A golay metalens for long-range, large aperture, thermal imaging via sparse aperture computational imaging

Jing Wang, Anna Wirth-Singh, Vishwanath Saragadam, Rose Johnson, Arka Majumdar () and Ashok Veeraraghavan ()
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Jing Wang: Rice University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Anna Wirth-Singh: University of Washington, Department of Physics
Vishwanath Saragadam: University of California, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Rose Johnson: University of Washington, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Arka Majumdar: University of Washington, Department of Physics
Ashok Veeraraghavan: Rice University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Long-range imaging in the Mid-wave infrared (MWIR) is crucial for defense, industrial and environmental applications, requiring very large aperture (~100-1000 mm) lenses for high-resolution imaging. Glass-based refractive optics make such systems bulky and expensive. Metalenses are lightweight alternatives but face fabrication limits at large apertures. We proposed a computational imaging strategy, the Golay metalens, combining (a) a small aperture array in designed spatial configuration and (b) a reconstruction algorithm that recover high-resolution, high-contrast images as though obtained by a single large aperture lens. The design is inherently scalable to larger apertures. A prototype in 89 mm diameter, 356 mm focal length was demonstrated, achieving near diffraction-limited performance enhanced by an image reconstruction algorithm with neural network-based denoising. A large recursive Golay metalens was further designed, demonstrating improved spatial resolution in simulations. Our development represents a significant step toward practical, high-performance MWIR imaging systems that are both scalable and accessible.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65188-y

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