Metasurface Quantum Photonics and Information Processing

Metasurface quantum photonics harnesses subwavelength planar nanostructures to manipulate quantum states of light in a compact form factor. By engineering the amplitude, phase and polarisation response of ultrathin metasurfaces, researchers can precisely control single-photon emission, guide entangled photons and implement on-chip quantum information protocols. These devices integrate quantum emitters—such as colour centres in diamond or two-dimensional materials—with dielectric or plasmonic meta-atoms to achieve functionalities traditionally requiring bulky optical elements. The ability to tailor wavefronts at the meta-atom level unlocks multi-dimensional state encoding through orbital angular momentum, polarisation channels and path entanglement. This technological convergence promises scalable architectures for quantum communication, sensing and computing, offering enhanced data capacity, improved device miniaturisation and integration with existing photonic circuits.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Advances in holographic metasurfaces have enabled on-chip routing of single photons into multiple well-defined beams with orthogonal polarisation states by coupling quantum emitters to surface plasmon polaritons, demonstrating efficient multi-directional photon sources for scalable quantum networks. Complementary work has realised point-singularity arrays, deterministically positioning intensity nulls in free space for optical trapping and super-resolution imaging, highlighting the potential to create neutral-atom trap arrays and novel photonic architectures. Foundational efforts in immersion metalenses have further improved photon collection efficiency from solid-state emitters, achieving high numerical apertures in atomically thin platforms to facilitate compact quantum devices.

Metasurface Quantum Photonics and Information Processing publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in metasurface quantum photonics and information processing across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Metasurface: A two-dimensional array of engineered nano-elements that control optical wavefronts.

Single-photon emitter: A quantum system that emits light one photon at a time, crucial for quantum communication.

Surface plasmon polariton (SPP): A surface-confined electromagnetic wave arising from coupling between photons and free electrons.

Entanglement: A quantum correlation between particles such that their properties are interdependent across distances.

Orbital angular momentum (OAM): A property of light associated with helical phase fronts, used for high-dimensional encoding.

Phase singularity: A point in a wavefront where the phase is undefined and intensity is zero.

Numerical aperture (NA): A measure of a lens’s light-gathering ability, determined by its acceptance angle.

References

1. Multiple channelling single-photon emission with scattering holography designed metasurfaces. Nature Communications (2023).
2. Point singularity array with metasurfaces. Nature Communications (2023).
3. A monolithic immersion metalens for imaging solid-state quantum emitters. Nature Communications (2019).
4. Arbitrarily structured quantum emission with a multifunctional metalens. eLight (2023).
5. Advances in quantum meta-optics. Materials Today (2023).
6. All-optical modulation of quantum states by nonlinear metasurface. Light: Science & Applications (2022).