Abstract
Polarization, which represents the vector nature of electromagnetic waves, plays a fundamental role in optics. Fast, simple, and broadband polarization state characterization is required by applications such as polarization communication, polarimetry, and remote sensing. However, conventional polarization detection methods face great difficulty in determining the phase difference between orthogonal polarization states and often require a series of measurements. Here, we demonstrate how polarization-dependent holography enables direct polarization detection in a single measurement. Using a multiplexed Pancharatnam–Berry phase metasurface, we generate orthogonally polarized holograms that partially overlap with a spatially varying phase difference. Both amplitude and phase difference can be read from the holographic image in the circular polarization basis, facilitating the extraction of all Stokes parameters for polarized light. The metahologram detects polarization reliably at several near-infrared to visible wavelengths, and simulations predict broadband operation in the 580–940 nm spectral range. This method enables fast and compact polarization analyzing devices, e.g., for spectroscopy, sensing, and communications.
Highlights
Polarization is a fundamental property of electromagnetic waves that characterizes the trajectory of the oscillating electric field vector [1]
Many applications depend on polarization state characterization with a minimum error
We can increase the topological charge of φRL − φLR, which effectively increases the sampling frequency and allows extraction of the chiral phase difference with better accuracy
Summary
Polarization is a fundamental property of electromagnetic waves that characterizes the trajectory of the oscillating electric field vector [1]. Conventional methods are usually indirect and require a series of intensity measurements to determine the polarization state, for example, the intensities of light after passing through a wave plate with different rotation angles [8], or the intensities of differently polarized components of the incident light that passes through special beam splitting components [9]. In both cases, bulky optical setups and precise adjustment of high-quality. By exploiting the advantages of metaholograms, our method is straightforward, and capable of operating over a broad spectral range
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