An Ultra-Broadband High Efficiency Polarization Beam Splitter for High Spectral Resolution Polarimetric Imaging in the Near Infrared

A broadband, high efficiency polarized beam splitter (PBS) metagrating based on integrated resonant units (IRUs) to enable simultaneous polarization analysis, spectral dispersion, and spatial imaging in the near infrared (NIR) is developed. A PBS metagrating with a diameter of 60 mm is the key technology component of the high-resolution multiple-species atmospheric profiler in the NIR (HiMAP-NIR), which is a spaceborne instrument concept crafted to be a core payload of NASA's new generation Earth System Observatory. HiMAP-NIR will enable the aerosol profiling in Earth's planetary boundary layer (from surface to2 km altitude) by simultaneously measuring four spatial-spectral-polarimetric images from 680 to 780 nm. Through detailed optimization of hybridized resonant modes in IRUs, the PBS metagrating shows a diffraction efficiency of 70% (or better) for all four linear-polarized incident light, and polarization contrasts between orthogonal states are 0.996 (or better) from 680 to 780 nm. It meets the stringent performance required by the HiMAP-NIR exploiting a new paradigm for the broad applications of metasurfaces.

Automated summary

This study develops a broadband, high efficiency polarized beam splitter metagrating based on integrated resonant units, which enables simultaneous polarization analysis, spectral dispersion, and spatial imaging. It is a key technology component for the high-resolution multiple-species atmospheric profiler and can measure aerosol profiling in Earth's planetary boundary layer.