Design for quality: reconfigurable flat optics based on active metasurfaces

Optical metasurfaces, planar subwavelength nanoantenna arrays with the singular ability to sculpt wavefront in almost arbitrary manners, are poised to become a powerful tool enabling compact and high-performance optics with novel functionalities. A particularly intriguing research direction within this field is active metasurfaces, whose optical response can be dynamically tuned postfabrication, thus allowing a plurality of applications unattainable with traditional bulk optics. Designing reconfigurable optics based on active metasurfaces is, however, presented with a unique challenge, since the optical quality of the devices must be optimized at multiple optical states. In this article, we provide a critical review on the active meta-optics design principles and algorithms that are applied across structural hierarchies ranging from single meta-atoms to full meta-optical devices. The discussed approaches are illustrated by specific examples of reconfigurable metasurfaces based on optical phase-change materials.