Chip-scale metalens microscope for wide-field and depth-of-field imaging

Microscopy is very important in research and industry, yet traditional optical microscopy suffers from the limited field-of-view (FOV) and depth-of-field (DOF) in high-resolution imaging. We demonstrate a simultaneous large FOV and DOF microscope imaging technology based on a chip-scale metalens device that is implemented by a SiNx metalens array with a co- and cross-polarization multiplexed dual-phase design and dispersive spectrum zoom effect. A 4-mm × 4-mm FOV is obtained with a resolution of 1.74 μm and DOF of 200 μm within a wavelength range of 450 to 510 nm, which definitely exceeds the performance of traditional microscopes with the same resolution. Moreover, it is realized in a miniaturized compact prototype, showing an overall advantage for portable and convenient microscope technology.