"Optics: Electronic Eyeballs"
By Takao Someya
Nature 454, 703-704 (7 August 2008) | Published online 6 August 2008
A recent innovation in the artificial vision field deals with the shape of artificial imagers. Specifically, engineers are now developing curved imagers that can more accurately mimic those seen in nature as compared to the already established artificial-vision systems that rely on flat-image recording surfaces. These curved imagers overcome shortcomings of the conventional systems, which use multiple lens combinations to reduce distortions at the edges of lenses. These arrangements, however, make artificial-vision less viable as a therapeutic option because they are "heavy, expensive, and produce darker results than they would with a single layer of lenses". Therefore, this innovation could open up the option of artificial vision to many new patients who had been deterred in the past by the operation's price tag, its lack of comfort, and its limited functionality.
The advent of this new technology depends on two main advances:
1) A network of semiconductor photodetectors (on a silicon wafer) that can withstand elastic compressiblity is required. Thin metallic wires would be used to interconnect the photodetectors in order to create the compressibility. It is also required that this network hold up even when "subjected to high levels of strain (typically exceeding 50%)".
2) The photodetector network must use elastomeric elements that would allow for it to be created in a planar configuration and then stretched into a hemispherical shape. This would lead to imagers with "wide-angle fields of view, low distortion and compact size."
This new technology could truly revolutionize the optics design field and generate other beneficial uses for industrial applications. It would bring more clarity and precision to the world of medical optics as distortions are minimized and optical transperancy are increased, which would help us to see our world in a new light.
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