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Hybrid metasurfaces-freeform optics bring multi-depth AR close to reality
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Daping Chu1, 2, *
Opto-Electronic Advances | 2026, 9(5) : 260113
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Opto-Electronic Advances | 2026, 9(5): 260113
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Hybrid metasurfaces-freeform optics bring multi-depth AR close to reality
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Daping Chu1, 2, *
Affiliations
  • 1Centre for Photonic Devices and Sensors, University of Cambridge, 9 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0FA, UK
  • 2Cambridge University-Nanjing Centre of Technology and Innovation, 23 Rongyue Road, Jiangbei New Area, Nanjing 210031, China
Published: 2026-05-15 doi: 10.29026/oea.2026.260113
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Achieving realistic depth perception in augmented reality (AR) displays remains a central challenge due to the reliance on single focal planes. In the recent work published in Opto-Electronic Science, researchers from Beijing Institute of Technology and their collaborators report a hybrid metasurface-freeform optical architecture that enables simultaneous multi-focal plane display within a compact, solid-state system. By combining polarization-multiplexed metasurfaces with freeform optics through a joint design framework, the system generates multiple depth cues without time multiplexing and remains compatible with practical display hardware. This work highlights a promising route toward cross-scale optical co-design for realistic near-eye display systems.

multi-depth AR display  /  metasurface-freeform  /  joint design  /  non-orthogonal polarization multiplexing
Daping Chu. Hybrid metasurfaces-freeform optics bring multi-depth AR close to reality[J]. Opto-Electronic Advances, 2026 , 9 (5) : 260113 - . DOI: 10.29026/oea.2026.260113
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Augmented reality (AR) displays have long promised a seamless fusion of digital information with the physical world, yet delivering comfortable and realistic three-dimensional (3D) perception in a compact wearable form remains elusive1,2. A key limitation of current systems is the reliance on single focal planes, which inevitably leads to accommodation-vergence conflict and visual fatigue during prolonged use3. While multiple approaches have been explored to introduce depth cues, reconciling optical performance, system compactness, and practical implementation continues to be a nontrivial challenge4,5.
In a recent work, Wang, Yang, Huang and their collaborators report a hybrid metasurface-freeform optical architecture that enables multi-focal plane AR display within a compact, solid-state system6. By integrating a polarization-multiplexing metasurface, freeform optical elements, and an OLED microdisplay, the authors demonstrate a system capable of generating virtual images at multiple depths (0.7 m, 1.5 m, and 3 m) simultaneously, as shown in Fig. 1. This represents a meaningful step toward addressing the long-standing depth rendering problem in near-eye displays.
The key idea lies in combining two complementary optical paradigms. Metasurfaces offer subwavelength control of wavefronts and enable multifunctional phase encoding within a single planar element7,8, while freeform optics provide the degrees of freedom required to correct aberrations in highly asymmetric and off-axis configurations9. Rather than treating these components independently and pursuing extreme functionality at either the wave-optics or geometric-optics level alone, the work adopts a joint design strategy and highlights the importance of co-design across scales, in which the metasurface is incorporated into a ray-tracing framework as an effective phase function. This approximation significantly reduces computational complexity while still capturing the essential system-level behaviour.
A particularly interesting aspect is the use of non-orthogonal polarization multiplexing to encode multiple phase profiles within a single metasurface. Different regions of the display are assigned distinct polarization states, which are then mapped to different virtual image distances after modulation. This approach avoids time multiplexing or mechanically tunable elements, both of which typically introduce additional system complexity or latency. At the same time, the resultant crosstalk between polarization channels and impact on the accuracy of phase reconstruction are partially addressed through careful metasurface design and optimization.
