Monolithic Expandable-FOV Metalens Enabled by Radially Gradient-Tilted Meta-Atoms

Abstract: Metalens, as the most promising and applicable emerging optical device, has long been constrained by the limited field of view (FOV). Recent studies employing phase engineering or multi-layer strategies have made some progress, but they all rely on upright meta-atoms. This leads us to consider whether tilted meta-atoms could represent a promising yet underexplored approach for enhancing the field of view? In this work, we introduce the control of the tilt angle of meta-atoms as a new degree of freedom into the design of metalenses and propose a wide-field-of-view (WFOV) metalens design framework utilizing radially gradient-tilted meta-atoms. Based on the proposed method, we designed two WFOV metalenses with distinct tilt configurations to meet specific application requirements of efficiency or precision. Simulation results demonstrate that both designs, exhibiting distinct performance characteristics, achieve diffraction-limited focusing within a 120 degree FOV. Additionally, the FOV can be expanded with this method by tuning the tilt angle configurations of meta-atoms and the metalens diameter. These findings will establish a promising pathway towards compact optical systems capable of combining ultra-wide angular coverage with high-resolution imaging.