Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a simplified approach to fabricating flat, ultra-thin optics. The new approach enables simple etching without the use of acids or hazardous chemical etching agents.
"Our method brings us closer to making do-it-yourself optics a reality by greatly simplifying the design iteration steps," explained Kimani Toussaint, an associate professor of mechanical science and engineering who led the research published this week in Nature Communications. "The process incorporates a nanostructured template that can be used to create many different types of optical components without the need to go into a cleanroom to make a new template each time a new optical component is needed.
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