Descripción del proyecto
Mejora del rendimiento de las lentes ópticas mediante metasuperficies
Las metasuperficies son materiales laminados artificiales que se utilizan a menudo para manipular la dispersión, el color, la fase o la intensidad de la luz. Sus propiedades se pueden adaptar para muy distintas aplicaciones. El proyecto METAmorphoses, financiado con fondos europeos, se propone desarrollar la primera metasuperficie óptica metamórfica que cambiará su funcionalidad a discreción y que se adaptará los cambios en las condiciones externas. La metasuperficie puede funcionar como una lente químicamente selectiva que solo permite la transmisión de la huella digital espectral de una molécula específica en el rango de longitud de onda del infrarrojo medio. La misma metasuperficie se puede convertir más tarde en una lente adaptativa para enfocar la luz en la piel.
Objetivo
I propose to realize the first shapeshifting optical metasurface that changes its functionality on-demand and adapts to changing external conditions. The metasurface may work as a chemically selective lens that allows transmission only of the spectral fingerprint of a specific molecule in the mid-IR wavelength range. The same metasurface can later be turned into an adaptive lens for focusing and detection under the skin. For such ambitious goal, a radically new approach is needed.
I will realize shapeshifting metasurfaces made of a polymer containing photo-switchable molecules. The surface of such polymers undergoes a morphology re-organization (surface structuring) when illuminated by an external visible light pattern. The polymer will be structured with visible light and the resulting metasurfaces will work in the mid-IR. I will use state-of-the-art optical nano-imaging techniques to investigate the surface structuring phenomenon at the nanoscale in order to achieve full control of the mechanism.
Since the polymer surface can continuously be adjusted with the illuminating visible light, it will be possible to shift from one encoded optical functionality to a completely different one. Once optimized, this completely out-of-the-box approach will be completed by developing a feedback mechanism that allows for self- adjustment of the polymeric metasurface to changing external conditions. This will open endless possibilities in many fields, from medical imaging to security and quality control.
The proposed approach is unprecedented but it is perfectly in line with my research activities, resulting in fact from merging different techniques that I master into a new research field.
My approach is also inexpensive relative to the usual nano-fabrication techniques and immediately compatible with high-volume production, providing a viable technology platform for lightweight, eyewear technology, that reflects the views of key industrial players in the field.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitución de acogida
16163 Genova
Italia