Polarizers have always been an important optical component for optical engineering and have played an indispensable part of polarization imaging systems. Metasurface polarizers provide an excellent platform to achieve miniaturization, high resolution, and low cost of polarization imaging systems. Here, we proposed freeform metasurface polarizers derived by adjoint-based inverse design of a full-Jones matrix with gradient-descent optimization. We designed multiple freeform polarizers with different filtered states of polarization (SOPs), including circular polarizers, elliptical polarizers, and linear polarizers that could cover the full Poincaré sphere. Note that near-unitary polarization dichroism and the ultrahigh polarization extinction ratio (ER) reaching 50 dB were achieved for optimized circular polarizers. The multiple freeform polarizers with filtered polarization state locating at four vertices of an inscribed regular tetrahedron of the Poincaré sphere are designed to form a full-Stokes parameters micropolarizer array. Our work provides a novel approach, we believe, for the design of meta-polarizers that may have potential applications in polarization imaging, polarization detection, and communication.

In this Letter, we report on the investigations of nonlinear scattering of plasmonic nanoparticles by manipulating ambient environments. We create different local thermal hosts for gold nanospheres that are immersed in oil, encapsulated in silica glass and also coated with silica shells. In terms of regulable effective thermal conductivity, silica coatings are found to contribute significantly to scattering saturation. Benefitting from the enhanced thermal stability and the reduced plasmonic coupling provided by the shell-isolated nanoparticles, we achieve super-resolution imaging with a feature size of 52 nm (λ/10), and we can readily resolve pairs of nanoparticles with a gap-to-gap distance of 5 nm.

Achieving an axial superresolved focus with a single lens by simply inserting a modulation mask in the pupil plane is preferred due to its compact configuration and general applicability. However, lack of a universal theoretical model to manifest the superresolved focusing mechanism vastly complicates the mask design and hinders optimal resolution. Here we establish an interference model and find out that the axial resolution closely relates to the Gouy phase gradient (GPG) at the focal point. Using a GPG tuning-based optimization approach, the axial resolution of a ring-mask-modulated beam is readily improved to attain superresolved focal depth for multiple types of pupil function and polarization. In experiment, a focus with an axial resolution of 27% improved from the diffraction limit and 11% finer than the previously reported record is demonstrated for the radially polarized beam. In simulations, a spherical focus with 3D isotropic resolution and a superoscillation-like axial modulation behavior toward extremely high axial resolution is also presented. This approach can be applied for varied types of pupil function, wavelength, and polarization, and can be easily transferred to other traditional or superresolution microscopes to upgrade their axial resolution.

本文提出了一种基于空间填充曲线的超构表面结构，利用理论分析、数值仿真的方法研究了该超构表面的近场电磁特性，实现了高度局域及高品质因子(Q-factor)的多阶人工局域表面等离激元共振(spoof plasmon resonances)。我们发现采用不同结构形状和尺寸的空间填充曲线均可产生共振频率规则分布的多阶谐振模式，通过调整结构的等效波导长度，可同时获得高的谐振波长/结构尺寸压缩比与高品质因子。空间填充曲线所支持的人工局域表面等离激元由磁偶极子与电偶极子模式交替支持；其余参数不变的情况下改变空间填充曲线的分布形式，结构所支持的表面等离激元的谐振特性不受形状曲折的影响，而只与等效波导总长度有关。此外，近场模式的强度分布随着空气波导的走向而改变，可根据实际需求对结构进行特定排布。本文的研究结果对设计基于空间填充曲线的小型化高品质因子电磁谐振器件具有重要的指导意义。