Liquid Crystal Improves Metalens Design

An effort led by Federico Capasso of Harvard University and Giuseppe Strangi of Case Western Reserve University is using liquid crystals to improve the reconfigurability of metalenses. This advancement brings the viability of metalenses for commercial use closer to reality. The researchers harnessed nanoscale forces to infiltrate liquid crystals between the microscopic pillars that allow metalenses to focus light. This allowed them to shape and diffract light in new ways, “tuning” the focus power, Strangi said. Metalenses use microscopic pillars to focus light. Courtesy of Giuseppe Strangi and Federico Capasso. Liquid crystals can be manipulated thermally, electrically, magnetically, or optically, which creates the...