近日，美国加州大学洛杉矶分校Aydogan Ozcan团队揭示了利用晶圆级纳米制造多层衍射光学处理器的宽带单向可见光成像。2025年8月11日，《光：科学与应用》杂志发表了这项成果。

研究组提出了一种宽带和偏振不敏感的单向成像仪，它在光谱的可见部分工作，其中图像形成发生在一个方向，而在相反的方向，它被阻挡。这种方法是通过深度学习驱动的衍射光学设计实现的，该设计采用晶圆级纳米制造，主题为高纯度的主题二氧化硅，以确保光学透明度和热稳定性。他们的设计实现了三个可见波长（覆盖光谱的红、绿、蓝部分）的单向成像，研究组通过实验验证了这种宽带单向成像仪，通过在正向创建高保真图像，并在反向生成弱的、扭曲的输出模式，与他们的数值模拟一致。

这项工作展示了衍射光学处理器的晶圆级生产，具有16级纳米级相位特征，分布在两个轴向排列的衍射层上，用于可见的单向成像。这种方法有助于大规模生产每片晶圆约5亿个纳米级相特征，支持数百到60个适合大孔径和多任务并行处理的多层衍射处理器的高通量制造。除了可见光谱中的宽带单向成像之外，该研究还为具有多种应用的人工智能衍射光学建立了一条途径，标志着光学器件功能的新时代，具有内部试验级，大规模可扩展的制造。

附：英文原文

Title: Broadband unidirectional visible imaging using wafer-scale nano-fabrication of multi-layer diffractive optical processors

Author: Shen, Che-Yung, Batoni, Paolo, Yang, Xilin, Li, Jingxi, Liao, Kun, Stack, Jared, Gardner, Jeff, Welch, Kevin, Ozcan, Aydogan

Issue&Volume: 2025-08-11

Abstract: We present a broadband and polarization-insensitive unidirectional imager that operates at the visible part of the spectrum, where image formation occurs in one direction, while in the opposite direction, it is blocked. This approach is enabled by deep learning-driven diffractive optical design with wafer-scale nano-fabrication using high-purity fused silica to ensure optical transparency and thermal stability. Our design achieves unidirectional imaging across three visible wavelengths (covering red, green, and blue parts of the spectrum), and we experimentally validated this broadband unidirectional imager by creating high-fidelity images in the forward direction and generating weak, distorted output patterns in the backward direction, in alignment with our numerical simulations. This work demonstrates wafer-scale production of diffractive optical processors, featuring 16 levels of nanoscale phase features distributed across two axially aligned diffractive layers for visible unidirectional imaging. This approach facilitates mass-scale production of ~0.5 billion nanoscale phase features per wafer, supporting high-throughput manufacturing of hundreds to thousands of multi-layer diffractive processors suitable for large apertures and parallel processing of multiple tasks. Beyond broadband unidirectional imaging in the visible spectrum, this study establishes a pathway for artificial-intelligence-enabled diffractive optics with versatile applications, signaling a new era in optical device functionality with industrial-level, massively scalable fabrication.

DOI: 10.1038/s41377-025-01971-2

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-025-01971-2