Spin-decoupled meta-coupler empowered multiplexing and multifunction of guided wave radiation

Abstract

Employing couplers to convert guided waves into free-space modes and flexibly control their wavefront is one of the key technologies in chip-integrated displays and communications. Traditional couplers are mainly composed of gratings, which have limitations in footprint, bandwidth, as well as controllability. Though the resonant/geometric metasurface newly emerges as a promising interface for bridging guided waves with free-space ones, it either relies on complex optimizations of multiple parameters, or is subject to the locked phase response of opposite spins, both of which hinder the functional diversity and practical multiplexing capability. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate an alternative with a spin-decoupled meta-coupler, simultaneously integrating triple functions of guided wave radiation, polarization demultiplexing, and dual-channel wavefront manipulation into a single device. By endowing polarization-dependent functionalities into a pure geometric metasurface, the out-coupled left-handed and right-handed circular polarization guided waves intelligently identify the predesigned phase modulation and reconstruct desired wavefronts, like bifocal focusing and holography multiplexing, with a polarization extinction ratio over 13.4 dB in experiments. We envision that the robust, broadband, and multifunctional meta-coupler could pave a way for the development of versatile multiplexed waveguide-based devices.