Long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) imaging is crucial for various applications, from consumer electronics to defense and national security. It is used in night vision, remote sensing, and long-range imaging. However, traditional refractive lenses used in these systems are bulky, heavy, and made from expensive materials like germanium, which is not ideal.
Meta-optics, on the other hand, are thin and lightweight, consisting of arrays of sub-wavelength scale nanopillars that control light to produce steering and lensing. Despite their advantages, meta-optics face challenges such as strong chromatic aberrations, preventing them from fully replacing refractive lenses.
Specifically, the field of LWIR meta-optics is relatively unexplored, and the potential benefits of meta-optics in this wavelength range are significant. In a new paper published in Nature Communications, a team of researchers has introduced a new design framework called “MTF-engineering,” led by Arka Majumdar, an associate professor at the University of Washington Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (UW ECE) and the physics department.
2024-03-16 00:00:03
Source from phys.org