Physicists develop microlens with earth-shatteringly short focal length
It's hard to say when we, the consumers, will actually see any real benefit from the latest noteworthy discovery from Northeastern University, but we can only imagine that Srinivas Sridhar and team aren't wasting any time moving things forward. Said crew has recently created a "new microlens that focuses infrared light at telecommunication frequencies," and if you're looking for specifics, it can focus an infrared beam to a spot just 12-micrometers away from the surface. The science behind the discovery is probably only digestible by those that understand rocket science, but the long of short of it is this: the "research shows that it is possible to create smaller, ultra-compact infrared optical components that can be integrated into existing semiconductor technologies while not sacrificing image quality." Now that's something even the layman can appreciate.
[Via Physorg]
