Spin-decoupled omnidirectional anomalous refraction based on a single metasurface

Taking advantage of the flexible customization of dynamic and Pancharatnam-Berry phases on meta-atoms, spin-decoupled multifunctional metasurfaces have been realized for optical beams of orthogonal circularly polarized lights, which promotes the diverse development of nanophotonic devices. To date, spin-decoupled metasurfaces can only spatially split and deflect beams in coplanar directions not in non-coplanar, limiting further applications. Here, a single metasurface is proposed to experimentally as well as numerically demonstrate the spin-decoupled omnidirectional anomalous refraction. The results indicate that the three-dimensionally omnidirectional dual-beam refractions are attributed to arbitrary engineering of spin-independent phase gradients along any in-plane orientations of the single metasurface. It is believed that the proposed spin-decoupled omnidirectional metasurfaces are promising candidates for multifunctional applications in compact spin-based nanophotonic systems, such as polarized beam splitting, steering, and polarimeter.

Automated summary

By taking advantage of dynamic and Pancharatnam-Berry phases, spin-decoupled multifunctional metasurfaces have been developed for optical beams. This opens up diverse opportunities for nanophotonic devices. This study proposes a single metasurface that demonstrates spin-decoupled omnidirectional anomalous refraction, which can be achieved through arbitrary engineering of spin-independent phase gradients. This finding is significant for compact spin-based nanophotonic systems and could be applied to polarized beam splitting, steering, and polarimeter.