Kyocera Develops Meta-Lens Enabling Wavelength-Controlled Focusing

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Conventional refractive lens (left) and Kyocera’s newly developed meta-lens (right)

Key Features of Kyocera’s Meta-Lens

1. Enables Smaller, Lighter Optical Devices

A meta-lens is an ultra-thin optical component incorporating a metasurface — a dense arrangement of pillar-shaped meta-atoms smaller than the wavelength of light — to control light propagation. This structure allows Kyocera to manufacture a meta-lens less than 1mm thick, compared with conventional optical lenses that typically require more than 1cm of thickness.
Additionally, by precisely designing the meta-atoms, multiple optical functions — such as wavelength control and phase modulation — can be integrated into a single meta-lens. This significantly reduces the number of optical components traditionally required. As a result, both the optical system and the final device can be made dramatically smaller and lighter.

2. Enables Image Displays with Natural Depth Perception

Using its proprietary meta-atom design technology, Kyocera developed a meta-lens featuring a focal position that shifts depending on the color (wavelength) of light. Using this lens, images of different colors can be formed at different heights — for example, green images appear farther from the viewer, while red images appear closer. By generating images at varying depths, the system produces three-dimensional aerial visuals with rich depth cues, even within a wearable-sized optical module. This innovation provides natural depth expression without the need for bulky multi-layer optical assemblies.

Wearable Aerial Display Prototype

By combining the newly developed meta-lens with Kyocera’s existing aerial imaging technologies — cultivated through its research into high-resolution aerial displays — the company succeeded in creating a compact, lightweight wearable display capable of projecting floating images with realistic depth. This marks a major step toward next-generation visual interfaces that integrate high-quality optics into small, body-worn devices.

Future Potential

Currently, Kyocera’s technology enables aerial images whose focal positions vary by color. In the future, increasing the degree of wavelength control could allow full-color, high-resolution aerial images, and advances in meta-atom design may enable the projection of smooth 3D visuals into mid-air.

The thin and lightweight nature of meta-lenses makes them highly suitable for applications such as:

• More miniaturized and wearable VR/AR glasses
• Slimmer, space-saving designs for cameras and projectors
• Other optical devices where compactness is essential

Kyocera will continue enhancing its proprietary meta-lens technologies to contribute to the advancement of optical solutions across consumer electronics, industrial equipment, and a wide range of emerging fields.

For comprehensive information about these featured technologies and other exhibits, please visit our official CES 2026 website:
https://global.kyocera.com/ces/2026/?press

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