Learn about the amazing potential of metasurfaces, the new age technology that will change the world of optics and beyond. This article discusses the key breakthroughs in this area, ranging from submillimeter-scale devices to light manipulation that has never been seen before.
Bending Light to Our Will
An artist’s rendering of the sliced object at right, where spacetime is broken up into distinct regions. Welcome to the world of metasurfaces—the technology providing hope that optics will change for good.
They are made of nanostructures (smaller than the wavelength of light) on an artificial surface. These surface lattice resonances can be carefully controlled for both the geometry and arrangement of these tiny structures to design metasurfaces that tailor the amplitude, phase, and polarization of light waves at a two-dimensional interface. The ability to control the properties of light on an unprecedented level has opened a new realm of possibilities for applications that were otherwise considered physically impossible using traditional forms of optics.
The Future of Compact Optics
Conventional optical components, like lenses or prisms require large structures and specific curvatures of surfaces to control light. On the other hand, metasurfaces represent a planar, 2D and light structure allowing for compact and integrated devices.
Metasurfaces can do many of the same things as their bulkier, more complex forebears in optics. Not only this but the miniaturization potential provides a new paradigm of use case scenarios where we think size and weight matters — in wearables, consumer electronic devices or even space. Metasurfaces will also enable highly compact optical sensors for smartphones with complex camera lenses or lightweight, high-performance mirrors on satellites.
Conclusion
Metasurfaces are a game-changing technology on the cusp of turning our optical world and perhaps even much more, upside down. These nanostructured surfaces, that bring in a unique level of tunability for light occur at the nanoscale and hence provide a way to significantly miniaturize optical devices, are paving the way for building state-of-the-art imaging and sensing technologies to next generation communication systems and beyond. The coming years are likely to bring about a bright future where metasurfaces allow us to utilise, control and manipulate light with unprecedented accuracy – pushing forward innovations in various fields which touch our everyday lives and living industrial & societal needs.
