November 2, 2024

Revolutionizing Space Imaging: Harvard Creates First Large-Scale Glass Metalens

It is the very first all-glass, large-scale metalens in the noticeable wavelength that can be mass-produced using standard CMOS fabrication technology.The research was recently published in the journal ACS Nano.Breakthrough in Nanofabrication”The ability to properly manage the size of 10s of billions of nanopillars over an unprecedentedly large flat lens utilizing modern semiconductor foundry procedures is a nanofabrication task that opens interesting brand-new opportunities for area science and innovation,” said Federico Capasso, the Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering at SEAS and senior author of the paper.Most flat metalenses, which utilize millions of pillar-like nanostructures to focus light, are about the size of a piece of glitter. In 2019, Capasso and his team developed a centimeter-scale metalens using a technique called deep-ultraviolet (DUV) projection lithography, which jobs and forms a nanostructure pattern that can be straight etched into the glass wafer, eliminating the lengthy writing and deposition processes that were needed for previous metalenses.Image of the North America Nebula, in the constellation Cygnus, taken by the metalens on the roofing of the Science Center in Cambridge. Credit: Capasso Lab/Harvard SEASLim played a lead role in the full simulation and characterization of all the possible fabrication errors that might emerge throughout mass-manufacturing processes and how they could impact the optical performance of metalenses.After resolving possible production obstacles, the researchers showed the power of the metalens in imaging celestial objects.Demonstrating the Metalenss CapabilitiesMounting the metalens on a tripod with a color filter and camera sensor, Park and the team took to the roofing of Harvards Science.

It is the very first all-glass, massive metalens in the visible wavelength that can be mass-produced utilizing conventional CMOS fabrication technology.The research was recently published in the journal ACS Nano.Breakthrough in Nanofabrication”The capability to precisely manage the size of 10s of billions of nanopillars over an unprecedentedly large flat lens utilizing modern semiconductor foundry processes is a nanofabrication feat that opens exciting brand-new opportunities for area science and innovation,” stated Federico Capasso, the Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering at SEAS and senior author of the paper.Most flat metalenses, which utilize millions of pillar-like nanostructures to focus light, are about the size of a piece of shine. In 2019, Capasso and his group developed a centimeter-scale metalens utilizing a strategy called deep-ultraviolet (DUV) projection lithography, which jobs and forms a nanostructure pattern that can be straight etched into the glass wafer, removing the lengthy writing and deposition processes that were needed for previous metalenses.Image of the North America Nebula, in the constellation Cygnus, taken by the metalens on the roofing system of the Science Center in Cambridge. Credit: Capasso Lab/Harvard SEASLim played a lead function in the full simulation and characterization of all the possible fabrication errors that could emerge throughout mass-manufacturing procedures and how they could impact the optical performance of metalenses.After addressing possible production difficulties, the scientists showed the power of the metalens in imaging celestial objects.Demonstrating the Metalenss CapabilitiesMounting the metalens on a tripod with a color filter and video camera sensing unit, Park and the team took to the roofing system of Harvards Science.