Abstract
Measuring light’s state of polarization is an inherently difficult problem since the phase information between orthogonal polarization states is typically lost in the detection process. In this work, we bring to the fore the equivalence between normalized Stokes parameters and diffraction contrasts in appropriately designed phase-gradient birefringent metasurfaces and introduce a concept of all-polarization birefringent metagratings. The metagrating, which consists of three interweaved metasurfaces, allows one to easily analyze an arbitrary state of light polarization by conducting simultaneous (i.e., parallel) measurements of the correspondent diffraction intensities that reveal immediately the Stokes parameters of the polarization state under examination. Based on plasmonic metasurfaces operating in reflection at a wavelength of 800 nm, we design and realize phase-gradient birefringent metasurfaces and the correspondent metagrating, while experimental characterization of the fabricated components convincingly demonstrates the expected functionalities. We foresee the use of the metagrating in compact polarimetric setups at any frequency regime of interest.
Highlights
Monochromatic electromagnetic waves are typically characterized by their intensity, frequency, and the state of polarization, with the first two characteristics being easy to assess using suitable detectors and spectrometers
Based on phase-gradient metasurfaces in reflection, we have reported on the design and realization of three birefringent blazed gratings that split orthogonal polarizations of different bases at a wavelength of 800 nm, while the associated diffraction contrasts equal the Stokes parameters of the incident light
The three metasurfaces are interweaved into one configuration, denoted a metagrating, that allows for the determination of the polarization state of the incident light in one measurement without the need of additional polarizers
Summary
Monochromatic electromagnetic waves are typically characterized by their intensity, frequency, and the state of polarization, with the first two characteristics being easy to assess using suitable detectors and spectrometers. For efficient manipulation of light, it is advantageous to consider configurations based on the low-frequency concept of reflectarrays[27], known in the optical regime as gap-surface plasmon (GSP) based metasurfaces[28, 29] due to the physical origin of the plasmonic resonances[30]. These metasurfaces consist of an optically-thick metal film overlaid by a nanometer-thin dielectric spacer and an array of space-variant metal nanobricks (sometimes denoted nanopatches). This work proposes a new compact optical component that allows for fast and simple determination of the state of polarization
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