Flat 'Metalenses' Is the Newest Breakthrough in Optics
The latest breakthrough in optical technology has produced a highly efficient flat metalenses capable of magnifying nanoscale objects and offer better focus than many state-of-the-art microscope lenses.
Reportedly thinner than a human hair, the tiny optical lens is merely 2mm across equipped with the magnifying power of metamaterials. Its unique properties are due to its very structure with surface shapes on the lens measuring a thousandth of a millimeter.
Over the years, scientists have been laboring to invent thin and compact lenses that may one day get rid of stacked curved lenses that make cameras and telescopes bulky. The recent innovation by researchers from researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences may spell an end to curved lenses one day.
"In my opinion, this technology will be game-changing. The quality of our images is actually better than with a state-of-the-art objective lens. I think it is no exaggeration to say that this is potentially revolutionary," remark lead author Federico Capasso as quoted by BBC News.
As described by ZME Science, the metamaterial is basically paint whitener over an extremely thin 2mm-glass. Unseen by the naked eye, the lens contains countless tiny pillars smaller than the light's wavelength giving the optical device the ability to remold the rays when the lens interacts with light. This leads to 30% increased sharpness of the metalenses compared to other sophisticated scientific microscopes.
Moreover, metalenses can also be crafted using the same tools that tech firms use to manufacture computer chips. According to Perfscience, this would enable scientists to mass produce their lab design once the invention gets commercialized. This means wide-ranging implications for makers of smartphones, microscopes, cameras, and so on. The commercial application of the revolutionary technology may soon redefine a slew of other countless devices that rely on conventional curved lenses.
