Achromatic Metasurface Lens Research Recognized by Leading Scientific Journal
Breakthrough in Reducing Lens Size and Weight
Combining Achromatic Metasurface Lens and Holographic Display
Potential for Next-Generation, Low-Fatigue Displays Without Image Distortion
A research paper on the 'Achromatic Metasurface Lens' conducted through industry-academic collaboration between Samsung Electronics and POSTECH has been published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Materials.
A metasurface lens is a flat lens composed of nanoscale structures capable of controlling light diffraction. It has been recognized as a next-generation device in optical system fields such as displays and cameras, with various studies conducted in the industry for over a decade.
In particular, it has the advantage of drastically reducing size and thickness compared to conventional convex optical lenses. However, there was a technical limitation due to severe image distortion caused by significant chromatic aberration, making it difficult to develop actual products.
Chromatic aberration refers to the phenomenon where light passing through a lens refracts differently depending on its wavelength, causing different colors to bend in various directions and resulting in color fringing in images.
The research team from Samsung Electronics and POSTECH recently succeeded in developing an 'Achromatic Metasurface Lens' free from chromatic aberration. They also demonstrated that combining it with holographic displays can compensate for various optical aberrations.
In the future, combining the 'Achromatic Metasurface Lens' with 'Holographic Displays' is expected to enable the development of compact XR wearable devices that provide high-quality images and allow broader applications in cameras and sensors.
This project was led by Dr. Moon Seok-il from Samsung Research at Samsung Electronics and Professor Noh Joon-seok from POSTECH, with POSTECH researchers Choi Min-seok, Kim Joo-hoon, and Shin Gil-soo participating as co-first authors.
Through this industry-academic collaboration, Samsung Electronics verified the feasibility of developing various future optical systems and securing next-generation display technologies, from innovative idea conception to actual implementation.
The Samsung Electronics and POSTECH research team overcame the chromatic aberration reduction limit by changing the design method of conventional metasurface lenses.
Previous studies attempted to eliminate chromatic aberration by independently designing single meta-structures and assembling them on a substrate, but this approach could not completely reduce chromatic aberration due to neglecting the interrelationships between structures.
To overcome this, the research team developed an algorithm that considers the interrelationships among all meta-structures from the design stage, successfully eliminating chromatic aberration.
As a result, the developed 'Achromatic Metasurface Lens' maintains a thin thickness while increasing the lens size by 3 to 5 times compared to conventional lenses, enabling a wider field of view. It also improved image quality while retaining the focusing power of metasurface lenses.
Generally, as the lens size increases, image distortion worsens, which is typically corrected by combining multiple lenses.
However, the research team succeeded in combining a single achromatic metasurface lens with a holographic display to resolve not only chromatic aberration but also various optical aberrations, achieving a wide field of view without image distortion.
In particular, it was also proven through technical verification that combining the achromatic metasurface lens with a holographic display can provide smaller, lighter virtual images with less fatigue compared to combining conventional optical lenses and displays.
In the future, devices combining achromatic metasurface lenses and holographic displays are expected to be utilized not only in XR devices but also to enhance performance and reduce volume in various optical systems such as general displays, cameras, and sensors.
Samsung Electronics plans to continue researching innovative technologies that will lead the future.
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