Scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) have cultivated the world’s thinnest lens, which is just 6.3 nanometres, one-to-two-thousandth the thickness of a human hair, to transform mini cameras and open the door to extensible computer displays.
How thinnest lens created?
From a class of Chalcogenide glasses, Molybdenum Disulfide is a material with the ductile characteristics of electronics, making it well-known for high-technology components.
A team of Dr. Lu created their lens from a crystal 6.3 nanometres thick with 9 atomic layers, from which they had removed a larger molybdenum disulfide piece with clinging tape.
After that, they developed a 10-micron radius lens, using a pinpoint beam of the ion to cut the layers atom by atom until the lens had a rounded shape.
Molybdenum disulphide single layers have a very large optical path length (OPL), around one order of magnitude longer than that from a graphene single layer.
According to the Dr Lu, leader of Nano-Electro-Mechanical System (NEMS) laboratory in the ANU Research School of Engineering, believes that “this type of material is the absolute nominee for future extensible computer displays.”
He said, “We will also be able to use arrays of microlenses to mimic the compound eyes of insects.”
This is a lubricant, the good semiconductor can endure at high temperature and diffuse photons too.
The capacity to handle light motion on the atomic scale opens a new path towards the original miniaturisation of the optical element and the unification of advanced optical functionalities.
The property of optical path length controls the light phase and guides interruption and diffusion of light as it is reproduced. Initially, the team couldn’t imagine why molybdenum disulfide had such surprising properties. Handling light motion at an atomic scale could lead to original miniaturization in making cameras.