Compared with existing AR display strategies, this hybrid approach occupies pragmatic middle ground. Conventional geometric optical solutions often rely on multiple optical paths or stacked modules, resulting in increased system volume and alignment difficulty. In contrast, holographic or SLM-based methods provide fine depth control but suffer from limited efficiency, high computational cost, and compatibility issues with practical display hardware10. By leveraging metasurfaces for multiplexed wavefront control while maintaining compatibility with amplitude-modulated displays, this work highlights the importance of co-design across optical scales.
The experimental prototype further substantiates the concept. Clear depth-dependent imaging is observed across multiple focal planes, with digital content appearing in focus at its designated distance and defocusing elsewhere—an essential requirement for correct accommodation cues. More broadly, this work points toward hybrid optical systems in which functionality is distributed across scales: subwavelength metasurfaces handle local wavefront shaping and multiplexing, while macroscopic freeform optics manage imaging, relay, and system integration. Such cross-scale co-design is likely to become increasingly important as optical systems grow in complexity.
Further progress will depend on advances in several directions. On the device side, improving metasurface efficiency, bandwidth, and fabrication scalability remains critical, particularly for full-colour operation. At the system level, more accurate yet efficient modeling frameworks—potentially incorporating inverse design or physics-informed learning—could further enhance integration between diffractive and refractive components. Consideration of display characteristics, including pixel architecture and polarization management, will also be essential as part of the overall design space. Nonetheless, this approach offers a promising route toward compact, multi-depth AR displays with improved visual realism.
References
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1
Gopakumar M, Lee GY, Choi S et al. Full-colour 3D holographic augmented-reality displays with metasurface waveguides. Nature 629, 791–797 (2024).
2
Xiong JH, Hsiang EL, He ZQ et al. Augmented reality and virtual reality displays: emerging technologies and future perspectives. Light Sci Appl 10, 216 (2021).
3
Hoffman DM, Girshick AR, Akeley K et al. Vergence-accommodation conflicts hinder visual performance and cause visual fatigue. J Vis 8, 33 (2008).
4
Wilson A, Hua H. Design and demonstration of a vari-focal optical see-through head-mounted display using freeform Alvarez lenses. Opt Express 27, 15627–15637 (2019).
5
Jang C, Bang K, Chae M et al. Waveguide holography for 3D augmented reality glasses. Nat Commun 15, 66 (2024).
6
Zhang SF, Gao LN, Zhao YD, et al. Integrated metasurface-freeform system enabled multi-focal planes augmented reality display. Opto-Electron Sci 5, 250031 (2026).
7
Lee GY, Hong JY, Hwang SH et al. Metasurface eyepiece for augmented reality. Nat Commun 9, 4562 (2018).
8
Li ZY, Lin P, Huang YW et al. Meta-optics achieves RGB-achromatic focusing for virtual reality. Sci Adv 7, eabe4458 (2021).
9
Nikolov DK, Bauer A, Cheng F et al. Metaform optics: bridging nanophotonics and freeform optics. Sci Adv 7, eabe5112 (2021).
10
Park JH, Lee B. Holographic techniques for augmented reality and virtual reality near-eye displays. Light Adv Manuf 3, 137–150 (2022).
Appendix
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Year 2026 volume 9 Issue 5
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BibTeX
Article Info
doi: 10.29026/oea.2026.260113
  • Receive Date：2026-04-11
  • Online Date：2026-07-02
  • Published：2026-05-15
Article Data
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History
  • Received：2026-04-11
  • Accepted：2026-04-14
Affiliations
    1Centre for Photonic Devices and Sensors, University of Cambridge, 9 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0FA, UK
    2Cambridge University-Nanjing Centre of Technology and Innovation, 23 Rongyue Road, Jiangbei New Area, Nanjing 210031, China

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多孔菌科 Polyporaceae 8 14 6.70 蜡蘑属 Laccaria 5 2.39
红菇科 Russulaceae 3 23 11.00 小皮伞属 Marasmius 6 2.87
小菇属 Mycena 11 5.26
光柄菇属 Pluteus 5 2.39
红菇属 Russula 17 8.13
栓菌属 Trametes 5 2.39
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