All‐Dielectric Programmable Huygens' Metasurfaces

Low‐loss nanostructured dielectric metasurfaces have emerged as a breakthrough platform for ultrathin optics and cutting‐edge photonic applications, including beam shaping, focusing, and holography. However, the static nature of their constituent materials has traditionally limited them to fixed functionalities. Tunable all‐dielectric infrared Huygens' metasurfaces consisting of multi‐layer Ge disk meta‐units with strategically incorporated non‐volatile phase change material Ge₃Sb₂Te₆ are introduced. Switching the phase‐change material between its amorphous and crystalline structural state enables nearly full dynamic light phase control with high transmittance in the mid‐IR spectrum. The metasurface is realized experimentally, showing post‐fabrication tuning of the light phase within a range of 81% of the full 2π phase shift. Additionally, the versatility of the tunable Huygen's metasurfaces is demonstrated by optically programming the spatial light phase distribution of the metasurface with single meta‐unit precision and retrieving high‐resolution phase‐encoded images using hyperspectral measurements. The programmable metasurface concept overcomes the static limitations of previous dielectric metasurfaces, paving the way for “universal” metasurfaces and highly efficient, ultracompact active optical elements like tunable lenses, dynamic holograms, and spatial light modulators.     

Bubble Architectures for Locally Resonant Acoustic Metamaterials

Soft acoustic metamaterials that embed soft materials in a host media have promising applications in aqueous environments. However, the preparation of soft metamaterials under water and realization of low‐frequency soft acoustic metamaterials remains a challenge. By combining 3D printing technology and surface hydrophobic properties, this work presents a general approach to construct 3D soft acoustic metamaterials using bubbles as resonator units. Low‐frequency broadband locally resonant metamaterials can be realized using patterned bubbles with bandgaps that are orders of magnitude wider than other locally resonant metamaterials. In addition, a water‐to‐air ultratransmission metasurface is prepared by patterning a layer of bubbles beneath the water surface, which allows for the ultratransmission of sound across an air–water interface. This strategy opens up promising avenues for many applications based on locally resonant metamaterials such as deep subwavelength acoustic superlenses or negative‐refraction metamaterials.     

Full‐Color Complex‐Amplitude Vectorial Holograms Based on Multi‐Freedom Metasurfaces

Phase, polarization, amplitude, and frequency represent the basic dimensions of light, playing crucial roles for both fundamental light–material interactions and all major optical applications. Metasurfaces have emerged as a compact platform to manipulate these knobs, but previous metasurfaces have limited flexibility to simultaneous control them. A multi‐freedom metasurface that can simultaneously and independently modulate phase, polarization, and amplitude in an analytical form is introduced, and frequency multiplexing is further realized by a k‐space engineering technique. The multi‐freedom metasurface seamlessly combines geometric Pancharatnam–Berry phase and detour phase, both of which are frequency independent. As a result, it allows complex‐amplitude vectorial hologram at various frequencies based on the same design strategy, without sophisticated nanostructure searching of massive geometric parameters. Based on this principle, full‐color complex‐amplitude vectorial meta‐holograms in the visible are experimentally demonstrated with a metal–insulator–metal architecture, unlocking the long‐sought full potential of advanced light field manipulation through ultrathin metasurfaces.     

Programmable Acoustic Metasurfaces

Metasurfaces open up unprecedented potential for wave engineering using subwavelength sheets. However, a severe limitation of current acoustic metasurfaces is their poor reconfigurability to achieve distinct functions on demand. Here a programmable acoustic metasurface that contains an array of tunable subwavelength unit cells to break the limitation and realize versatile two‐dimensional wave manipulation functions is reported. Each unit cell of the metasurface is composed of a straight channel and five shunted Helmholtz resonators, whose effective mass can be tuned by a robust fluidic system. The phase and amplitude of acoustic waves transmitting through each unit cell can be modulated dynamically and continuously. Based on such mechanism, the metasurface is able to achieve versatile wave manipulation functions, by engineering the phase and amplitude of transmission waves in the subwavelength scale. Through acoustic field scanning experiments, multiple wave manipulation functions, including steering acoustic waves, engineering acoustic beams, and switching on/off acoustic energy flow by using one design of metasurface are visually demonstrated. This work extends the metasurface research and holds great potential for a wide range of applications including acoustic imaging, communication, levitation, and tweezers.     

