Asymmetric Nanoantennas for Ultrahigh Angle Broadband Visible Light Bending

Wavefront manipulation in metasurfaces typically relies on phase mapping with a finite number of elements. In particular, a discretized linear phase profile may be used to obtain a beam bending functionality. However, discretization limits the applicability of this approach for high angle bending due to the drastic efficiency drop when the phase is mapped by a small number of elements. In this work, we discuss a novel concept for energy redistribution in diffraction gratings and its application in the visible spectrum range, which helps overcome the constraints of ultrahigh angle (above 80 degrees) beam bending. Arranging asymmetric dielectric nanoantennas into diffractive gratings, we show that one can efficiently redistribute the power between the grating orders at will. This is achieved by precise engineering of the scattering pattern of the nanoantennas. The concept is numerically and experimentally demonstrated at visible frequencies using several designs of TiO2 (titanium dioxide) nanoantennas for medium (similar to 55 degrees) and high (similar to 80 degrees) angle light bending. Results show efficient broadband visible-light operation (blue and green range) of transmissive devices, reaching efficiencies of similar to 90% and 50%, respectively, at the optimized wavelength. The presented design concept is general and can be applied for both transmission and reflection operation at any desired wavelength and polarization.