Breaking the Paradigm of Stacking: A Minimalist Infrared Detection System Based on Meta-Composite Design with Athermalized Performance

Hybrid meta-refractive systems offer an achievable path to overcome the multiple bottlenecks in the compatible regulation of metalens field of view (FOV), bandwidth, and efficiency. However, existing designs typically rely on the paradigm of spatial stacking, still facing immense challenges in achieving a minimalist architecture (≤2 elements) and passive wide-range athermalization. Here, a novel design concept integrating subwavelength meta-atoms with micro-curved surfaces is proposed for joint aberration suppression, effectively breaking the conventional stacking paradigm. An inverse-design-based cross-scale vectorial field mapping (CVFM) method is employed to realize a meta-composite optical system (MCOS) featuring broadband, wide FOV, high resolution, and athermalization over a wide temperature range. By employing a conformal manifold composite phase (CMCP) architecture, the system achieves near-diffraction-limited imaging performance across the 8~12μm range and maintains a focal shift within ±6.7 μm over a temperature span of -40°C to 60°C. Furthermore, a pioneering analysis of the fitting errors between meta-atoms and micro-curved surfaces is conducted, filling a critical gap in providing guidelines for the practical development of MCOS. Upon integration into an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)platform, the MCOS exhibits superior real-world imaging performance. In a distinctive advancement, an athermalization validation was performed, which substantially strengthens the robustness of imaging quality across high and low temperatures. This work offers a valuable paradigm for the revolution in integrated optics and the deployment of minimalist optical systems.