Near-IR wide-field-of-view Huygens metalens for outdoor imaging applications

Abstract

The ongoing effort to implement compact and cheap optical systems is the main driving force for the recent flourishing research in the field of optical metalenses. Metalenses are a type of metasurface, used for focusing and imaging applications, and are implemented based on the nanopatterning of an optical surface. The challenge faced by metalens research is to reach high levels of performance using simple fabrication methods suitable for mass production. In this paper, we present a Huygens nanoantenna-based metalens, designed for outdoor photographic/surveillance applications in the near infrared. We show that good imaging quality can be obtained over a field of view as large as ±15°. This first successful implementation of metalenses for outdoor imaging applications is expected to provide insight and inspiration for future metalens imaging applications.