Direct visualization of light’s polarization and spectrum with a compass-like meta-device

Rapid and accurate identification of the spectropolarimetric characteristics of light is increasingly demanded across modern optical technologies. Existing spectral-polarimetric analysis typically relies on a limited number of filters and polarizers, yielding discrete and often disordered outputs that require extensive calibration and computational reconstruction. Here, we present a compass-like meta-device that enables direct visualization of both spectrum and polarization by spatially locating resonant signatures. Through dual-dimensional geometric engineering in polar coordinates—based on collective resonances analogous to quasi-bound states in the continuum with symmetry-broken meta-atom anisotropy—the compass-like meta-device exhibits dihedral group ( D n ) symmetry and radially conformal scaling of unit-cell geometry, mapping polarization and wavelength onto azimuthal and radial spatial positions, respectively. This design enables continuous characterization of linear-polarization orientation with a mean absolute angular error of 6.2°, together with continuous spectral readout over the 1450–1600 nm range at a visually resolvable spectral resolution of ∼6 nm. Our approach functions as an intuitive, single-shot, and robust spectropolarimeter for on-chip multidimensional optical sensing and imaging.