New Optics Breakthrough Opens Lots of New Technology Possibilities

Technology has offered many changes via fast pace and right now optics could be offering something monumental with manufacturers looking at more ways to make devices and solutions more compact.

That includes cameras, both the ones used in photography and snappers usually integrated with modern phone cameras. Among the key components that make up these commodities are optical lenses though the bulkiness will depend as well on the internal components they come in.

While that could be countless, optics in cameras are the main focus for now and a revolutionary breakthrough in optics could spark a major change particularly for items using it. That includes cameras, binoculars or even microscopes.

And the best part about the new optics solution called ‘metalenses’? It will spark a whole new wave of lightweight and smaller solutions without compromising the quality consumers would demand.

"In my opinion, this technology will be game-changing," said Federico Capasso of Harvard University, the senior author of a report on the new lens which appears in the journal Science.

The lens in focus are made of thin layers of transparent quartz and coated with millions of tiny pillars. Each are just tens of nanometers across and hundreds high where each pillar interacts with light. To turn them into conventional lens, necessary adjustments with the help of computers would be needed to determine the right pattern.

Having said that, the whole process seems to be a long one though Capasso believes the “metalenses” will avoid the shortfalls and revolutionize the rendering of quality images.

"Our lenses, being planar, can be fabricated in the same foundries that make computer chips. So all of a sudden the factories that make integrated circuits can make our lenses."

Capasso admits that cellphone cameras are the first ones that come to mind. In fact, everyone is aware how companies like Apple and Samsung are looking for ways to make their flagship devices thinner.

A clear example is the upcoming iPhone 7 which will sport a thinner design which they reportedly achieved by taking out the 3.5 mm jacks. So one has to wonder how they can get with the flatter lens in the future.

The metalenses are not limited to cellphones alone. He sees it covering other niches like mass-produced cameras for quality control in factories, light-weight optics for virtual-reality headsets, even contact lenses. "We can make these on soft materials," Prof Capasso assured the BBC.

The prototype lenses are 2mm across but can be fabricated to any size when called for.

"Once you have the foundry - you want a 12-inch lens? Feel free, you can make a 12-inch lens. There's no limit," adds Capasso.