Study finds ultimate limits of spaceplates in optical systems

Engineers working to miniaturize optical systems for modern electronics have seen great success when it comes to the most familiar components, the lenses and optical sensors. It's been more challenging to reduce the size ...

Sharp X-ray images despite imperfect lenses

X-rays make it possible to explore inside human bodies or peer inside objects. The technology used to illuminate the detail in microscopically small structures is the same as that used in familiar situations—such as medical ...

Shaping the future of light through reconfigurable metasurfaces

The technological advancement of optical lenses has long been a significant marker of human scientific achievement. Eyeglasses, telescopes, cameras, and microscopes have all literally and figuratively allowed us to see the ...

Giant space telescopes could be made out of liquid

The Hubble space telescope has a primary mirror of 2.4 meters. The Nancy Grace Roman telescope also has a mirror measuring 2.4 meters, and the James Webb Space Telescope has a whopping 6.5 meter primary mirror. They get the ...

Standard method to evaluate emerging flat lens technologies

Perhaps you are wearing glasses while reading this or have a cell phone, binoculars, a virtual reality headset or telescope. All of them rely on high-quality lenses, which are bulky, expensive and heavy—especially when ...

Researchers design holographic lenses based on plasma

Holograms are three-dimensional (3D) images produced by interfering beams of light that reflect physical objects or photographs. In recent years, they were introduced in a variety of settings, for instance to enhance employee ...

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