Flexible Plasmonic Metasurfaces with User‐Designed Patterns for Molecular Sensing and Cryptography

Flexible plasmonic metasurfaces have garnered considerable attention because the material's mechanical flexibility enables new functionalities and integrated applications. Here, by adopting low‐cost materials and simple techniques, we demonstrate a method of fabricating large flexible metasurfaces with arbitrary user‐designed iridescent patterns. These naked‐eye recognizable patterns together with their excellent plasmonic activities have yielded new functionalities and novel applications. Demonstrations include plasmonic sensing, reflective displays, developing new encryption strategies and integrated devices, etc. Moreover, the low fabrication cost (?2) would enable the practical use of the material. The metasurface can even be fashioned into an innovative, multifunctional medical ID bracelet. We believe our flexible plasmonic metafilm will inspire the fabrication of many novel applications and open up new horizons in various fields.     

太赫兹信息超材料与超表面

该文对信息超材料,包括数字超材料、编码超材料、以及可编程超材料的研究进展及其在太赫兹领域的应用进行了综述,从原理分析、数值仿真、样品制备、实际应用等多个角度介绍了信息超材料对电磁波全面而灵活的调控能力,着重探讨了编码超材料在太赫兹领域的发展以及应用,最后阐述了现场可编程超材料的原理及其在构建新型成像系统、新概念雷达中的应用。信息超材料与超表面对太赫兹波束的灵活调控可用于制作波束分离、低雷达散射截面等多种功能器件,为太赫兹频段电磁波的实时调控开辟了新的途径。      

基于电介质超表面的双频带双偏振通道波前调控

随着微纳加工技术的发展,超表面在亚波长尺度对电磁波的多维度调控展现出传统光学器件难以比拟的优势。基于电介质硅纳米柱结构构建了具有双频带响应的超表面,利用微结构对不同偏振入射光反射系数的差异,通过构建梯度几何相位实现了双波长下的异常反射;同时设计了超表面灰度成像阵列,在近红外波段实现了对正交偏振态和双波长入射具有不同响应的正负灰度图像。文中提出的超表面设计为基于超表面的多功能集成技术的发展奠定了基础。     

Polarization and Holography Recording in Real- and k-Space Based on Dielectric Metasurface

The diverse design freedom and mechanisms of metasurfaces motivate the manipulation of polarization in an ultrashort distance with subwavelength resolution and make metasurfaces outperform conventional polarization optical elements. However, in order to enhance the information capability and encryption security of metasurface holograms, polarization manipulation together with multiplexing technologies are still highly desired. Here, a birefringent dielectric metasurface with the capability of encoding a grayscale image in real-space based on Malus's law by utilizing the inhomogeneous polarization distribution and realizing the reconstruction of a vectorial holographic image in k-space with the help of the phase profiles of different polarization components of output light is demonstrated. This novel functionality is realized by exploiting the manipulation of polarization and phase of output light simultaneously offered by the dielectric metasurface. The proposed method may enhance the information capability and security level of applications such as the anticounterfeiting and encryption.     

