TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A team from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University recently developed a thin metalens capable of controlling deep ultraviolet (DUV) rays.

A metalens is a lens that manipulates light using nanostructures, per TechNews. The team was the first to make one with aluminum nitride, a heat-resistant and chemically stable material widely used in integrated circuits, per CNA.

NYCU said in a Thursday press release that DUV light is used in semiconductor and biomedical imaging fields. However, control component costs have limited its adoption.

The ultra-thin metalens, just 380 nanometers thick, delivers near-theoretical limits in DUV focusing performance. Lab tests confirmed that the lens enables DUV nanostructure imaging and ultrafast laser engraving, marking a major milestone.

Assistant Professor Tseng Ming-lun (曾銘綸) explained that precision DUV lenses can cost over NT$1 million (US$30,700). He said nanostructured metasurfaces offer a flexible, compact alternative to conventional optics.

Tseng added that metalenses are already seeing applications in full-color imaging and biomedical diagnostics and sees potential in mass production. The team’s findings have been published in science journal Nano Letters.