She, A., Zhang, S., Shian, S., Clarke, D. Monolithically integrated stretchable photonics. Active tuning of high- Q dielectric metasurfaces. Nonlinear wavefront control with all-dielectric metasurfaces. Resonantly enhanced second-harmonic generation using III–V semiconductor all-dielectric metasurfaces. Nonlinear Fano-resonant dielectric metasurfaces. Electric and magnetic field enhancement with ultralow heat radiation dielectric nanoantennas: considerations for surface-enhanced spectroscopies. All-dielectric metasurface analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency. Highly sensitive biosensors based on all-dielectric nanoresonators. Seeing protein monolayers with naked eye through plasmonic Fano resonances. Absorption enhancement in ultrathin crystalline silicon solar cells with antireflection and light-trapping nanocone gratings. Optically resonant dielectric nanostructures. Metalenses at visible wavelengths: diffraction-limited focusing and subwavelength resolution imaging. Integrated flexible chalcogenide glass photonic devices. High-efficiency dielectric Huygens’ surfaces. Photonic spin-controlled multifunctional shared-aperture antenna array. Light propagation with phase discontinuities: generalized laws of reflection and refraction. To underline the potential of our approach, which reconciles high-performance optical metasurfaces and simple self-assembly fabrication approaches, we demonstrate experimentally and via numerical simulation sharp Fano resonances with a quality factor, Q, as high as ∼300 in the visible for all-dielectric nanostructures, to realize protein monolayer detection. This approach can generate optical nanostructures over rigid and soft substrates that are more than tens of centimetres in size, with optical performance and resolution on a par with advanced traditional lithography-based processes. We show and model the tailoring of the position, shape and size of nano-objects with feature sizes below 100 nm and with interparticle distances down to 10 nm. Here, we show nanoscale control over the fluid instabilities of optical thin glass films for the fabrication of self-assembled all-dielectric optical metasurfaces. Such stringent requirements are beyond the reach of conventional lithographic techniques or self-assembly approaches. Modern devices require the tuning of the size, shape and spatial arrangement of nano-objects and their assemblies with nanometre-scale precision, over large-area and sometimes soft substrates.