Say Goodbye To Your Bulky Lenses, Ultra-Thin Metalens Are Coming

Will you soon bid goodbye to your bulky lenses? Researchers have developed a "metalens", an ultra-thin flat planar that can be used for smartphones, telescopes, microscopes, and cameras.

Telescopes and cameras are still bulky today because these use curved lenses that are stacked on one another. A report from the Tech Times shared that a research team based in Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has worked on an ultra-think lens, which is as said to be finer than human hair. The said lens is highly efficient that can soon replace the bulky lens normally used in cameras and other equipment.

Prof. Federico Capasso, who is part of the research team, shared that they made use of a beam of electrons in creating the structure out of the titanium dioxide. This structure will form blocks that can pull light together-similar to how a curved glass works, according to a report of Digital Trends.

BBC News reported that the lenses are about 2mm across that could still be smaller, but was limited by the manufacturing equipment a Harvard. The said lens is also relatively cheap.

As published in Digital Trends, Capasso said: "This technology is potentially revolutionary because it works in the visible spectrum, which means it has the capacity to replace lenses in all kinds of devices, from microscopes to cameras, to displays, and cell phones."

He added that these metalenses also has the potential to be manufactured on a mass production bases that would require less costs compared to the conventional lenses being used today.

Capasso's team also worked before with silicon, and how the material works in infrared. Once formally launched in the market, this new technology could mean bringing convenience to many users of cameras and other related equipment. There are still no details yet on when this would be offered to the manufacturing industry.