Pixel-level Bayer-type colour router based on metasurfaces

The three primary colour model, i.e., red, green, and blue model, based on the colour perception of the human eye, has been widely used in colour imaging. The most common approach for obtaining colour information is to use a Bayer colour filter, which filters colour light with four pixels of an imaging sensor to form an effective colour pixel. However, its energy utilization efficiency and colour collection efficiency are limited to a low level due to the three-channel filtering nature. Here, by employing an inverse-design method, we demonstrate a pixel-level metasurface-based Bayer-type colour router that presents peak colour collection efficiencies of 58%, 59%, and 49% for red, green and blue light, and an average energy utilization efficiency as high as 84% over the visible region (400 nm–700 nm), which is twice as high as that of a commercial Bayer colour filter. Furthermore, by using a 200 µm × 200 µm metasurface-based colour router sample working with a monochromatic imaging sensor, colour imaging is further realized, obtaining an image intensity twice that achieved by a commercial Bayer colour filter. Our work innovates the mechanism of high-efficiency spectrum information acquisition, which is expected to have promising applications in the development of next-generation imaging systems.