Large‐Area, High‐Numerical‐Aperture, Freeform Metasurfaces

Abstract Nanophotonic devices are optical platforms capable of unprecedented wavefront control. To push the limits of experimental device performance, scalable design methodologies that combine the simplicity and fabricability of conventional design paradigms with the extended capabilities of freeform optimization are required. A novel gradient‐based design framework for large‐area freeform metasurfaces is introduced in which nonlocal interactions between simply shaped nanostructures, placed on an irregular lattice, are tailored to produce high‐order hybridized modes that support customizable large‐angle scattering profiles. Utilizing this approach, multifunctional super‐dispersive metalenses are designed and experimentally demonstrated. The approach to high‐numerical‐aperture radial metalenses capable of diffraction limited focusing and the generation of donut‐shaped point spread functions is also extended. It is anticipated that these concepts will have utility in super‐resolution microscopy, particle trapping, additive manufacturing, and metrology applications that require ultra‐high numerical apertures.