Meta-device for sensing subwavelength lateral displacement

Shufan Chen; Yubin Fan; Hao Li; Xiaodong Qiu; Ben Wang; Lijian Zhang; Shumin Xiao; Din Ping Tsai

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-02067-7

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Meta-device for sensing subwavelength lateral displacement

Original Articles

- Meta-device for sensing subwavelength lateral displacement
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 15, Issue 3, Pages: 746-753(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Department of Electrical Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Optical Quantum Materials, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
  2.Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Key Lab of Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Information System, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Optoelectronic Materials and Intelligent Photonic Systems, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China
  3.National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Jiangsu Physical Science Research Center, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
  4.State Key Laboratory of Terahertz and Millimeter Waves, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
  5.Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
- Author bio：
  
  Yubin Fan (yubinfan@cityu.edu.hk)
  Lijian Zhang (lijian.zhang@nju.edu.cn)
  Shumin Xiao (shumin.xiao@hit.edu.cn)
  Din Ping Tsai (dptsai@cityu.edu.hk)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-02067-7
  CLC：
- Received：07 April 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-09-03，
  
  Accepted：19 September 2025，
  
  Online First：12 January 2026，
  
  Published：31 March 2026
- Accepted：
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Chen, S. F., Fan, Y. B., Li, H. et al. Meta-device for sensing subwavelength lateral displacement. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 746-753 (2026).
DOI：

Chen, S. F., Fan, Y. B., Li, H. et al. Meta-device for sensing subwavelength lateral displacement. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 746-753 (2026). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-02067-7.

摘要

Abstract

Accurate transverse displacement measurement is essential for precise mask-to-wafer positioning in lithography. While lateral displacement metrology has achieved nanometer-level precision

the limitations imposed by coherent state and grating challenge in-situ measurement speed and precision. Here

we introduce a two-photon state transverse displacement measurement method utilizing a polarization gradient metasurface by employing two-photon state interference. Compared with the classical method

our new method can experimentally reduce the number of detected photons to around 3% with equivalent precision. These attributes make the two-photon state polarization gradient metasurface approach highly suitable for integration with semiconductor lithography processes and show its promise in realizing equivalent measurement precision within notably shorter acquisition durations

providing a robust solution for next-generation transverse displacement measurement requirements.

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references

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