Programmable Metalens MetaLens Deep Dive: A Single Sheet of Glass Replaces a Traditional Six-Element Lens Assembly for Thinner Phone Cameras

Programmable Metalens MetaLens Deep Dive

In September 2030, Samsung Electronics and Harvard University's School of Engineering jointly announced the MetaLens programmable metalens technology and declared that smartphone camera modules equipped with this technology would enter mass production in Q2 2031.

A metalens is a flat optical element that manipulates light waves using sub-wavelength nanostructure arrays. The shape, orientation, and spacing of each nanopillar determine the phase, polarization, and amplitude of light passing through it, enabling precise control of the light field. MetaLens's breakthrough lies in being the first to bring this technology from the laboratory to mass production.

Traditional smartphone camera modules consist of 6 to 8 curved glass lenses stacked together, with a total thickness of approximately 6 to 7 millimeters. MetaLens replaces the entire lens assembly with a single flat glass sheet (0.5 millimeters thick), reducing camera module thickness to approximately 1.5 millimeters. This means future smartphones will no longer have a protruding camera bump on the back.

Professor Federico Capasso of Harvard's Capasso Laboratory is one of the founders of the metalens field. He explained the key breakthrough at the technology launch: "Previous metalens could only operate at a single wavelength, and chromatic aberration across the visible spectrum has been the biggest obstacle to commercialization. MetaLens integrates three different sizes of nanopillars on the same chip to independently modulate red, green, and blue wavelength bands, achieving full-color imaging."

In terms of optical performance, MetaLens's modulation transfer function (MTF) reaches 0.75 in the central field of view (traditional lens assemblies achieve approximately 0.80) and 0.55 at the edge field of view (traditional approximately 0.65). Samsung Electronics Vice President Kim Yong-jin said these figures mean MetaLens's imaging quality is "close enough" to traditional solutions, while its thickness advantage far outweighs this minor gap.

Regarding manufacturing, MetaLens uses deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) to pattern nanopillar arrays on 8-inch glass wafers, with each wafer yielding approximately 2,000 lenses. Samsung plans to add MetaLens production lines to existing DUV facilities at its Hwaseong plant, with an initial monthly capacity of approximately 500,000 units.

The technology's potential applications extend beyond smartphone cameras. Samsung is exploring MetaLens for AR glasses' waveguide couplers, automotive LiDAR beam shapers, and endoscope micro-optical heads.

The first devices featuring MetaLens are expected to be the Galaxy S flagship models launching in the second half of 2031.