Polarization-independent metasurfaces based on bound states in the continuum with high Q-factor and resonance modulation

Abstract: Metasurfaces offer a powerful platform for effective light manipulation, which is crucial for advanced optical technologies. While designs of polarization-independent structures have reduced the need for polarized illumination, they are often limited by either low Q factors or low resonance modulation. Here, we design and experimentally demonstrate a metasurface with polarization-independent quasi-bound state in the continuum (quasi-BIC), where the unit cell consists of four silicon squares arranged in a two-dimensional array and the resonance properties can be controlled by adjusting the edge length difference between different squares. Our metasurface experimentally achieves a Q factor of approximately 100 and a resonance modulation of around 50%. This work addresses a common limitation in previous designs, which either achieved high Q factors exceeding 200 with a resonance modulation of less than 10%, leading to challenging signal-to-noise ratio requirements, or achieved strong resonance modulation with Q factors of only around 10, limiting light confinement and fine-tuning capabilities. In contrast, our metasurface ensures that the polarization-independent signal is sharp and distinct within the system, reducing the demands on signal-to-noise ratio and improving robustness. Experiments show the consistent performance across different polarization angles. This work contributes to the development of versatile optical devices, enhancing the potential for the practical application of BIC-based designs in areas such as optical filtering and sensing.