Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




TECH SPACE
Revolutionary ultrathin, flat lens: Smartphones as thin as a credit card?
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Sep 21, 2012


File image.

Scientists are reporting development of a revolutionary new lens - flat, distortion-free, so small that more than 1,500 would fit across the width of a human hair - capable in the future of replacing lenses in applications ranging from cell phones to cameras to fiber-optic communication systems.

The advance, which could lead to smart phones as thin as a credit card, appears in ACS' journal Nano Letters.

Federico Capasso and colleagues explain that the lenses used to focus light in eyeglasses, microscopes and other products use the same basic technology dating to the late 1200s, when spectacle lenses were introduced in Europe.

Existing lenses are not thin or flat enough to remove distortions, such as spherical aberration, astigmatism and coma, which prevent the creation of a sharp image. Correction of those distortions requires complex solutions, such as multiple lenses that increase weight and take up space. To overcome these challenges, the scientists sought to develop a new superthin, flat lens.

Although the new lens is ultra-thin, it has a resolving power that actually approaches the theoretical limits set by the laws of optics. The lens surface is patterned with tiny metallic stripes which bend light differently as one moves away from the center, causing the beam to sharply focus without distorting the images. The current version of the lens works at a specific design wavelength, but the scientists say it can be redesigned for use with broad-band light.

.


Related Links
American Chemical Society
Space Technology News - Applications and Research






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TECH SPACE
New NIST screening method identifies 1,200 candidate refrigerants to combat global warming
Washington DC (SPX) Sep 21, 2012
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new computational method for identifying candidate refrigerant fluids with low "global warming potential" (GWP) - the tendency to trap heat in the atmosphere for many decades - as well as other desirable performance and safety features. The NIST effort is the most extensive systematic search for a new ... read more


TECH SPACE
Protection for Moon, Mars astronauts eyed

Russia to start research base on the Moon

Remains of astronaut legend Neil Armstrong buried at sea

Memorial service honors 'man on the moon' Armstrong

TECH SPACE
NASA Mars Rover Targets Unusual Rock En Route to First Destination

Dark Bands Run Through Light Layers

NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Looks at Ground Ahead, Moons Above

'Jake Matijevic' Contact Target for Curiosity

TECH SPACE
Cavenauts return to Earth

Brazil unveils tax incentives to boost tech innovation

New Technology Being Stymied by Copyright Law

Boeing Establishes Configuration of Commercial Crew Transportation

TECH SPACE
Tiangong Orbit Change Signals Likely Date for Shenzhou 10

China Focus: Timeline for China's space research revealed

China eyes next lunar landing as US scales back

China unveils ambitious space projects

TECH SPACE
Crew Members Prepare for Departure

ISS Crew Lands Safely in Kazakhstan

ISS Crew Enjoys Light Duty Day

Europe's ATV-3 Spacecraft to Readjust Space Station's Orbit

TECH SPACE
Fueling underway with the Galileo satellites for next Soyuz launch from French Guiana

SpaceX, NASA Target Oct. 7 Launch For Resupply Mission To Space Station

Failure Review Oversight Board Establishes Proton Return to Flight Schedule

HISPASAT chooses Arianespace to launch its Amazonas 4A and AG1 satellites

TECH SPACE
Meteors Might Add Methane to Exoplanet Atmospheres

Two 'hot Jupiters' found in star cluster: NASA

Planets Can Form in the Galactic Center

Birth of a planet

TECH SPACE
iPhone 5 rollout draws big crowds worldwide

Using a laser to 'see' the smallest world

YouTube seeking education video 'gurus'

Angling for gold




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement