In the evolution of augmented reality (AR) technology, display systems have consistently faced the dual challenge of being “clearer” while also being “thinner and lighter”. From early mirror-based displays to today’s waveguide displays, each technological iteration has brought us closer to this goal. Diffractive waveguides have become the core technology in mainstream AR devices, such as HoloLens and Meta Orion, due to their ultra-thin features. However, the issue of image distortion caused by dispersion effects has remained a technical bottleneck in the field.

Chair Professor Xiao Wei Sun’s research team from the Institute of Nanoscience and Applications (INA) and the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) has introduced an innovative metasurface waveguide technology that fundamentally addresses the chromatic aberration issue in AR displays, paving the way for further advancements in AR display technology.

Their paper, titled “An achromatic metasurface waveguide for augmented reality displays”, has been published in the prestigious journal Light: Science & Applications.

Using an innovative reverse design approach, the team proposed a groundbreaking solution. By utilizing a metasurface coupler and a single-layer high-refractive-index optical waveguide, they successfully overcame the chromatic aberration issue. The metasurface, an optical component made of artificial nanostructures, can precisely control the phase, amplitude, and polarization properties of light. The researchers optimized the geometric structure of the metasurface coupler to ensure that light at RGB wavelengths maintains consistent deflection angles upon emission, achieving highly uniform coupling efficiency and effectively eliminating the chromatic aberration issue.

Figure 1. Comparison between conventional waveguide and metasurface waveguide. (a) Conventional waveguide couples light into the waveguide through first-order diffraction, resulting in wavelength-dependent deflection angles. (b) K-vector diagram of the conventional waveguide, showing a smaller overlapping full-color field of view. (c) Metasurface waveguide achieves achromatic light coupling through higher-order diffraction. (d) K-vector diagram of the metasurface waveguide, demonstrating a larger full-color field of view.

This technological breakthrough not only resolves the chromatic aberration bottleneck in traditional coupling devices but also introduces a novel technological pathway for full-color waveguide displays. The metasurface waveguide technology offers several remarkable advantages: its single-layer structure simplifies the manufacturing process, its high-refractive-index design expands the field of view, and its optimized coupling efficiency ensures full-color display performance. These features make it highly promising for the next generation of AR devices, marking a significant leap forward in the development of AR display technology.

Figure 2. Demonstration of full-color AR display effects.

Zhongtao Tian, a joint doctoral student of SUSTech and Peng Cheng Laboratory, is the first author of the paper, with Chair Professor Xiao Wei Sun serving as the corresponding author. SUSTech is the first corresponding institution.

Paper link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-025-01761-w

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