Flat Metamaterial Gradient-Index Lenses for Millimetre-Wave Telescopes
A telescope architecture in which every optical element is a thin, flat metamaterial lens rather than a thick curved refractor. Each lens is a hot-pressed stack of photolithographic capacitive metal-mesh grids forming a flat gradient-index ('Wood') lens whose graded effective index focuses the beam, provides a built-in anti-reflection coating, and performs low-pass frequency filtering in a single component. The design combines optical ray-tracing with transmission-line modelling of the meshes; a three-lens prototype rivals conventional refractive telescopes while cutting weight over 80% and avoiding cryogenic coating-delamination problems.
Springer Nature 2024 LATEX template A metamaterial telescope at millimetre wavelengths. Giorgio
This instrumentation paper (submitted to Nature Astronomy) reports the design, build, and laboratory testing of a complete millimetre-wave telescope made entirely of thin, flat metamaterial lenses in…