Multifunctional dielectric metasurface for independent holographic imaging and polarization imaging

Holography is regarded as a promising imaging technology that reconstructs vivid images utilizing the principles of diffraction and interference of light. Meanwhile, grayscale imaging based on Malus's law have been realized by manipulating polarization properties of scattering light. In this paper, we report a novel multiplexing imaging method by totally and independently controlling phase and polarization of light, which has the advantages of achieving totally independent imaging channels and being easier to be realized compared with the existing publications. As a proof of concept, a dielectric metasurface consisting of subwavelength nanobricks is designed and simulated, which operates at the wavelength of 850 nm. The simulation results indicate that when the metasurface is illuminated by a x-polarized plane wave, one grayscale image based on Malus's law is projected on a plane 800 nm away from the metasurface, and another phase-only holographic image is reconstructed on a distant plane 8.4 um away. This method could be further applied in the fields of information encryption, multiplexing and anti-counterfeiting due to the two totally independent imaging channels.

Automated summary

In this paper, a novel multiplexing imaging method is reported, which achieves totally independent imaging channels by controlling the phase and polarization of light. A dielectric metasurface consisting of subwavelength nanobricks is designed and simulated, demonstrating the projection of grayscale image and the reconstruction of holographic image. This method has potential applications in information encryption, multiplexing, and anti-counterfeiting.