Geometric Phase Generated Optical Illusion

Fuyong Yue, Xiaofei Zang, Dandan Wen, Zile Li, Chunmei Zhang, Huigang Liu, Brian D. Gerardot, Wei Wang, Guoxing Zheng, Xianzhong Chen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)
101 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

An optical illusion, such as “Rubin’s vase”, is caused by the information gathered by the eye, which is processed in the brain to give a perception that does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source. Metasurfaces are metamaterials of reduced dimensionality which have opened up new avenues for flat optics. The recent advancement in spin-controlled metasurface holograms has attracted considerate attention, providing a new method to realize optical illusions. We propose and experimentally demonstrate a metasurface device to generate an optical illusion. The metasurface device is designed to display two asymmetrically distributed off-axis images of “Rubin faces” with high fidelity, high efficiency and broadband operation that are interchangeable by controlling the helicity of the incident light. Upon the illumination of a linearly polarized light beam, the optical illusion of a ‘vase’ is perceived. Our result provides an intuitive demonstration of the figure-ground distinction that our brains make during the visual perception. The alliance between geometric metasurface and the optical illusion opens a pathway for new applications related to encryption, optical patterning, and information processing.
Original languageEnglish
Article number11440
Number of pages7
JournalScientific Reports
Volume7
Early online date12 Sept 2017
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 12 Sept 2017

Keywords

  • Metasuface
  • Optical illusion

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