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Photonics
Special Issues
Photonic Metasurfaces: Advances and Applications
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Photonic Metasurfaces: Advances and Applications

A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical Interaction Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 3810

Editor

Dr. Yongze Ren

E-Mail
Guest Editor
National Laboratory of Solid-State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Interests: applied physics; mathematical physics; metasurface; structural color; polarimetry; holography

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the continuous progress of nanofabrication technologies, metasurfaces have become an important platform for multi-dimensional optical field modulation, providing versatile control over phase, polarization, amplitude, and frequency. These capabilities have substantially extended their applications in photonics such as augmented reality, virtual reality, polarization detection, polarization imaging, structured light, and so on. This Special Issue emphasizes recent advances in optical applications enabled by metasurfaces, particularly those that transcend the limitations of conventional diffractive components. These advances enable the realization of lightweight, miniaturized, and integrated optical devices, further advancing the field of metasurface-based photonic integration.

We invite original research articles and reviews. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Multidimensional optical modulation.
  • Metalens and light-field imaging.
  • Structural color based on metasurface.
  • Polarimetry and polarization imaging.
  • Applications of metasurfaces in multispectral/hyperspectral imaging, biosensing, augmented/virtual reality, and structural light.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Yongze Ren
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • multidimensional optical modulation
  • structural color
  • polarimetry and polarization imaging
  • biosensing metasurface
  • metalens
  • multispectral/hyperspectral imaging
  • augmented/virtual reality optics via metasurface
  • edge detection
  • structural light

