Researchers have created flat lenses called Fresnel zone plates (FZPs) using standard semiconductor manufacturing equipment for the first time. These lenses, while currently less efficient than traditional ones, have the potential to revolutionize optics in various fields.
Paper-thin optical lenses simple enough to mass produce like microchips could enable a new generation of compact optical devices. Researchers have fabricated and tested flat lenses called Fresnel zone plates , but did so for the first time using only common semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the i-line stepper, for the first time.
"We developed a simple and mass-producible method for FZPs using a common semiconductor lithography system, or stepper," said Associate Professor Kuniaki Konishi from the Institute for Photon Science and Technology."This is due to a special type of photoresist or mask called a color resist, which was originally designed for use as color filters. By simply coating, exposing and developing this material, we produced lenses capable of focusing visible light down to only 1.
So, it might be a while before FZPs help you capture moments in high visual fidelity with your ultrathin smartphone, but this, or technology inspired by it, will likely come along soon.
OPTICAL LENSES SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING FRESNEL ZONE PLATES CONSUMER ELECTRONICS Astronomy
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