基于超表面的超薄隐身器件

隐身是人类自古以来的美妙幻想和愿望。近年来，随着人工微结构超构材料领域的不断发展，隐身具备了坚实的科学理论基础和实现条件。早期的隐身设计大多数是基于变换光学原理，科学家们利用超构材料实现了渐变的折射率并在多个频段实现了隐身现象。然而，变换光学隐身器件通常具有较大的尺寸且不易制备，这极大地限制了隐身器件的应用和发展。近年来，超表面作为超构材料的二维对应物，由于其轻薄特性、制备容易、以及强大的电磁波调控能力吸引了人们广泛的关注和研究兴趣。利用超表面实现的超薄隐身器件有望解除传统隐身器件对大尺寸和极端参数材料的依赖，进一步推动了隐身领域的发展，并使隐身器件迈向实际应用。文中对近年来基于超表面的超薄隐身器件的相关研究进行了简要的回顾，着重介绍了其隐身原理，实现方法以及优劣势，最后对领域发展前景和方向提出了一些建议。     

数字编码超表面:迈向电磁功能的可编程与智能调控

数字编码超表面是超材料与超表面领域的重要研究分支。通过数字编码方法替代等效媒质理论来表征超表面，不仅有效简化了超表面设计，而且建立了数字信息与超材料物理的联系。该文系统梳理数字编码超表面的发展历程，重点介绍其在可编程与智能电磁调控领域的最新研究进展。首先，详细介绍数字编码超表面的基本概念以及基于数字编码超表面的信息论研究；然后，具体介绍可编程超表面的工作原理和实现方式以及可编程超表面的不同研究方向，包括辐射式可编程超表面、多维度可编程超表面、时域数字编码超表面与新体制通信系统；接着，介绍智能超表面的最新研究进展，展示其环境感知与自适应电磁调控能力；最后，对超表面的未来发展进行讨论与展望。      

Quasi‐Three‐Dimensional Angle‐Tolerant Electromagnetic Illusion Using Ultrathin Metasurface Coatings

Low‐profile and light‐weight coatings that offer comprehensive manipulation of the electromagnetic scattering for finite‐length objects are highly desirable, but not yet achieved, for applications including camouflaging, deceptive sensing, radar cognition control, and defense security. Here, for the first time, the theory, practical design, and experimental demonstration of quasi‐three‐dimensional and angle‐tolerant electromagnetic illusion coatings are presented which have been enabled by ultrathin single‐layer functional metasurfaces. By controlling the multiple Mie scattering coefficients using the tangential and non‐vanishing radial electromagnetic responses of the metasurface, the quasi‐two‐dimensional coating transforms the electromagnetic perception of one object to mimic that of another which has been pre‐selected by the designer. The illusion coating, which is homogeneous but anisotropic, is realized using hundreds of composite electric and magnetic sub‐wavelength unit cells operating at frequencies away from their resonance. Two different prototypes of the metasurface illusion coatings were fabricated and characterized, demonstrating very good camouflaging performance for finite‐length dielectric as well as conducting objects within a field‐of‐view up to ±10° off normal. This work paves the way for practical artificially engineered material coatings with exotic and versatile scattering control capabilities that would enable a wide range of applications throughout the entire electromagnetic spectrum.     

电磁超表面在隐身技术中的应用研究进展

电磁超表面能够利用散射调控和电磁波吸收2种主要机理进行隐身是隐身技术中一种极具潜力的新型技术途径。对电磁超表面在隐身技术中的应用与研究进展进行综述,首先介绍了超表面散射调控机理进行隐身设计的基本原理与实现方法,介绍了相位梯度超表面、编码超表面和超表面隐身套的发展历程和研究成果;其次介绍了基于吸波机理的超表面隐身技术研究进展,包括完美吸波结构、多频带吸波结构、宽频带吸波结构、宽角域吸波结构;再次介绍了超表面雷达隐身与其他功能的复合设计研究,包括超表面隐身强度复合设计、超表面吸波透波散射一体化、雷达红外兼容隐身等内容;最后总结了一些超表面在隐身技术应用中存在的问题和未来的研究方向。     

