Cameras have become a constant presence in daily life. Over the past two centuries, they have evolved from rare inventions into essential tools used across countless technologies. Today, cameras are found in smartphones, laptops, vehicles, surveillance systems, aircraft, and satellites that capture images of Earth from above. As the push to miniaturize mechanical, optical, and electronic components continues, researchers are seeking ways to design cameras that are smaller, lighter, and more energy efficient.
To meet this challenge, scientists are exploring ultra-flat optics as an alternative to the bulky lenses in most cameras. Unlike traditional curved glass or plastic lenses, ultra-flat optics—such as metalenses—use an extremely thin layer of nanostructures to manipulate light. These structures make them hundreds or even thousands of times smaller and lighter than standard lenses.
However, one major obstacle remains: a visual distortion called “chromatic aberration” limits the ability of ultra-flat optics to capture clear, full-color images when using a large aperture (the opening in a lens that lets light enter). While a large aperture allows more light and improves image brightness, this distortion has long prevented ultra-flat lenses from achieving the same image quality as conventional cameras. For decades, researchers viewed this as an insurmountable problem.
That is, until now.
In a groundbreaking study published in Nature Communications, a team of researchers from the University of Washington’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (UW ECE) and Princeton University’s computer science department demonstrated that a large-aperture, ultra-flat optic can capture high-quality color images and video comparable to those produced by traditional lenses. This result overturns the long-standing assumption that a single large-aperture metalens could not produce sharp, full-color images.
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