Visible to Longwave-infrared imaging via an inverse-designed monolithic lens

Abstract: Chromatic aberrations impose a fundamental barrier on optical design, confining most imaging systems to narrow spectral bands with fractional bandwidths typically limited to $Δλ/λ< 1$. Here we report a monolithic, inverse-designed potassium bromide (KBr) lens that achieves broadband, near-achromatic focusing from 0.45 to 14 $μ$m, a continuous spectral span covering the visible, near-, mid-, and long-wave infrared. This corresponds to a fractional bandwidth of 1.9, approaching the theoretical limit of 2, while maintaining a nearly constant focal length across the entire range. The 19-mm-diameter, 22.5-mm-focal-length optic enables a single compact platform for hyperspectral imaging, mid-IR microscopy, super-resolution, imaging through scattering media, and simultaneous multi-band and long-range imaging. Coupling the KBr lens with a conventional refractive element further yields a hybrid telescope that extends these capabilities. By uniting inverse design with scalable manufacturing, this approach provides a route toward broadly deployable ultra-broadband imagers for biomedicine, climate and environmental monitoring, and space-based sensing.