太赫兹波前调制超表面器件研究进展

超表面是一种由人工微结构组成的超薄平面器件,能够实现对电磁波振幅、相位以及偏振态的调控,具有体积小、重量轻、集成度高、可灵活操控电磁波等优势,在电磁波谱、波前调制中发挥着巨大的作用。综述了近年来基于超表面的太赫兹波前调制器件的研究进展。总结了基于Pancharatnam-Berry相位、基于局域表面等离子体共振(LSPR)、基于Mie共振的三种超表面单元结构对电磁波的振幅、相位调控机理,并讨论了实现高效率超表面的方法。之后,介绍了用于设计波前调制超表面器件的纯相位调制方法和复振幅调制方法。综述了在太赫兹波段典型的超表面波前调制器,包括单一功能、复合功能以及可调谐功能的超表面波前调制器件。在早期的研究工作中,设计的超表面可实现波束偏转、波束聚焦、全息成像、以及涡旋光束、自聚焦光束、洛伦兹光束等特殊光束产生等功能。为提高太赫兹器件的利用率,波分复用、偏振复用等功能复用的太赫兹超表面器件被提出。随着对太赫兹波前动态调控需求的增长, 一些主动的太赫兹超表面器件被提出并在实验上被验证。共有两种主动的超表面器件。其中一种主动超表面是通过将超表面结构与半导体材料或相变材料结合形成的,另一种是通过光泵浦硅片形成的全光器件。全光超表面在不用重新加工的前提下能够被重复使用。通过调整投影在硅片上的超表面图像即可动态操控太赫兹波前。全光超表面具有动态控制波束扫描和波束聚焦的能力,将来可应用于太赫兹通信、太赫兹雷达等领域。最后,对太赫兹波前调制超表面器件的发展趋势与应用前景进行了展望。     

光学超构表面的微纳加工技术研究进展

超构表面由二维平面内精心排布的亚波长单元组成,为设计超紧凑型光学元件提供了新的范式,在微型化光学系统方面显示出了极大的潜力。在不到十年时间里,超构表面由于具有超轻、超薄且能够操纵光波的各种参量以实现多功能集成的优势在多学科领域引起了广泛的关注。然而,在光学波段,高自由度、非周期、排列密集的超构单元对其加工制备提出了很多极端的参数要求,如极小尺度、极高精度、高深宽比、难加工材料、跨尺度等,这使得超构表面从实验室走向实际应用面临极大的挑战。文中总结了近些年用于超构表面各类微纳加工方法的各类方法的原理、特点和最新进展,包括小面积直写方法、大面积模板转移方法以及一些新兴的加工方法。最后,针对超构表面在加工方面的目前的挑战和未来的发展趋势进行了总结和展望。     

基于超表面的卫星天线设计进展综述

超表面是由亚波长尺寸单元密集排布组成的平面结构,具有强大的电磁波调控能力,而基于超表面的新型卫星天线在缓解业务多样化和用户数量激增方面极具潜力。介绍了目前卫星天线发展现状趋势,对传统天线加载超表面和单一超表面天线加以区分,归纳了加载超表面后天线所具有的低剖面、多极化、波束控制等优势,综述了超表面作为主要辐射元件的天线设计。分析了超表面在不同天线设计方案中的工作原理、效能以及存在的优势与不足,最后讨论了超表面卫星天线的发展方向,指出超表面技术在卫星天线设计领域中具有实用价值。     

Reversible Thermal Tuning of All‐Dielectric Metasurfaces

All‐dielectric metasurfaces provide a powerful platform for a new generation of flat optical devices, in particular, for applications in telecommunication systems, due to their low losses and high transparency in the infrared. However, active and reversible tuning of such metasurfaces remains a challenge. This study experimentally demonstrates and theoretically justifies a novel scenario of the dynamical reversible tuning of all‐dielectric metasurfaces based on the temperature‐dependent change of the refractive index of silicon. How to design an all‐dielectric metasurface with sharp resonances by achieving interference between magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole modes of constituted nanoparticles arranged in a 2D lattice is shown. Thermal tuning of these resonances can cause drastic but reciprocal changes in the directional scattering of the metasurface in a spectral window of 75 nm. This change can result in a 50‐fold enhancement of the radiation directionality. This type of reversible tuning can play a significant role in novel flat optical devices including the metalenses and metaholograms.     

