Using Metalenses Made of Nanostructure As Replacement for Traditional Curved Lenses Could Pave the Way for Better Miniaturization of Cameras

As our modern technology continues to develop, more and more devices such as mobile phones and computers are getting smaller. In making accessible versions of these gadgets, manufacturers face the challenge of utilizing limited space for different electronic parts. One of these sensors is the camera, and placing one, two, or more cameras consumes much space due to its lens.

The lenses in mobile devices work by collecting and refracting the incoming light using curves to bend the light rays. Each lens has a fixed focal length to maintain the curvature and cannot be smaller than its original size. Fortunately, experts have invented a new technology that replaces traditional refractive lenses to make them smaller and better.

An Innovation in Replacing Traditional Curved Lens

Experts have used flat optics as a form of diffractive optics technology to address the challenges posed by classical lenses and bulky mirrors. However, the emergence of metasurfaces gained the interest of scientists who applied them to optical technology.

A team of researchers led by Harvard professor Federico Capasso developed an innovation different from the traditional lens alternatives. They created the metalens, a technology that provides new lightweight lens design options.

As tiny optical elements, metalenses manipulate electromagnetic waves or light like traditional lenses. However, metalenses differ from traditional lenses in size as they are thinner than a sheet of paper. The single delicate structure contains multiple waveguides, like tiny pillars assembled in specific patterns. The tiny pillars are nanoelements that are made using titanium oxide.

One of the advantages of metalenses being planar and ultra-thin is their ability to prevent the production of chromatic aberrations. This capability is because all electromagnetic wave wavelengths pass through the lenses virtually simultaneously. Metalenses also utilize an artificial interface known as metasurface in focusing light.

Potential Applications of Metalenses

The ability of metalenses to carry out complicated wavefront functions in a single optic makes them very useful in various industries. They can be created to achieve breakthroughs such as high focusing efficiency and aberration correlation.

Metalenses answer the problem of camera bulkiness. They do not require any optics and can remain flat since they are working on a single surface. Due to their contribution to device miniaturization, metalenses can improve optical stability, making them an integral component of cameras.

Creating patterns of light is also an important component of the chip manufacturing industry, as light is needed in carving specific patterns onto the surface of a silicon chunk. More complex patterns can be produced more efficiently with minimal flaws using metalenses.

Metalenses can also be very useful in XR systems as the manufacturers struggle with the challenge of wearing bulky hardware on the user's head. Applying metalenses will allow tiny optical elements to be included in lightweight headsets.

In the medical field, metalenses offer improved optical capabilities that can provide diagnostic images with high precision. If metalenses are used in imaging tools such as endoscopes, physicians can have a better view of details inside a person's body that were previously invisible.