Universal Polarization Transformations: Spatial Programming of Polarization Scattering Matrices Using a Deep Learning‐Designed Diffractive Polarization Transformer
Abstract
Controlled synthesis of optical fields having nonuniform polarization distributions presents a challenging task. Here, a universal polarization transformer is demonstrated that can synthesize a large set of arbitrarily‐selected, complex‐valued polarization scattering matrices between the polarization states at different positions within its input and output field‐of‐views (FOVs). This framework comprises 2D arrays of linear polarizers positioned between isotropic diffractive layers, each containing tens of thousands of diffractive features with optimizable transmission coefficients. After its deep learning‐based training, this diffractive polarization transformer can successfully implement NiNo = 10 000 different spatially‐encoded polarization scattering matrices with negligible error, where Ni and No represent the number of pixels in the input and output FOVs, respectively. This universal polarization transformation framework is experimentally validated in the terahertz spectrum by fabricating wire‐grid polarizers and integrating them with 3D‐printed diffractive layers to form a physical polarization transformer. Through this set‐up, an all‐optical polarization permutation operation of spatially‐varying polarization fields is demonstrated, and distinct spatially‐encoded polarization scattering matrices are simultaneously implemented between the input and output FOVs of a compact diffractive processor. This framework opens up new avenues for developing novel devices for universal polarization control and may find applications in, e.g., remote sensing, medical imaging, security, material inspection, and machine vision.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 10, 2023
- Source ID
- 10.1002/adma.202303395
Entities
People
- Aydoğan Özcan
- Jingtian Hu
- Jingxi Li
- Mona Jarrahi
- Tianyi Gan
- Yifan Zhao
- Yuhang Li
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Department of Energy
- University of California
- University of California, Los Angeles