Optimization and inverse-design techniques for metalens synthesis

Phase-gradient metasurfaces enable designers to tailor the behavior of electromagnetic waves at surfaces by exploiting the generalized form of Snell's law. This ability has led to the investigation of metalenses which have the potential to significantly reduce the size, weight, and power (SWaP) of conventional optical systems. While traditional lenses are made from individual glasses, metalenses are comprised of patterned meta-atom unit cells which are arranged in such a way so as to give the metalens its desired behavior. Therefore, any metalens's performance is ultimately determined by that of its underlying unit cell components. However, designing meta-atoms that simultaneously achieve high performance over wide frequency bandwidths and fields-of-view is an extremely challenging problem that is best addressed with powerful optimization and inverse-design techniques.