Fig. 3: Meta-optics characterization.

The proposed learned meta-optic is fabricated using electron-beam lithography and dry etching, and the corresponding measured PSFs, simulated PSFs, and simulated MTFs are shown. Before capturing images, we first measure the PSFs of the fabricated meta-optics to account for deviations from the simulation. Nevertheless, the match between the simulated PSFs and the measured PSFs validates the accuracy of our metasurface proxy model. The proposed learned design maintains consistent PSF shape across the visible spectrum and for all field angles across the FOV, facilitating downstream image reconstruction. In contrast, the PSFs of the traditional meta-optic and the cubic design proposed by Colburn et al.¹⁰ both exhibit severe chromatic aberrations. The red (606 nm) and blue (462 nm) PSFs of the traditional meta-optic are defocused and change significantly across the FOV. The PSFs for the cubic design exhibit long tails that leave post-deconvolution artifacts.