Polarization manipulation and multiplexing via optical metasurfaces: from classical to quantum

Abstract

Traditional optical elements, such as waveplates and polarization beam splitters, are essential for classical and quantum information techniques. Yet their bulky size and heavy weight are prejudicial for miniaturizing information systems. Here, we present our recent studies on polarization manipulation and multiplexing with optical metasurfaces, which significantly miniaturize optical systems. One is to break the limitation of polarization multiplexing in optical metasurfaces with engineered noise, and the other is to realize multichannel distribution and transformation of entangled photons with dielectric metasurfaces. The approaches achieve potential applications in high-capacity optical displays, data storage, information encryption, and quantum information networks.