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3909 KB  
Article
Hybridized Concentric-Ring VO2/SiO2/Au Metasurface for Tunable Long-Wave Infrared Thermal Emission
by Thanh Son Pham, Xuan Bach Nguyen, Bui Xuan Khuyen, Vu Dinh Lam, Liangyao Chen and Youngpak Lee
Photonics 2026, 13(6), 587; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13060587 - 17 Jun 2026
Viewed by 484
Abstract
Reconfigurable photonic metasurfaces enable tunable thermal-emission engineering in the long-wave infrared (LWIR), particularly within the 8–13 μm atmospheric window. This work includes the investigation on a concentric-ring VO2/SiO2/Au metasurface for LWIR spectral-emissivity modulation. Full-wave simulations showed that, in the [...] Read more.
Reconfigurable photonic metasurfaces enable tunable thermal-emission engineering in the long-wave infrared (LWIR), particularly within the 8–13 μm atmospheric window. This work includes the investigation on a concentric-ring VO2/SiO2/Au metasurface for LWIR spectral-emissivity modulation. Full-wave simulations showed that, in the metallic phase (σ = 2 × 105 S/m where σ is conductivity), the structure exhibited an absorption over 90% across the 9.3–15 μm sub-band, with two near-unity resonances near 10.2 and 13.3 μm. Control structures, gap-dependent spectra, E-field maps, and current-density Cartesian multipole decomposition supported a hybridized-ring mechanism in which both dominant resonances were predominantly electric-dipole-like ring branches whose spectral positions and field localizations were modified by inter-ring coupling. Across the conductivity sweep, the normal-incidence band-averaged 8–13 μm emissivity changed from 0.0184 to 0.8844, corresponding to a switching ratio of 48.06. The four-fold symmetry of unit cell also yielded polarization-insensitive and angularly robust LWIR absorption, while the simplified endpoint thermal-balance estimate indicated a metallic-state net cooling power of 49.3 W m−2 at T = Tamb = 300 K, where Tamb was the ambient temperature, and an estimated equilibrium temperature drop of 4.4 K below the ambient for the metallic-state endpoint, whereas the insulating-state one suppressed this response. These results identify concentric VO2 ring metasurfaces as promising candidates for switchable LWIR thermal-emission control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photonic Metasurfaces: Advances and Applications)
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11 pages, 3234 KB  
Article
A Transmission-Type High-Efficiency Chiral Filter with Three Discrete Wavelength Responses Based on Oracle Bone Structure Metasurfaces
by Bo Cheng, Tiancheng Xian, Longfeng Lv, Yuxiao Zou, Guofeng Song, Kunpeng Zhai and Hanxiao Shao
Photonics 2026, 13(5), 491; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13050491 - 15 May 2026
Viewed by 547
Abstract
Conventional chiral metasurfaces are typically restricted to a single resonant wavelength, which limits their ability to satisfy the requirements of broadband detection and multi-channel polarization manipulation. To overcome this limitation, this study numerically proposes a chiral metasurface based on an oracle-bone-inspired geometry. By [...] Read more.
Conventional chiral metasurfaces are typically restricted to a single resonant wavelength, which limits their ability to satisfy the requirements of broadband detection and multi-channel polarization manipulation. To overcome this limitation, this study numerically proposes a chiral metasurface based on an oracle-bone-inspired geometry. By combining dislocation with rotational symmetry breaking, the proposed structure enables pronounced circular dichroism responses at three wavelengths in the long-wave infrared region, reaching 0.68@λ1 = 10.43 μm, 0.79@λ2 = 10.8 μm, and 0.6@λ3 = 10.9 μm. This design overcomes the single-wavelength limitation of conventional chiral metasurfaces and establishes a new paradigm for multi-wavelength chiral light-field manipulation. This research not only broadens the design scope of chiral photonics, but also provides a promising technical path for the development of highly integrated infrared polarization devices and multi-wavelength chiral sensing systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photonic Metasurfaces: Advances and Applications)
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15 pages, 2015 KB  
Communication
Pixelated Angle-Multiplexed Guided-Mode Resonance Metasurfaces for Broadband Terahertz Fingerprint Biosensing
by Weiqi Xu, Mengya Pan, Qiankai Hong, Shengyuan Shen, Conghui Guo, Yanpeng Shi and Yifei Zhang
Photonics 2026, 13(5), 489; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13050489 - 14 May 2026
Viewed by 869
Abstract
Terahertz (THz) fingerprint detection is central to identifying characteristic absorption fingerprints of biomolecules derived from their intrinsic rotational and vibrational modes. The development of guided-mode resonance (GMR) technology together with pixelated design offers a new approach to enhance the recognition capability of such [...] Read more.
Terahertz (THz) fingerprint detection is central to identifying characteristic absorption fingerprints of biomolecules derived from their intrinsic rotational and vibrational modes. The development of guided-mode resonance (GMR) technology together with pixelated design offers a new approach to enhance the recognition capability of such fingerprint spectra. Here, a novel secondary grating metasurface based on cycloolefin polymer (COP) is proposed, which adopts an ultra-minimalist dual-pixel complementary architecture to excite high-quality (Q)-factor GMR. Its spectral resolution does not exceed 50 GHz, enabling precise capture of target molecular characteristic information and meeting the requirements of broadband fingerprint sensing. More importantly, the design regulates the dual-pixel grating units through parameter gradient optimization and incorporates a dual regulation mode of static pixel-targeted coverage and dynamic angle fine tuning. By adjusting geometric parameters and incident angles, broadband coverage from 1.15 THz to 2.20 THz is achieved, which can accurately match the multi-fingerprint detection requirements of glutamic acid (Glu) and glutamine (Gln). This metasurface sensor, integrating the advantages of pixelation and high-Q-factor GMR characteristics, provides an effective strategy for enhanced broadband THz fingerprint sensing and shows broad application potential in the field of biochemical trace detection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photonic Metasurfaces: Advances and Applications)
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15 pages, 3804 KB  
Article
Design and Machine Learning Optimization of a Dynamically Tunable VO2-Integrated Broadband Metamaterial Absorber for THz
by Nguyen Phuc Vinh, Ha Duy Toan, Bui Xuan Khuyen, Dam Quang Tuan, Nguyen Hai Anh, Nguyen Phon Hai, Bui Son Tung, Liyang Yue, Vu Dinh Lam, Liangyao Chen and YoungPak Lee
Photonics 2026, 13(2), 157; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13020157 - 6 Feb 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1310
Abstract
This paper introduces a vanadium dioxide-integrated broadband metamaterial absorber designed for the terahertz frequency range. The simulation results for the proposed structure demonstrate a wide 90% absorption bandwidth of 8.23 THz, corresponding to a fractional bandwidth of 89.5%. By leveraging the phase-transition properties [...] Read more.
This paper introduces a vanadium dioxide-integrated broadband metamaterial absorber designed for the terahertz frequency range. The simulation results for the proposed structure demonstrate a wide 90% absorption bandwidth of 8.23 THz, corresponding to a fractional bandwidth of 89.5%. By leveraging the phase-transition properties of VO2, the absorber demonstrated dynamic adjustability by modulating the absorption from 3% to 98.74%. The absorption mechanism was analyzed through the impedance matching theory and electromagnetic field distributions, confirming the role of magnetic resonance and interference. Furthermore, machine learning algorithms, specifically Linear Regression, Support Vector Regression, and Random Forest (RF), were applied to accelerate the design process and optimize the structural parameters. Among these, the RF model demonstrated superior prediction accuracy. The machine learning-assisted optimization successfully extended the effective absorption bandwidth to 9 THz, representing an improvement by 9.4% compared to the traditional optimization methods. These results validate the efficacy of combining electromagnetic simulation with data-driven techniques for advanced metamaterial design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photonic Metasurfaces: Advances and Applications)
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