Computational ghost imaging has demonstrated remarkable potential in acquiring multi-dimensional information beyond intensity; however, conventional implementations suffer from limited energy utilization and prolonged acquisition times, especially when polarization information is involved. Here, we propose a polarization computational ghost imaging system enabled by a multi-focal metalens that simultaneously integrates beam splitting, focusing, and polarization analysis into a single compact element. This monolithic design not only eliminates aberrations inherent in multi-element configurations, but also achieves a 17% improvement in energy utilization and an extinction ratio exceeding 113:1. Compared to conventional approaches, the acquisition time is reduced by 75%, enabling fivefold information retrieval within the same duration. By processing the reconstructed PCGI images, we further retrieve the non-polarized light intensity distribution, degree of linear polarization, and angle of polarization. Systematic evaluation across different target patterns, sampling rates, and resolutions confirms that the system maintains high reconstruction fidelity even under low-sampling conditions for both intensity and AOP images, demonstrating robust generalization capability. This work provides a compact and efficient paradigm for multi-dimensional computational polarization imaging.

Prof. Jie Cao has been engaged in teaching and research in the fields of bionic optics and intelligent perception for many years, with main research directions including bionic vision, laser three-dimensional imaging, and intelligent sensing. He has received over 40 science and technology awards, including the First Prize of the China Industry-University-Research Collaboration Innovation Achievement Award, the Industry-University-Research Collaboration Innovation Promotion Award (individual), the Gold Award at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions, and the “Jin Guofan” Young Scholar Award of the Chinese Society for Scientific Instrument (individual). He has published more than 70 academic papers and holds 2 international patents (one in the United States and one in Australia) as well as over 40 Chinese invention patents.