High-throughput broadband LWIR imaging via a 30° wide-field refractive-metalens hybrid system

We demonstrate a high-performance 1G1M hybrid thermal imaging system combining a silicon refractive lens with a broadband achromatic metalens. By employing a concave surface design to achieve spatial separation of field angles, the system achieves a 30° field of view and a small f -number of 1.05. Compared to single-layer telecentric metalenses, our hybrid approach increases optical throughput by fourfold and doubles the spatial resolution. Experimental results across the 8–12 μ m range show clear thermal imaging at distances up to 20 m, with a measured modulation transfer function of 0.3 at 22 lp mm −1 . This work provides a compact, high-efficiency solution for next-generation long-wave infrared applications by overcoming the fundamental limitations of single-layer meta-optics.