Asymmetric metasurface photodetectors for single-shot quantitative phase imaging

The visualization of pure phase objects by wavefront sensing has important applications ranging from surface profiling to biomedical microscopy, and generally requires bulky and complicated setups involving optical spatial filtering, interferometry, or structured illumination. Here we introduce a ne...

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Main Authors: Liu Jianing, Wang Hao, Li Yuyu, Tian Lei, Paiella Roberto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2023-08-01
Series:Nanophotonics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2023-0354
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author Liu Jianing
Wang Hao
Li Yuyu
Tian Lei
Paiella Roberto
author_facet Liu Jianing
Wang Hao
Li Yuyu
Tian Lei
Paiella Roberto
author_sort Liu Jianing
collection DOAJ
description The visualization of pure phase objects by wavefront sensing has important applications ranging from surface profiling to biomedical microscopy, and generally requires bulky and complicated setups involving optical spatial filtering, interferometry, or structured illumination. Here we introduce a new type of image sensors that are uniquely sensitive to the local direction of light propagation, based on standard photodetectors coated with a specially designed plasmonic metasurface that creates an asymmetric dependence of responsivity on angle of incidence around the surface normal. The metasurface design, fabrication, and angle-sensitive operation are demonstrated using a simple photoconductive detector platform. The measurement results, combined with computational imaging calculations, are then used to show that a standard camera or microscope based on these metasurface pixels can directly visualize phase objects without any additional optical elements, with state-of-the-art minimum detectable phase contrasts below 10 mrad. Furthermore, the combination of sensors with equal and opposite angular response on the same pixel array can be used to perform quantitative phase imaging in a single shot, with a customized reconstruction algorithm which is also developed in this work. By virtue of its system miniaturization and measurement simplicity, the phase imaging approach enabled by these devices is particularly significant for applications involving space-constrained and portable setups (such as point-of-care imaging and endoscopy) and measurements involving freely moving objects.
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spelling doaj-art-a68c74cf55614e82be0d6bf204e736712025-08-20T02:23:36ZengDe GruyterNanophotonics2192-86142023-08-0112173519352810.1515/nanoph-2023-0354Asymmetric metasurface photodetectors for single-shot quantitative phase imagingLiu Jianing0Wang Hao1Li Yuyu2Tian Lei3Paiella Roberto4Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Photonics Center, Boston University, 8 Saint Mary’s Street, Boston, MA02215, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Photonics Center, Boston University, 8 Saint Mary’s Street, Boston, MA02215, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Photonics Center, Boston University, 8 Saint Mary’s Street, Boston, MA02215, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Photonics Center, Boston University, 8 Saint Mary’s Street, Boston, MA02215, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Photonics Center, Boston University, 8 Saint Mary’s Street, Boston, MA02215, USAThe visualization of pure phase objects by wavefront sensing has important applications ranging from surface profiling to biomedical microscopy, and generally requires bulky and complicated setups involving optical spatial filtering, interferometry, or structured illumination. Here we introduce a new type of image sensors that are uniquely sensitive to the local direction of light propagation, based on standard photodetectors coated with a specially designed plasmonic metasurface that creates an asymmetric dependence of responsivity on angle of incidence around the surface normal. The metasurface design, fabrication, and angle-sensitive operation are demonstrated using a simple photoconductive detector platform. The measurement results, combined with computational imaging calculations, are then used to show that a standard camera or microscope based on these metasurface pixels can directly visualize phase objects without any additional optical elements, with state-of-the-art minimum detectable phase contrasts below 10 mrad. Furthermore, the combination of sensors with equal and opposite angular response on the same pixel array can be used to perform quantitative phase imaging in a single shot, with a customized reconstruction algorithm which is also developed in this work. By virtue of its system miniaturization and measurement simplicity, the phase imaging approach enabled by these devices is particularly significant for applications involving space-constrained and portable setups (such as point-of-care imaging and endoscopy) and measurements involving freely moving objects.https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2023-0354computational imagingimage sensorsmetasurface flat opticsquantitative phase imagingwavefront sensing
spellingShingle Liu Jianing
Wang Hao
Li Yuyu
Tian Lei
Paiella Roberto
Asymmetric metasurface photodetectors for single-shot quantitative phase imaging
Nanophotonics
computational imaging
image sensors
metasurface flat optics
quantitative phase imaging
wavefront sensing
title Asymmetric metasurface photodetectors for single-shot quantitative phase imaging
title_full Asymmetric metasurface photodetectors for single-shot quantitative phase imaging
title_fullStr Asymmetric metasurface photodetectors for single-shot quantitative phase imaging
title_full_unstemmed Asymmetric metasurface photodetectors for single-shot quantitative phase imaging
title_short Asymmetric metasurface photodetectors for single-shot quantitative phase imaging
title_sort asymmetric metasurface photodetectors for single shot quantitative phase imaging
topic computational imaging
image sensors
metasurface flat optics
quantitative phase imaging
wavefront sensing
url https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2023-0354
work_keys_str_mv AT liujianing asymmetricmetasurfacephotodetectorsforsingleshotquantitativephaseimaging
AT wanghao asymmetricmetasurfacephotodetectorsforsingleshotquantitativephaseimaging
AT liyuyu asymmetricmetasurfacephotodetectorsforsingleshotquantitativephaseimaging
AT tianlei asymmetricmetasurfacephotodetectorsforsingleshotquantitativephaseimaging
AT paiellaroberto asymmetricmetasurfacephotodetectorsforsingleshotquantitativephaseimaging