The first part of the webinar will be devoted to metasurfaces with a standard position-dependent (“local”) response, e.g., metalenses. Dr. Monticone will discuss their general properties, bandwidth performance, and the associated fundamental limits. Due to its relevance to the design of dielectric metasurfaces, he will also briefly address the following question: what is the maximum possible refractive index of any transparent optical material?

In the second half of the webinar, Dr. Monticone will discuss the emerging topic of “nonlocal metasurfaces” -- metasurfaces with an engineered momentum-dependent (“nonlocal”) response. This is an important new direction at the frontier of this field, with applications ranging from optical computing and wavefront-selective functionalities to ultra-compact monolithic imaging systems. Dr. Monticone will discuss how nonlocal designs afford new degrees of freedom that enable functionalities and performance metrics unattainable using local metasurfaces and conventional materials. Dr. Monticone will also share recent work, by his group and others, on nonlocal metasurfaces for space compression ("spaceplates").

Subject Matter Level: Intermediate - Assumes basic knowledge of the topic

What You Will Learn:

• The potential and fundamental trade-offs of different classes of metasurfaces
• Local metasurfaces: general properties, bandwidth performance, and associated physical limits
• Maximum possible refractive index of any transparent optical material or metamaterial
• Nonlocal metasurfaces for space compression and other applications

Who Should Attend:

• Students, including senior undergraduates and graduate students
• Researchers interested in optical (meta)materials and nanophotonics

About the Presenter: Francesco Monticone, Cornell University

Francesco Monticone is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. (summa cum laude) degrees from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, in 2009 and 2011, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 2016, where he was advised by Prof. Andrea Alù. Dr. Monticone’s current research interests are in the areas of applied electromagnetics, metamaterials and metasurfaces, and theoretical/computational nanophotonics. He has authored and co-authored over 150 peer-reviewed scientific contributions and has given over 50 invited talks and seminars. Dr. Monticone has received several research and teaching awards, including the Michael Tien ’72 Sustained Excellence and Innovation in Engineering Education Award from Cornell University, the Leopold B. Felsen Award for Excellence in Electrodynamics, and the AFOSR Young Investigator Program Award.