Full control of polarization states and phase distributions of light with dual-metasurfaces

Abstract: Control of the phase and polarization states of light is an important goal for nearly all optical research. The development of an efficient optical component that allows the simultaneous manipulation of the polarization and phase distribution is needed. Traditional methods require the combination of multiple optical devices, and a single optical device cannot easily realize full control of light. We theoretically predict and experimentally verify that our proposed dual-metasurfaces provide an excellent means to simultaneously manipulate the phase and polarization of transmission light at the nanoscale. By introducing a phase gradient along the interface, we achieved a near-perfect anomalous refraction with controllable polarization in the near-infrared region. On the basis of these properties, we created a dual-metasurface capable of generating radially polarized beam, demonstrating the power of full control of light. This work opens exciting avenues toward improving the degrees of freedom in the manipulation of light, including the propagation direction and distribution of the polarization and phase, and may profoundly affect a wide range of plasmonic applications.