Vectorial holograms with a dielectric metasurface: ultimate polarization pattern generation

Controlling the polarization of light has been of interest for various applications in laser materials processing, display systems, and spectroscopy among others. Despite great advancements, the level of control over the polarization of light using naturally birefringent materials and liquid crystals is still limited. In recent years, dielectric metasurfaces have enabled an unprecedented control over the polarization and phase of light. Here, we demonstrate vectorial holograms with almost arbitrary polarization patterns using structurally birefringent dielectric metasurfaces. Using a modified Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm and converting the red–green–blue data in arbitrary color images to Stokes parameters, we show that the demonstrated metasurfaces can store and project color image data in the polarization state of a monochromatic hologram. In addition to holograms with enhanced security and data storage capacity, we believe that the developed concepts and methods will spur new applications in advanced structured illumination techniques, and more generally, whenever a complex polarization pattern is required