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SNU Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering's Optical Engineering and Quantum Electronics Laboratory develops ultra-compact camera technology optimized for VR/AR devices

Researchers at Seoul National University's Optical Engineering and Quantum Electronics Laboratory developed an optical design technology that dramatically reduces the volume of cameras with a folded lens system utilizing metasurfaces. The new lens system achieves a thickness of 0.7mm, making it suitable for ultra-compact devices such a...

KAIST develops Janus-like metasurface technology that acts according to the direction of light​

Researchers at KAIST have developed a Janus metasurface capable of controlling asymmetric light transmission, enabling the creation of two independent optical systems with a single device. This technology also enables optical encryption by generating different images depending on the direction and polarization state of incoming light.

SourceThe Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)·JournalAdvanced Materials·TypeMeta-analysis·DateOct 16, 2024

Arbitrarily rotating polarization direction and manipulating phases using programmable metasurface

The team proposes an approach for arbitrarily controlling the polarization direction and phases of reflected waves in linear and nonlinear ways using a stacked programmable metasurface. They achieved high polarization rotation ranges and demonstrated applications in imaging, data storage, and wireless communication.

Giant ultrafast dichroism and birefringence with active nonlocal metasurfaces

A team of international researchers has proposed a metasurface capable of efficiently modulating light polarization, achieving notable amplitude (400%) and phase (90°) variations under low-power photoexcitation. This new material enables the transient modification of optical properties in ultrafast timescales.

Researchers demonstrate metasurfaces that control thermal radiation in unprecedented ways

The research team has successfully demonstrated the control of thermal radiation by metasurfaces, achieving circularly polarized light with full control over emission direction. This breakthrough enables the creation of custom light sources with desired spectral, polarization, and spatial features for various applications.

SourceAdvanced Science Research Center, GC/CUNY·JournalNature Nanotechnology·TypeExperimental study·DateAug 23, 2024

Metalenses phase characterization by multi-distance phase retrieval

Researchers developed a new phase characterization method for metalenses based on multi-distance phase retrieval through optical field scanning. This innovative approach overcomes traditional interferometric techniques' limitations, enabling the measurement of phase distributions and wavefront errors with higher accuracy.

Nanoscale device simultaneously steers and shifts frequency of optical light, pointing the way to future wireless communication channels

Researchers have developed a metasurface that can reflect light at multiple frequencies, enabling faster wireless communication channels. The device operates in reflection mode at optical frequencies, offering thousands of times more bandwidth than current Wi-Fi.

SourceCalifornia Institute of Technology·JournalNature Nanotechnology·TypeExperimental study·DateJul 24, 2024

Quasicrystal metasurface projects holographic images and light patterns simultaneously

Scientists have developed a quasicrystal metasurface that projects holographic images and creates unique diffraction patterns. This innovative design simplifies device design and offers precise control over light manipulation, paving the way for high-resolution thin holographic displays, ultra-fast light-switching devices, and advanced...

Researchers engineer new approach for controlling thermal emission

A team of researchers has created a novel approach to control thermal emission by designing an interface that joins two surfaces with different geometric properties. This allows for localized thermal emissions from designated areas, enabling applications in infrared optics, sensing, and satellite technology.

SourcePenn State·JournalScience·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 10, 2024

New technology gives people a better sense of what they’re breathing

Scientists developed a miniaturized micro-spectrometer to detect multiple toxic and greenhouse gases, offering increased control over individual exposure. The technology uses machine learning and metasurface spectral filter arrays to create a compact sensor that can be integrated into wearable devices.

SourceARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems·JournalMicrosystems & Nanoengineering·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 6, 2024

Tiny crop-health sensors could help cut the cost of groceries

Researchers developed a compact sensor system with infrared imaging capabilities that can be fitted to drones for remote crop monitoring. The system can rapidly switch between edge detection and detailed infrared imaging, allowing farmers to pinpoint specific crop needs and boost harvests.

SourceRMIT University·JournalNature Communications·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 5, 2024

New all-optical approach to revolutionize night vision technology

Researchers at TMOS have developed a new infrared filter thinner than cling wrap, which can be integrated into everyday eyewear, allowing users to view both visible and infrared light spectra. This breakthrough miniaturizes night vision technology, opening up new applications in safety, surveillance, and biology.

SourceARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems·JournalAdvanced Materials·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 3, 2024

Pixelated non-volatile programmable photonic integrated circuits

The researchers achieved 20-level intermediate states of phase change materials using a micron-scale laser writing system. This allows for the demonstration of ultra-high flexibility in phase modulation and potential applications in neuromorphic photonics, optical computing, and reconfigurable metasurfaces.

SourceInternational Journal of Extreme Manufacturing·JournalInternational Journal of Extreme Manufacturing·DateMar 21, 2024

Guardian of drone: Towards autonomous sea-land-air cloaks

A team at Zhejiang University has developed a self-driving cloaked unmanned drone with an intelligent aeroamphibious invisibility cloak, capable of manipulating electromagnetic scattering in real-time across dynamic environments. The cloak integrates perception, decision-making, and execution functionalities using spatiotemporal modula...

Neural network assisted high-spatial-resolution polarimetry

A new method combines a tri-channel chiral metasurface with a deep convolutional neural network to analyze polarizations, achieving fast, robust, and accurate measurements. This approach supports high spatial resolution requirements and compact design, enabling diverse applications in remote sensing, astronomy, biology, and microscopy.

Radiative cooling becomes more efficient with trenches and polymers

Researchers have developed a roll-to-roll polymer film for improved radiative cooling by arranging 3D trench-like structures within the thin layer of the polymer film. The novel technique achieves high cooling performance with low energy input, making it suitable for large-scale thermal management applications.

Scattering exceptional point in the visible

A team of scientists creates a universal paradigm for achieving high-efficiency exceptional point (EP) in the visible using interlayer loss to control the interplay between lossy structure and scattering lightwaves. The bilayer framework demonstrates perfect retroreflection and absorption, with efficiencies of 88% and 85%, respectively.

New metalens lights the way for advanced control of quantum emission

A new multifunctional metalens has been developed to structure quantum emissions from solid-state single photon emitters. The metalens can simultaneously tailor directionality, polarization, and orbital angular momentum degrees of freedom, enabling the generation of high-dimensional single-photon hybrid quantum states.

Metasurface design with intelligent optimization methods

Researchers have developed an intelligent metasurface design using forward and reverse algorithms, reducing computational time and improving physical accuracy. Machine learning and physics-informed neural networks are used to optimize metasurface properties and overcome limitations of traditional methods.

The making of a Mona Lisa hologram

A team of researchers developed an acoustic metasurface-based holography technique that uses a deep learning algorithm to generate and iteratively improve a hologram of the Mona Lisa. The technique successfully reconstructed the painting, with even greater detail in her left eye.

SourceAmerican Institute of Physics·JournalApplied Physics Reviews·TypeExperimental study·DateMay 30, 2023

Leaky-wave metasurfaces: A perfect interface between free-space and integrated optical systems

Scientists at Columbia University create a new class of integrated photonic devices that can convert light from an optical waveguide to an arbitrary optical pattern in free space. The devices simultaneously control all four optical degrees of freedom, paving the way for applications in quantum optics, optogenetics, and holographic disp...

Dispersive eigen polarization engineering enabled polychromatic full-polarization control

A team of scientists has proposed a dispersive Jones matrix method for independent phase manipulations on any desired orthogonal polarization channels at predefined discrete wavelengths. This enables the generation of achromatically focusing spots over three pairs of arbitrarily chosen orthogonal polarizations on spatially separated ch...