Full‐Color Metaoptical Imaging in Visible Light

Metaoptics is a fast‐growing field with the potential to dramatically miniaturize image sensors. Unlike many other scientific endeavors, metaoptics are poised to make a technological and commercial impact within a few decades of inception. In particular, metaoptics is touted for next‐generation, multifunctional optical elements, with the potential to largely replace refractive optics. The performance of metaoptics for full‐color imaging, however, remains poor due to strong chromatic aberrations. Arguably, color cameras are the most prevalent in lives, and the poor performance of metaoptics in this application significantly limits their commercial opportunities. Herein, the current landscape of full‐color imaging in the visible wavelength range using metaoptics is reviewed. Imaging approaches using a single metaoptic are focused on, where the size and the weight can be reduced by the largest amount. Future research directions to this effect are outlined.