Wafer-scale conformal metasurface optics.
11 affiliations
- 1Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- 2School of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
- 3GIST InnoCORE AI-Nano Convergence Institute for Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
- 4Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- 5Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. [email protected].
- 62Pi Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA.
- 7Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. [email protected].
- 82Pi Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA. [email protected].
- 9School of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. [email protected].
- 10GIST InnoCORE AI-Nano Convergence Institute for Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, Republic of Korea. [email protected].
- 11Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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.
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BibTeX
@article{martinmonier2026waferscale,
title = {{Wafer-scale conformal metasurface optics.}},
author = {Louis Martin-Monier and Sehui Chang and Johannes E Fröch and Zhaoyi Li and Luigi Ranno and Khoi Phuong Dao and Akira Ueno and Jia Xu Brian Sia and Hanyu Zheng and Padraic Burns and Tian Gu and Young Min Song and Arka Majumdar and Juejun Hu},
journal = {Nature communications},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-77862-w},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42901924},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Wafer-scale conformal metasurface optics.
AU - Louis Martin-Monier
AU - Sehui Chang
AU - Johannes E Fröch
AU - Zhaoyi Li
AU - Luigi Ranno
AU - Khoi Phuong Dao
AU - Akira Ueno
AU - Jia Xu Brian Sia
AU - Hanyu Zheng
AU - Padraic Burns
AU - Tian Gu
AU - Young Min Song
AU - Arka Majumdar
AU - Juejun Hu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/18
JO - Nature communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-77862-w
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42901924
AB - 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.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -