New optical technologies using "metasurfaces"
capable of the ultra-efficient control of light are nearing commercialization,
with potential applications including advanced solar cells, computers,
telecommunications, sensors and microscopes.
The metasurfaces could make possible "planar
photonics" devices and optical switches small enough to be integrated into
computer chips for information processing and telecommunications, said
Alexander Kildishev, associate research professor of electrical and computer
engineering at Purdue University.