Metasurface holography in the microwave regime

Abstract

Hologram technology has attracted a great deal of interest in a wide range of optical fields owing to its potential use in future optical applications, such as holographic imaging and optical data storage. Although there have been considerable efforts to develop holographic technologies using conventional optics, critical issues still hinder their future development. A metasurface, as an emerging multifunctional device, can manipulate the phase, magnitude, polarization and resonance properties of electromagnetic fields within a sub-wavelength scale, opening up an alternative for a compact holographic structure and high imaging quality. In this review paper, we first introduce the development history of holographic imaging and metasurfaces, and demonstrate some applications of metasurface holography in the field of optics. We then summarize the latest developments in holographic imaging in the microwave regime. These functionalities include phase-and ampli-tude-based design, polarization multiplexing, wavelength multiplexing, spatial asymmetric propa-gation, and a reconfigurable mechanism. Finally, we conclude briefly on this rapidly developing research field and present some outlooks for the near future.