4-D imaging with liquid crystal microlenses

Most images captured by a camera lens are flat and two dimensional. Increasingly, 3-D imaging technologies are providing the crucial context of depth for scientific and medical applications. 4-D imaging, which adds information on light polarization, could open up even more possibilities, but usually the equipment is bulky, expensive and complicated. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed self-assembling liquid crystal microlenses that can reveal 4-D information in one snapshot.