{
  "abstract": "Curved and conformal optics provide additional geometric degrees of freedom that enable enhanced optical performance while satisfying non-optical constraints such as ergonomics, aerodynamics, and wearability. However, existing fabrication approaches for curved metasurfaces are limited in scalability, geometry control, and alignment accuracy. Here we show a scalable fabrication strategy for curved and conformal metasurface optics based on thermoforming, an industry-standard manufacturing process for thermoplastics. Our approach enables wafer-scale production of highly curved metasurfaces with millimeter-level radii of curvature and micron-level alignment precision. We develop a predictive thermorheological model that accurately captures and compensates for the large deformations induced during thermoforming, preserving the intended optical response and enabling diffraction-limited performance. As demonstrations, we realize freestanding curved metalenses, conformal refractive-metasurface hybrid optics, and an artificial compound eye with a wide field of view, reduced aberrations, and uniform imaging performance. These results establish thermoforming as a scalable manufacturing platform for next-generation conformal photonic systems.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.",
    "School of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.",
    "GIST InnoCORE AI-Nano Convergence Institute for Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.",
    "Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.",
    "Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. zhaoyili@mit.edu.",
    "2Pi Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA.",
    "Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. gutian@mit.edu.",
    "2Pi Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA. gutian@mit.edu.",
    "School of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. ymsong@kaist.ac.kr.",
    "GIST InnoCORE AI-Nano Convergence Institute for Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, Republic of Korea. ymsong@kaist.ac.kr.",
    "Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Louis Martin-Monier",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0435-452X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Sehui Chang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2216-0166"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Johannes E Fröch",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1111-9704"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Zhaoyi Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Luigi Ranno",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8444-3022"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Khoi Phuong Dao",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2584-1979"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Akira Ueno"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jia Xu Brian Sia"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Hanyu Zheng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Padraic Burns"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Tian Gu",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3989-6927"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Young Min Song",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4473-6883"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        10
      ],
      "name": "Arka Majumdar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Juejun Hu",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7233-3918"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6g0peyy6y0bmk.bib",
  "cited_by": 1,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-77862-w",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13683382",
  "id": "6g0peyy6y0bmk",
  "issns": [
    "2041-1723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42901924",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2504|Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W4416239896",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13683382?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13683382",
  "pmid": "42901924",
  "published": "2026-09-18",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6g0peyy6y0bmk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:41Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42901924",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42901924"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2504|Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Wafer-scale conformal metasurface optics.",
  "title_text": "Wafer-scale conformal metasurface optics.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:41Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6g0peyy6y0bmk",
  "venue": "Nature communications",
  "versions": []
}