Polarization-Insensitive Medium-Switchable Holographic Metasurfaces

The adoption of metasurfaces has led to revolutionary advances in holography due to improved compactness, integrability, and performance. Switchable meta-holograms projecting different replay field images in a controllable manner are highly desirable. Still, existing technologies generally rely on the use of polarized light and additional optics to facilitate switching. Consequently, the potential benefits afforded through the use of metasurfaces are limited both by the system complexity and a fixed relationship between the optical input and output. In this manuscript, we demonstrate polarization-insensitive metasurfaces encoding arbitrary and independent holograms, which can be switched between by changing the refractive index of the infiltration medium while maintaining identical illumination conditions. By sidestepping the requirements for high-performance light sources, switching optics, or delicate alignment, this approach points toward ultracompact and cost-effective switchable meta-holograms for various practical applications, such as holographic image projection, eye-perceptible sensors, optical information storage, processing, and security.

Automated summary

The use of metasurfaces in holography has led to revolutionary advances in compactness, integrability, and performance. This manuscript demonstrates polarization-insensitive metasurfaces encoding arbitrary and independent holograms, allowing for switchable meta-holograms without the need for high-performance light sources or complex alignment. This approach points toward ultracompact and cost-effective switchable meta-holograms for various practical applications, such as holographic image projection, sensors, and optical information storage.