Metalenz, Inc., a startup spun-off from the Capasso group, has revealed its plans for revolutionizing consumer electronics by large-scale fabrication of flat optics to replace conventional lenses. Metalenz has received $10 million in investment from various venture capital funds including 3M Ventures and Intel Capital. 

Metalenses are ultrathin nanostructures that allow one to sculpt the properties of light at the nanoscale. The Capasso group pioneered flat optics...

We are delighted to announce that Professor Capasso has been awarded the 2021 Frederic Ives Medal and Jarus W. Quinn Prize from the Optical Society of America (OSA). This award recognizes overall distinction in optics and is the highest award of the society. This year, this award was given to Professor Capasso for his work on optical physics, quantum electronics and nanophotonics. 

Congratulations from all of us at the Capasso group! 

Read the OSA article...

Metasurface polarization optics—platforms that can structure light’s polarization point-by-point at the nanoscale—have enabled compact polarization imaging and characterization systems. However, so far these schemes (and conventional polarization optics) can only control incoming polarization in one plane, transverse to the propagation direction. In a recent effort, we have introduced a new class of metasurface polarization optics which can perform parallel processing on incoming light over multiple planes along the propagation direction. After a single interaction with our new devices,...

Recent breakthroughs in virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) technologies have not only attracted much attention from the scientific and industrial communities but have also piqued the interest of the general public. However, the widespread use of VR/AR devices is hindered by limitations associated with optical elements such as eyepieces, which are not only bulky but also suffer from poor imaging performance. A comfortable VR/AR display that meets the requirements of high quality near-eye imaging is needed. In this...

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There are many types of light -- some visible and some invisible to the human eye. For example, our eyes and brain don't have the tools to process ultraviolet light when it hits our eyes, making it invisible. But there is another type of light that is invisible simply because...