Depth sensing with metasurface and PCSEL integration

We present a novel depth sensing system applying metasurface holograms and photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs). Our lens-free, single-shot system projects 9,500 infrared dots in a 0^th order of holographic image from a compact ~300² μm² sample area, offering a wide 56.7° field-of-view (FOV) with low power consumption. Our metasurface area is 55 times smaller than that of diffractive optical elements (DOEs) in commercial dot projectors. And our PCSEL has up to 10 times less power consumption than that of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array in commercial dot projectors. The GaAs-based metasurface hologram and simple optical architecture make it lighter and more energy-efficient, suitable for wearable devices. This technology overcomes limitations of bulky dot projectors, paving the way for integration into compact wearable devices.