metasurfaces. However, few developed examples in which metasurface components offer a unique benefit to astronomical instrumentation-substantiated by the production of scientific data-have been shown. Here, we present the Solar Imaging Metasurface Polarimeter (SIMPol), a first-of-its-kind telescope for snapshot imaging polarimetry of the sun enabled by a high-performance metasurface polarization-analyzing grating, which provides for single element, snapshot imaging polarimetry. We demonstrate SIMPol's integration into a major observatory telescope facility and the characterization of Zeeman signatures of solar magnetism. This work-among the first to demonstrate an advantage presented by metasurface optics to a real application in astronomical instrumentation-heralds the application of metasurfaces and emergent nanophotonic technologies in astronomy more broadly.
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