Metasurfaces Redefine Optics with Flat, Efficient, and Scalable Light Control
Traditional curved lenses, which manipulate light through refraction in glass or plastic, are often bulky and offer limited flexibility in controlling light behavior. Metasurfaces offer a revolutionary alternative. These flat optical components are composed of arrays of tiny structures known as meta-atoms, which interact with light at subwavelength scales. This enables highly accurate manipulation of a light wave’s phase, amplitude, and polarization.
"Metasurfaces allow us to tailor the timing, intensity, and oscillation direction of light waves with precision," explains Dr. Maryna Leonidivna Meretska, Group Leader at the Institute of Nanotechnology at KIT.
Thanks to their multiplex capabilities—the ability to control several optical parameters simultaneously—metasurfaces can consolidate the functions of multiple optical components into a single, compact element. This reduction in complexity and size comes without any loss in performance.
Manufacturing is also streamlined. "Metasurfaces can be produced using advanced lithography and etching techniques from the semiconductor industry, enabling scalable production," Meretska adds.
One major breakthrough from her team is an optical diffraction meta-grating with a fourfold increase in efficiency over conventional designs. To be showcased at Hannover Messe starting Monday, March 31, this new component was fabricated using specialized KIT equipment. Diffraction gratings are vital to numerous technologies, including spectroscopy, telecommunications, and laser systems. However, traditional gratings often suffer from reduced efficiency as the angle of incoming light increases. The KIT meta-grating, by contrast, maintains high performance under a broad range of conditions.
"Our meta-grating delivers unmatched control over light even in demanding scenarios. This is a key step forward for technologies that require high-precision light handling,"
