Broadband Unidirectional Visible Imaging Using Wafer-Scale Nano-Fabrication of Multi-Layer Diffractive Optical Processors

We present a broadband and polarization-insensitive unidirectional imager that operates at the visible part of the spectrum, where image formation occurs in one direction while in the opposite direction, it is blocked. This approach is enabled by deep learning-driven diffractive optical design with wafer-scale nano-fabrication using high-purity fused silica to ensure optical transparency and thermal stability. Our design achieves unidirectional imaging across three visible wavelengths (covering red, green and blue parts of the spectrum), and we experimentally validated this broadband unidirectional imager by creating high-fidelity images in the forward direction and generating weak, distorted output patterns in the backward direction, in alignment with our numerical simulations. This work demonstrates the wafer-scale production of diffractive optical processors, featuring 16 levels of nanoscale phase features distributed across two axially aligned diffractive layers for visible unidirectional imaging. This approach facilitates mass-scale production of ~0.5 billion nanoscale phase features per wafer, supporting high-throughput manufacturing of hundreds to thousands of multi-layer diffractive processors suitable for large apertures and parallel processing of multiple tasks. Our design can seamlessly integrate into conventional optical systems, broadening its applicability in fields such as security, defense, and telecommunication. Beyond broadband unidirectional imaging in the visible spectrum, this study establishes a pathway for artificial-intelligence-enabled diffractive optics with versatile applications, signaling a new era in optical device functionality with industrial-level massively scalable fabrication.