Polarization-multiplexed metasurface enabled tri-functional imaging

Diffraction-limited focusing imaging, edge-enhanced imag-ing, and long depth of focus imaging offer crucial technical capabilities for applications such as biological microscopy and surface topography detection. To conveniently and quickly realize the microscopy imaging of different func-tions, the multifunctional integrated system of microscopy imaging has become an increasingly important research direction. However, conventional microscopes necessitate bulky optical components to switch between these func-tionalities, suffering from the system's complexity and unstability. Hence, solving the problem of integrating mul-tiple functions within an optical system is a pressing need. In this work, we present an approach using a polarization -multiplexed tri-functional metasurface, capable of realizing the aforementioned imaging functions simply by changing the polarization state of the input and output light, enhanc-ing the system structure's compactness and flexibility. This work offers a new avenue for multifunctional imaging, with potential applications in biomedicine and microscopy imag-ing. (c) 2023 Optica Publishing Group