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Abstract In the rapidly developing field of nanophotonics, machine learning (ML) methods facilitate the multi‐parameter optimization processes and serve as a valuable technique in tackling inverse design challenges by predicting nanostructure designs that satisfy specific optical property criteria. However, while considerable efforts have been devoted to applying ML for designing the overall spectral response of photonic nanostructures, often without elucidating the underlying physical mechanisms, physics‐based models remain largely unexplored. Here, physics‐empowered forward and inverse ML models to design dielectric meta‐atoms with controlled multipolar responses are introduced. By utilizing the multipole expansion theory, the forward model efficiently predicts the scattering response of meta‐atoms with diverse shapes and the inverse model designs meta‐atoms that possess the desired multipole resonances. Implementing the inverse design model, uniquely shaped meta‐atoms with enhanced higher‐order magnetic resonances and those supporting a super‐scattering regime of light‐matter interactions resulting in nearly five‐fold enhancement of scattering beyond the single‐channel limit are designed. Finally, an ML model to predict the wavelength‐dependent electric field distribution inside and near the meta‐atom is developed. The proposed ML based models will likely facilitate uncovering new regimes of linear and nonlinear light‐matter interaction at the nanoscale as well as a versatile toolkit for nanophotonic design. 

Abstract Structured lights, including beams carrying spin and orbital angular momenta, radially and azimuthally polarized vector beams, as well as spatiotemporal optical vortices, have attracted significant interest due to their unique amplitude, phase front, polarization, and temporal structures, enabling a variety of applications in optical and quantum communications, micromanipulation, and super‐resolution imaging. In parallel, structured optical materials, metamaterials, and metasurfaces consisting of engineered unit cells—meta‐atoms, opened new avenues for manipulating the flow of light and optical sensing. While several studies explored structured light effects on the individual meta‐atoms, their shapes are largely limited to simple spherical geometries. However, the synergy of the structured light and complex‐shaped meta‐atoms has not been fully explored. In this paper, the role of the helical wavefront of Laguerre–Gaussian beams in the excitation and suppression of higher‐order resonant modes inside all‐dielectric meta‐atoms of various shapes, aspect ratios, and orientations, is demonstrated and the excitation of various multipolar moments that are not accessible via unstructured light illumination is predicted. The presented study elucidates the role of the complex phase distribution of the incident light in shape‐dependent resonant scattering, which is of utmost importance in a wide spectrum of applications ranging from remote sensing to spectroscopy.