Lossless, Complex-Valued Optical Field Control with Compound Metaoptics

Abstract: Forming a desired optical field distribution from a given source requires precise spatial control of a field's amplitude and phase. Low-loss metasurfaces that allow extreme phase and polarization control of optical fields have been demonstrated over the past few years. However, metasurfaces that provide amplitude control have remained lossy, utilizing mechanisms such as reflection, absorption, or polarization loss to control amplitude. Here, we describe the amplitude and phase manipulation of optical fields without loss, by using two lossless phase-only metasurfaces separated by a distance. We first demonstrate a combined beam-former and splitter optical component using this approach. Next, we show a high-quality computer-generated three-dimensional hologram. The proposed metaoptic platform combines the advantage of lossless, complex-valued field control with a physically small thickness. This approach could lead to low-profile, three-dimensional holographic displays, compact optical components, and high precision optical tweezers for micro-particle manipulation.