Full‐State Synthesis of Electromagnetic Fields using High Efficiency Phase‐Only Metasurfaces

A metasurface is a thin array of subwavelength elements with designable scattering responses, and metasurface holography is a powerful tool for imaging and field control. The existing metasurface holograms are classified into two types: one is based on phase‐only metasurfaces (including the recently presented vectorial metasurface holography), which has high power efficiency but cannot control the phases of generated fields; while the other is based on phase‐amplitude‐modulated metasurfaces, which can control both field amplitudes and phases in the region of interest (ROI) but has very low efficiency. Here, for the first time, it is proposed to synthesize the field amplitudes and phases in ROI simultaneously and independently by using high‐efficiency phase‐only metasurfaces. All points in ROI may have independent values of field amplitudes and phases, and the requirements for X and Y components may be different in achieving spatially varied polarization states. To this end, an efficient design method based on equivalent electromagnetic model and gradient‐based nonlinear optimization is proposed. Full‐wave simulations and experimental results demonstrate that the phase‐only metasurface designed by the method has 10 times higher efficiency than the phase‐amplitude‐modulated metasurface. This work opens a way to realize more complicated and high‐efficiency metasurface holography.     

基于智能算法的超材料快速优化设计方法研究进展

目前,超材料研究不断向工程化应用推进,在物理机理与效应、设计理论与方法、加工制备与测试等方面取得了突飞猛进的发展。但是,传统的超材料设计主要依赖人工设计和优化,面对大规模的工程化应用设计时,无法实现数量庞大的超材料结构单元的快速整体设计。近几年,涵盖传统启发式算法和神经网络算法的智能算法在超材料设计中所占的比重逐步上升...     

Radiation-Type Metasurfaces for Advanced Electromagnetic Manipulation

Manipulating the phase, polarization, and energy distribution of electromagnetic (EM) waves has facilitated numerous applications. Nowadays, metasurface provides an innovational scenario to carry out more promising and advanced control of EM waves. However, it is a great challenge to manipulate polarization, phase, and energy distribution simultaneously with a low profile. Herein, a class of single-layer radiation-type metasurfaces to achieve advanced EM manipulation is proposed. Desired EM functions can be achieved based on the geometric phase and resonant phase. Such metasurfaces enable the capability to manipulate arbitrary phases and linear polarization states simultaneously. Moreover, arbitrary energy distributions can be controlled. As examples of potential applications, three advanced EM functional devices are presented: a novel multiple-input multiple-output antenna with efficient crosstalk suppression and information encryption, an energy-controllable router, and a metasurface holographic imaging based on power transmission algorithm, respectively. The proposed strategy may open up an alternative way of controlling EM waves with advanced performance and minimalist complexity. Moreover, it may lead to advances in information encoding and cryptography.     

Mie‐Resonant Membrane Huygens' Metasurfaces

All‐dielectric metasurfaces have become a new paradigm for flat optics as they allow flexible engineering of the electromagnetic space of propagating waves. Such metasurfaces are usually composed of individual subwavelength elements embedded into a host medium or placed on a substrate, which often diminishes the quality of the resonances. The substrate imposes limitations on the metasurface functionalities, especially for infrared and terahertz frequencies. Here a novel concept of membrane Huygens' metasurfaces is introduced. The metasurfaces feature an inverted design, and they consist of arrays of holes made in a thin membrane of high‐index dielectric material, with the response governed by the electric and magnetic Mie resonances excited within dielectric domains of the membrane. Highly efficient transmission combined with the 2π phase coverage in the freestanding membranes is demonstrated. Several functional metadevices for wavefront control are designed, including beam deflector, a lens, and an axicon. Such membrane metasurfaces provide novel opportunities for efficient large‐area metadevices, whose advanced functionality is defined by structuring rather than by chemical composition.