July 12, 2007
New lens device will shrink huge light waves to pinpoints
http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=5938

ANN ARBOR, Mich.-Manipulating light waves, or electromagnetic
radiation, has led to many technologies, from cameras to lasers to
medical imaging machines that can see inside the human body.

Scientists at the University of Michigan have developed a way to make
a lens-like device that focuses electromagnetic waves down to the
tiniest of points. The breakthrough opens the door to the next
generation of technology, said Roberto Merlin, professor of physics at
U-M. His research on the discovery will be published online July 12 in
Science Express.

Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by electromagnetic waves that are
generated naturally, such as sunlight, and artificially, by appliances
such as microwave ovens and radio transmitters. Some waves are
visible, and some are invisible.

Materials respond differently to different wavelengths, and when using
electromagnetic waves, one is usually limited by the length of the
light wave, Merlin said. For example, the amount of information you
can store on a CD is limited by the number of bits you can fit on the
CD, and this is dictated by the length of the electromagnetic wave.
The smaller the wavelength, the smaller the bit, which means more bits
of data can be stored on the CD.

There is a huge push underway to find ways to get around this
limitation, but until now scientists didn't have a good method for
achieving that, Merlin said.

Using mathematical models, Merlin developed a formula that removes the
wavelength limitation. Merlin is now working with assistant professor
Anthony Grbic from the U-M College of Engineering to build the device,
and they have filed for a patent.

The device will look like a plate or a disc, and is etched with a
specific pattern. As the waves pass through the patterned lens, it is
sculpted into different sizes and shapes. The lens does not refract,
or bend the light waves-which is how conventional lenses work-but
rather it reshapes the wave.

The discovery holds promise for applications in data storage,
non-contact sensing, imaging, and nanolithography.

With the new technology, a CD could hold up to one hundred times more
information by using terahertz radiation rather than visible light,
even though the length of a terahertz wave is about 1000 times longer.

July 12, 2007
New lens device will shrink huge light waves to pinpointshttp://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=5938

July 12, 2007
New lens device will shrink huge light waves to pinpointshttp://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=5938

ANN ARBOR, Mich.-Manipulating light waves, or electromagnetic
radiation, has led to many technologies, from cameras to lasers to
medical imaging machines that can see inside the human body.

Scientists at the University of Michigan have developed a way to make
a lens-like device that focuses electromagnetic waves down to the
tiniest of points. The breakthrough opens the door to the next
generation of technology, said Roberto Merlin, professor of physics at
U-M. His research on the discovery will be published online July 12 in
Science Express.

Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by electromagnetic waves that are
generated naturally, such as sunlight, and artificially, by appliances
such as microwave ovens and radio transmitters. Some waves are
visible, and some are invisible.

Materials respond differently to different wavelengths, and when using
electromagnetic waves, one is usually limited by the length of the
light wave, Merlin said. For example, the amount of information you
can store on a CD is limited by the number of bits you can fit on the
CD, and this is dictated by the length of the electromagnetic wave.
The smaller the wavelength, the smaller the bit, which means more bits
of data can be stored on the CD.

There is a huge push underway to find ways to get around this
limitation, but until now scientists didn't have a good method for
achieving that, Merlin said.

Using mathematical models, Merlin developed a formula that removes the
wavelength limitation. Merlin is now working with assistant professor
Anthony Grbic from the U-M College of Engineering to build the device,
and they have filed for a patent.

The device will look like a plate or a disc, and is etched with a
specific pattern. As the waves pass through the patterned lens, it is
sculpted into different sizes and shapes. The lens does not refract,
or bend the light waves-which is how conventional lenses work-but
rather it reshapes the wave.

The discovery holds promise for applications in data storage,
non-contact sensing, imaging, and nanolithography.

With the new technology, a CD could hold up to one hundred times more
information by using terahertz radiation rather than visible light,
even though the length of a terahertz wave is about 1000 times longer.