Vector optical field manipulation via structural functional materials: Tutorial

Abstract

Vector optical field (VOF) manipulation greatly extended the boundaries of traditional scalar optics over the past decades. Meanwhile, the newly emerging techniques enabled by structural functional optical materials have driven the research domain into the subwavelength regime, where abundant new physical phenomena and technologies have been discovered and exploited for practical applications. In this Tutorial, we outline the basic principles, methodologies, and applications of VOF via structural functional materials. Among various technical routes, we focus on the metasurface-based approaches, which show obvious advantages regarding the design flexibility, the compactness of systems, and the overall performances. Both forward and inverse design methods based on the rigorous solution of Maxwell's equations are presented, which provide a valuable basis for future researchers. Finally, we discuss the generalized optical laws and conventions based on VOF manipulation. The applications in optical imaging, communications, precision measurement, laser fabrication, etc. are highlighted.