Compact and lightweight metasurfaces — which use specifically designed and patterned nanostructures on a flat surface to focus, shape and control light — are a promising technology for wearable applications, especially virtual and augmented reality systems. Today, research teams painstakingly design the specific pattern of nanostructures on the surface to achieve the desired function of the lens, whether that be resolving nanoscale features, simultaneously producing several depth-perceiving images or focusing light regardless of polarization.
If the metalens is going to be used commercially in AR and VR systems, it’s going to need to be scaled up significantly, which means the number of nanopillars will be in the billions. How can researchers design something that complex? That’s where artificial intelligence comes in.
It is published in Nature Communications. Press release from SEAS Harvard News.
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