New thin, flat lenses focus light as sharply as curved lenses
Saturday, May 9, 2015 - 08:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Lenses appear in all sorts of everyday objects, from prescription eyeglasses to cell-phone cameras. Typically, lenses rely on a curved shape to bend and focus light. But in the tight spaces inside consumer electronics and fiber-optic systems, these rounded lenses can take up a lot of room. Over the last few years, scientists have started crafting tiny flat lenses that are ideal for such close quarters. To date, however, thin microlenses have failed to transmit and focus light as efficiently as their bigger, curved counterparts.