Take a Closer Look: Super-Lens Technology for Your Smartphone

Despite remarkable progress within the scientific community, metamaterials are still in development—especially the super-lens. As the most fascinating, and promising, application of metamaterials, the super-lens is driving current research within the field. In order to make this technology possible, we must continue our research on metamaterials that have a negative refractive index, which cause light to refract, or bend, differently than in naturally occurring materials. We have already demonstrated in our research that the operating frequency of negative index metamaterials can cover the entire visible light spectrum and possibly be stretched to ultraviolet wavelengths using silver thin films. Our previous work not only brings extremely high-resolution, low-cost imaging and lithography closer to reality, but it may also enable the development of applications ranging from solar cells to lasers to broadband and high-density integrated optics. In our first step ahead, with your additional funding, we will demonstrate the fabrication of a negative index metamaterial at operating frequencies close to ultraviolet. Then, we will continue to work on the manufacturing of the first super-lens for smartphones.