Arrays of nanoscale metallic fins could replace high-end optical lenses
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029869
New Scientist : Although curved optical lenses are ubiquitous in telescopes, microscopes, and cell phone cameras, the size of those devices is limited by the thickness and weight of the glass. Now researchers have used metamaterials to create a lens that is thinner than the wavelengths of the light waves it focuses. The scientists carved tiny blocks of titanium dioxide, rotated them at different angles, and mounted them on a thin piece of glass. Each 600-nm-thick lens, which was tuned to either red, green, or violet light, achieved sharper focus than a 55-mm-thick Nikon lens, with minimal loss of light. Next the research team plans to expand the range of color the lenses can detect.
