Metasurface Polarization Optics: Phase Manipulation for Arbitrary Polarization Conversion Condition

Metasurface polarization optics have attracted considerable attention due to their ability to manipulate independently the wave fronts of different polarization channels with subwavelength scale. Previous methods mainly focused on the condition of complete polarization conversion, restricting the application range of metasurface polarization multiplexing. Here, we proposed a generalized framework of phase manipulation for the metasurface polarization optics, which can realize independent phase control and arbitrary energy distribution of different polarization channels for the arbitrary polarization conversion efficiency. Based on this principle, we experimentally demonstrate tripolarization-channel wave-front control for the arbitrary polarization state (elliptical, circular, and linear). The arbitrary energy distribution of different polarization channels has been achieved via varying the polarization conversion efficiency. The proposed framework significantly improves the performance of metasurface in the polarization multiplexing and energy distribution, and expands the application scope of metasurface in the polarization optics.