Meta-optics: The disruptive technology you didn’t see coming

Phys.org  December 22, 2022 Optical metasurfaces interact strongly with light. The field has been driven by the key advantages of this concept, including the ultimate miniaturization of optical elements, empowering novel functionalities that process hidden modalities of light, and the opportunity to tune their properties on demand. Many applications with a focus on smart vision have emerged, foreseeing a meta-optical device under the hood of any robotic system. Nowadays the field is experiencing a solid industry pull that defines the challenges and research directions. In this review researchers in Australia have provided an overview of the applications of the field […]

New metalens focuses light with ultra-deep holes

Nanowerk  October 13, 2021 Most metasurfaces use monolith-like nanopillars to focus, shape and control light. The taller the nanopillar more versatile control of each color of light. But very tall pillars tend to fall or cling together. Researchers at Harvard University developed a metasurface with more than 12 million needle-like holes drilled into a 5-micrometer silicon membrane rather than very tall pillars to focus light to a single spot. The diameter of these long, thin holes is only a few hundred nanometers, making the aspect ratio nearly 30:1. The hole size variation bends the light towards the lens focus. Holes […]